Aboriginal American Authors by Daniel Garrison Brinton
page 25 of 89 (28%)
page 25 of 89 (28%)
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sixteen collections under this name in Maya, copies, probably, in part,
of each other. Their contents may be classified under four headings:-- 1. Chronology, calendars, and history, before and after the Conquest. 2. Prophecies and astrology. 3. Medical recipes and directions. 4. Christian narratives. Of these, the last two are modern. The Christian portions are lives of saints, and prayers. The medical directions are often found separate, under the title "The Book of the Jew." Its language is modern and corrupt--_mestizado_, as the Spaniards express it. The "Prophecies" are alleged to have been delivered one or several generations before the Conquest. Their style is extremely obscure, and many of the forms are archaic. If not genuine originals, they are unquestionably very early and faithful imitations of the oracular deliveries of the ancient Maya priests. The historical portions include rude annals since the Conquest, and a series of Chronicles, extending back to about the third century of the Christian era. There are five versions of these, all of which I have published, with translations and copious notes, as the first volume of my "Library of Aboriginal American Literature." Another class of Maya historical documents embraces the surveys and land titles, many of which date from the sixteenth century. I have in my |
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