Their
language is easy to learn; to a stranger to both, Maya comes easier than
Spanish, as intelligent writers in Yucatan have testified; and this
aided its survival. Their passion for learning to read and write was
strong, and had it been fed, instead of rigidly suppressed, there is
little doubt but that they would have become a highly enlightened
nation. The wretched system which smothered free thought in Spain killed
it in Yucatan.[27]
The principal literary monument in the pure Maya is the collection known
as "The Books of Chilan Balam." I have described this collection at
length in previous publications, and shall content myself with a brief
reference to it.[28] The title "Chilan Balam" means, in this connection,
"the interpreting priest;" that is, the sacred official who, in the
ancient religion, revealed the will of the gods. There are at least
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.
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