Comments on: Everything you wanted to know about pre-Columbian Central America but were afraid to ask lest your heart get ripped out and offered to Quetzalcoatl

Everything you wanted to know about pre-Columbian Central America but were afraid to ask lest your heart get ripped out and offered to Quetzalcoatl

Kattullus — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:49:00 -0800

The Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies is your one-stop shop for pre-Columbian Central America awesomeness. There are so, so many wondrous things on that site, I don't quite know where to begin. I suppose John Pohl's scholarly introduction is a natural place to start. But maybe you just don't have time to read anything and just want to dive into pretty, pretty pictures. Perhaps the most user-friendly databases are Justin Kerr's photographs Maya Vases (e.g. 1, 2, 3) and Pre-Columbian Portfolio (e.g. 1, 2a, 2b, 3). From there you can delve into the collection of Linda Schele's photographs (e.g. 1, 2) and drawings (e.g. 1, 2, 3). There are more image databases but let me direct you to the collection of old Maya, Aztec and Mixtec books which are simply stunning (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4 [last link pdf]). You can read more about Mayan and Mixtec codices and download high resolution versions of the entire books. There are also Maya dictionaries, glyph guides, linguistic maps and a who's who. There is also classic Mayan and Aztec poetry in translation. I'm telling you, that's not even half of what this amazing site has to offer.

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:54:01 -0800

I can't recommend Le Clézio's Mexican Dream, Or, The Interrupted Thought of Amerindian Civilizations highly enough. It's a compulsively readable account of the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican world-view. Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, besides being a Nobel Laureate in literature, is a doctor of Mesoamerican studies and wrote his ph.d. thesis on Mexico's early history.

By: jammy

jammy — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:19:09 -0800

awesome, indeed - thanks much for this

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:39:20 -0800

The Maya vases are really funky and worth taking a look at. Some wouldn't look out of place as modern graffiti. Here's one of my favorites.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:53:00 -0800

why must you tempt me to stay indoors on this beautiful sunny sunday, Kattullus?

By: languagehat

languagehat — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:54:57 -0800

Wow, that's a terrific find. Thanks!

By: vacapinta

vacapinta — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:55:21 -0800

Oh, and look at this one, especially the figure on the right!!

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:02:21 -0800

it's zombie Homer Simpson!!!

By: vertigo25

vertigo25 — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:36:16 -0800

Awesome. If I could favorite this more than once, I would. This, to me, is what the Blue is all about.

By: Wolof

Wolof — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:02:00 -0800

Massive!

By: homunculus

homunculus — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:22:08 -0800

Fantastic post, Kattullus. Thanks!

By: homunculus

homunculus — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:25:28 -0800

Fighting with Jaguars, Bleeding for Rain: Has a 3,000-year-old ritual survived in the highlands of central Mexico?

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:37:25 -0800

UbuRoivas: why must you tempt me to stay indoors on this beautiful sunny sunday, Kattullus? I just hate you because of your ~~freedom~~ summer, Australian.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:12:31 -0800

the magnolia, gardenia & hibiscus are all flowering. jasmine & camellia are finished; frangipani comes later. nice day for the beach, but i'm gardening.

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:18:30 -0800

One of the myriad great things about poetry is that whenever I feel like a certain culture seems alien and impenetrable all I need are some poems to give me something to identify with, like this verse from Mayan Song to Dzitbalche:

I love you, beautiful lady. I want you to be seen; in truth you are very alluring, I compare you to the smoking star because they desire you up to the moon and in the flowers of the fields.

Or these verses by Nezahualcoyotl, the great poet-king of Texcoco:

We will pass away. I, Nezahualcoyotl, say, enjoy! Do we really live on earth? Ohuaya, ohuaya. Not forever on earth, only a brief time here! Even jades fracture; even gold ruptures, even quetzal plumes tear: Not forever on earth: only a brief time here! Ohuaya, ohuaya.

These are, of course, from the poetry links in the post.

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:29:19 -0800

UbuRoivas: the magnolia, gardenia & hibiscus are all flowering. jasmine & camellia are finished; frangipani comes later. nice day for the beach, but i'm gardening. Christ, man, you sound like a Lucksmiths song...

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:00:19 -0800

don't know the Lucksmiths, but have been reading the poetry of Kabir - Indian poet-saint who in the holy city of Kashi/Benaras/Varanasi sought to transcend the Hindu-Muslim divide. for example: It is needless to ask of a saint the caste to which he belongs; For the priest, the warrior, the tradesman, and all the thirty-six castes, alike are seeking for God. It is but folly to ask what the caste of a saint may be; The barber has sought God, the washerwoman, and the carpenter-- Even Raidas was a seeker after God. The Rishi Swapacha was a tanner by caste. Hindus and Moslems alike have achieved that End, where remains no mark of distinction. and this is also nice: Do not go to the garden of flowers! O Friend! go not there; In your body is the garden of flowers. Take your seat on the thousand petals of the lotus, and there gaze on the Infinite Beauty. (translations by Rabindranath Tagore)

By: librarylis

librarylis — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 02:16:34 -0800

This is great! It's always nice to know of course, and I'm delving in myself, but there's someone who I can point toward this who will really enjoy it and that makes it even better. Also, thanks for fleshing it out a bit and highlighting the 'good stuff!'

By: aetg

aetg — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:06:13 -0800

ooOoo I'm going to favorite this to look at later. Thanks for the small notes letting me know what each link is. I find that helpful.

By: jammy

jammy — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 07:10:55 -0800

homunculus: thanks for the "Fighting Jaguars, Bleeding Rain" link - that article was really fascinating