Description
Book SynopsisThis major collection of courting and fertility songs documents a nearly lost element of highland Maya ritual life, revealing significant remnants of the ancient Maya belief system in songs that date back to the early colonial era.
Trade Review"[A] new classic in the field of Mayan music studies." * Latin American Music Review *
"[O'Brien-Rothe's research practices] allowed for a collaborative research approach that was not merely a mechanism to compensate for her language skills but a way to understand the broader uses and meanings of ritual language in songs." * Latin American Research Review *
Table of Contents
- Forewords
- Allen J. Christenson
- Sandra L. Orellana
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- A Personal Note
- Research in Santiago Atitlán
- Chapter 1. The World of the Tz'utujil Maya
- The World of Spirits
- "Song of the Spirit-Lord of the World" ("B'ix rxin Rajau Mund")
- Duality and Metaphor in the Santo Mundo
- The Presence of the Nawals
- Chapter 2. The Dance and Songs of the Nawals
- Old Mam Creates the Recibos
- "Song of APla's Sojuel" ("B'ix rxin APla's Sojuel")
- Dance, Movement, and Songs: The Divine Currency of Sacrifice
- Dancing the Bundle of San Martín
- Midwife's Prayer and "Song of San Martín" ("B'ix rxin Martín")
- Rocking the Cradle of the Marias
- "Song of the Rocking Cradle"
- Dancing the Wind-Men and the Rain-Men
- Rousing San Martín and the Spirit-Lords of Rain with Song
- "Song of Martín" ("B'ix rxin Martín")
- Calling the Spirits of the Dead and the Drowned with Songs
- Chapter 3. The "Songs of the Road": Texts and Contexts
- The Road in the Tz'utujil Maya World
- Old Mam, the Guardian of the Road, Creates Music and Dance
- The "Songs of Mam" ("B'ix rxin Mam")
- The First and Second "Songs of the Road"
- The "Third Song of the Road": Songs of Courtship and Fertility
- "Songs of the Young Man" ("B'ix rxin C'jol")
- "Songs of the Young Girl" ("B'ix rxin K'poj")
- "AtPal": A Song of Courting
- "Songs of the Young Men and Young Girls, of Insults and Ridicule" ("B'ix rxin C'jola K'poja Xyo'k'a Xtz'u'ja")
- "Songs of the Old Maid"
- Witchcraft and Shapeshifters in the Songs
- "Songs of the Young Girl" ("B'ix rxin K'poj")
- The "Sad Songs" or "Tristes"
- "They Fought" ("Xqueti' qui'")
- "Sad Song of Our Fathers, Our Mothers" ("B'ix rxin Kadta, rxin Kate' Bis")
- "Songs of the Flowers and the Fruit"("B'ix rxin Cotz'ej, Sk'ul")
- Chapter 4. The Poetics of Tz'utujil Songs and Their Relationship to K'iche'an Literature
- The Poetics of the Popol Vuh
- The Poetics of Tz'utujil Song Texts
- Parallelism
- Meter
- Onomatopoeia
- Lists
- Assonance and Alliteration
- Composition of the Texts and the Influence of Musical Rhythm
- Chapter 5. The Music of the "Songs of the Nawals"
- Form and Style of the Songs
- The "Recibos of Old Mam": The Vessel of Tz'utujil Culture
- The "Songs of Mam"
- "Sad Song of the Young Man"
- "Song of the Young Girl Who Says Goodbye to Her Mother"
- "Song of the Old Maid" or "Song of the Road"
- "Song of the Fruit"
- The Tz'utujil Guitar
- Historical Origins of the Tz'utujil Guitar
- Tuning
- Playing Style and Technique
- Repertoire
- How the Songs Survived: The Process of Assimilation and Transmission
- Final Words
- Audio Files of Recorded Examples
- Notes
- Glossary
- Works Cited
- Index
