“Wheels Working Together: The Popol Wuj and Time Commences in Xibalbá as Markers of a Maya Cosmovision”

Abstract

Maya Time is cyclical. A set number of days must occur before a new cycle can begin. The Maya classical book, the Popol Vuh, which constitutes the heart of the Mesoamerican cultural matrix, still lingers within contemporary Maya identity. Luis de Lión’s foundational contemporary Maya novel Time Commences in Xibalbá (1985) derives its title, its topic, and its symbolism from the Popol Vuh. This essay argues that both works frame a cosmovision whereby humans are understood as subjects conceived within multiple relations with all created elements, the living and dead, and all connected to the cosmos, thus showing that contemporary issues of indigenous cultural production and agency transcend subalternized identities originally associated with specific Latin American nation-states.