Emergency: Reading the Popol Vuh in a Time of Crisis

The Popol Vuh is a collection of nine short essays that explore the Kiche Maya story of creation and the COVID-19 pandemic. The essays consider the Popol Vuh as a work written during a time of feverish social, political, and epidemiological crisis, and how the authors transformed emergency into scenes of social, political, and intellectual emergence.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 144 pages
Publication date: 21 April 2022
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

The Popol Vuh, a sacred text of the Kiche Maya, tells the story of creation through nine short essays. These essays were written during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chicago, when Spanish missionaries and colonial military were intensifying their conquest of indigenous peoples and cultures in Mesoamerica. The Popol Vuh stands out from other creation texts due to the way the gods are involved in the creation process. While the Book of Genesis presents a declarative narrative of the world's creation, the Popol Vuh is more questioning and analytical. The gods, for instance, debate whether it is necessary to create humans, considering the abundance of perfect animals already present on Earth.

Emergency employs the historical emergency of the Popol Vuh to contextualize the ongoing emergencies of colonialism that have become increasingly apparent during the COVID-19 global health crisis. Through these essays, the authors of the Popol Vuh demonstrate how, despite being deeply embroiled in social crisis, they persisted in transforming emergencies into scenes of social, political, and intellectual emergence. They translated crises into creativity and the creation of the world.

The Popol Vuh offers a profound reflection on the human condition and the challenges we face as a species. It reminds us of our interconnectedness with the natural world and the importance of preserving our cultural heritage. By exploring the story of creation through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic, these essays provide a timely and relevant perspective on the ongoing struggles for justice, equality, and sustainability.

Weight: 184g
Dimension: 153 x 215 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226818597