8th European Maya Conference
Sacred Books, Sacred Languages: Two Thousand Years of Ritual and Religious Maya Literature
This conference was held from November 29 through 30, 2003 at the Museo Arqueológico Nacional. The workshop took place November 25 to 28, 2003 at the Museo de América. The event was organized by Sociedad Española de Estudios Mayas (SEEM) and Wayeb.
You can download the complete program of the conference and also the abstracts of the papers presented:
The papers presented at the conference were the following:
| Aurore Becquelin CNRS, France |
¿Lengua sagrada? Algunos apuntes y muchas preguntas |
| Dmitri Beliaev Knorozov Center for Mesoamerican Studies, Moscow, Russia |
Rabbit, God L and Moon Goddess: Humor, Cursing and Myth on the Classic Maya Vase |
| Lisa Diane Bennett University of California at Berkeley, United States |
Two Maya Prayers: Microcosmos of Cultural and Linguistic Contact |
| Alain Breton CNRS – France |
Etnohistoriografía del poder real en Kaqyub: una lectura política del “Rabinal Achi” |
| John F. Chuchiak IV Southwest Missouri State University, United States |
De Extirpatio Codicis Yucatanensis: The 1607 Colonial Confiscation of a Maya Sacred Book – New Interpretations on the Origins and Provenience of the Madrid Codex |
| Pierre Robert Colas Universität Bonn, Germany |
Los Almanaques de la Caza: Directivas para Ceremonias Festivales |
| Michela Elisa Craveri Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milán, Italy |
El arte verbal k’iche’: Reflexiones sobre sus funciones poéticas |
| James L. Fitzimmons Dumbarton Oaks, United States |
Social Death in Classic Maya Texts |
| Marianne Gabriel Universität Bonn, Germay & Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mexico |
“Sib-ten a w-alak’- o’ob …” (“regálanos tus hijos, tus criados …”) – Oraciones dirigidas al “protector de los animales” (Sip) |
| Nikolai Grube Universität Bonn, Germany |
El poder de la escritura – la fuerza creadora de la palabra escrita |
| Kerry Hull University of Texas at Austin, United States |
Así Hablan los Ángeles: The Poetics of Ch’orti’ Ritual Speech and Oral Narratives |
| Alfonso Lacadena Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain |
El origen prehispánico de las profecías katúnicas mayas coloniales: antecedentes clásicos de las profecías de 12 Ajaw y 10 Ajaw |
| Bruce Love Independent Scholar, United States |
Maya Sacred Texts: From Ancient Hieroglyphs to Modern Shamans’ Prayers |
| Alexandre Tokovinine Harvard University, United States |
Art of Maya Epitaph |
| Gabrielle Vail New College of Florida, United States Christine Hernández Tulane University, United States |
Fire Drilling, Bloodletting, and Sacrifice: Yearbearer Rituals in the Maya and Borgia Group Codices |
| Søren Wichmann Max-Planck Institut, Leipzig, Germany |
A new look at linguistic interaction in the lowlands as a background for the study of Maya codices |
Beginners
Sven Gronemeyer
LATE CLASSIC YAXCHILÁN UNDER THE REIGN OF SHIELD JAGUAR II AND BIRD JAGUAR IV
This workshop will deal with a series of selected monuments that come from the reign of Yaxchilán’s most important rulers, Shield Jaguar II (Itzamnaaj B’ahlam) who ruled from 681 until 742 and Bird Jaguar IV (Yaxuun B’ahlam) who governed from 752 until 768.
Most preserved hieroglyphic inscriptions from Yaxchilán were committed by these two rulers. They open both a window into a detailed retrospective and into the history that occurred during their reign as well. The texts selected refer to the local history, such as stations in the life of a ruler, rituals performed, and also to relations with other centres, such as Lacanhá.
Annette Kern and Dmitri Beliaev
PALENQUE – RECONSTRUCTING A DYNASTIC HISTORY
Palenque, situated in the southwestern periphery of the Maya lowlands, is one of the most spectacular Maya sites. Its architectural and artistic style is very unique, and its inscriptions are some of the most sophisticated of the Maya area.
We are going to reconstruct the history of the ruling dynasty by looking at 7th and 8th century inscriptions of e.g. the famous K’inich Janaab’ Pakal I, also known as Pakal the Great, who was buried in the Temple of the Inscriptions, and his son K’inich Kan B’alam II.
Intermediate
Pierre Robert Colas and Juan Ignacio Cases Martín
MAYA CODICES – READING ICONOGRAPHY AND ASTRONOMY
Maya codices are glyphic books composed of folded amate paper, and constitute a valuable primary source for the study of several aspects of ancient Maya culture. In the past four decades, Maya epigraphy has made ground breaking developments which allow us to study these texts now in linguistic perspective. In this workshop, we will analyse various texts from the codices Dresden, Madrid, and Paris making use of the linguistic approach, as well as other fields of knowledge such as iconography and astronomy.
Advanced
Elisabeth Wagner
THE RE-ENACTMENT OF MYTHS – THE INSCRIPTIONS AND ICONOGRAPHY OF TEMPLES XIX AND XXI AT PALENQUE
The scribes and sculptors of Palenque have left to us the most detailed mythological accounts known from the ancient Maya. This inscriptional corpus has been supplemented by two important discoveries in recent years, the sculptured platforms found in Temples XIX and XXI, both commissioned by K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Naab III. Each one of these platforms bears a long hieroglyphic texts which accompany complex scenic depictions. These texts do not only provide further mythological information, they also demonstrate how certain mythological events were re-enacted and tied to royal ritual.