The Friar and the Maya

In 2002, Matthew Restall and John F. Chuchiak IV published an article in the journal Ethnohistory reconsidering the authorship of the manuscript commonly referred to as the Relación de las cosas de Yucatán. In the bibliography, Restall and Chuchiak cited an unpublished manuscript in progress, “The Friar and the Maya: Fray Diego de Landa's Relación de las cosas de Yucatán.” Twenty-one years later, Restall and Chuchiak, joined by two key coauthors, Amara Solari and Traci Ardren, published the much-anticipated work to impressive results.The text proper totaling 343 pages, The Friar and the Maya is essentially two books in one, a meticulous translation followed by a seven-chapter monograph exploring aspects of the book ranging from the Mayanists’ engagement with the original manuscript and subsequent translations to theories on the identities of the scribes who produced the extant copy translated here, compiled in part from writings left by Fray Diego de Landa. The 2023 translation, a comprehensive annotated and commented edition of one of the most familiar yet misunderstood original sources on Yucatan, avoids the pitfalls of authors of previous editions by making no effort to turn a transcription of sources into a coherent narrative. The original manuscript, first consulted by Restall and Chuchiak in the 1990s, is a partial transcription by at least two scribes from a much longer original recopilación credited to Landa as well as additional material. This 2023 edition reproduces the disjointed, fragmented tone unapologetically.The expertise of the four coauthors also contributes to a painstaking and faithful translation informed by detailed annotations, in the section identified as “The Account.” This edition includes as much of the original as possible, noting such details as when Roman numerals are used and when distinctive sentence openings signal a new scribal hand. Folio numbers of the originals as well as many reproductions of the folios themselves bring the readers of this edition closer to the experience of the manuscript itself. The examples provided bolster the four coauthors’ key argument that multiple hands contributed to the creation of the manuscript.The authors also comment on previous translations in the footnotes, recognizing the contributions of previous translators and editions while updating information based on recent research and correcting long-reproduced errors. In the essays, the authors further survey the development of scholarship on the Relación over the years, highlighting the erroneous belief in a single author and the misguided efforts to reshape the remaining fragments into a coherent work. Despite the credit long ascribed to Fray Diego de Landa, the head of the Franciscan order, the authors highlighted the inclusion of passages by Francisco López de Gómara and Bartolomé de Las Casas, among others. Juan López de Velasco and Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas were two of the copyists who added their own influence. Indigenous informants such as the well-known Gaspar Antonio Chi as well as less frequently mentioned Maya elites such as don Juan Cocom and don Francisco Euan also made significant contributions.The contributions of these figures appear among other themes in seven chapters providing insights into everything from biographical information on Landa to a critical assessment of writings through a gender analysis highlighting the friar's attention to women and children. The importance of the Relación as a key source for Mayanists and scholars of the conquest is quite informative. The final chapter, examining the creation of the illustrations that appear reproduced with little comment in previous editions, shows the expertise of Solari.This edition provides a more cogent depiction of the Relación de las cosas de Yucatán by emphasizing the partial nature of the text once presented as a coherent book, as well as its multiauthored production. Both a thorough and faithful translation of one of the Maya world's canonical sources and a monograph, this singular work provides readers with a far better understanding of both the original document and its creation. The authors dutifully survey the long scholarship on Landa, critiquing previous translations respectfully but also studiously correcting errors, both minor translation issues and substantial misunderstandings. This authoritative translation and the accompanying commentary should be the primary one that readers consult regardless of their academic level. The level of fidelity to the sources and the work put into it make this not only the latest edition but the definitive version

Archaeology · Art · Humanities · Maya · History · Latin American history and culture

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