Landa and the Burning of Maya Books
Streams straight from the publisher. podnod never proxies or re-hosts episode audio.
In 1562, Spanish bishop Diego de Landa ordered the burning of thousands of Maya codices, claiming they were works of the devil. But Landa is also the source of our best knowledge of Maya writing—his Relación de las cosas de Yucatán preserved a key to deciphering the glyphs. This episode explores the contradictions of Landa: destroyer and preserver. We trace his infamous auto-da-fé at Maní, examine what was lost, and ask how his later writings became the Rosetta Stone for Maya epigraphy. Along the way, we meet the three surviving Maya books—the Dresden, Madrid, and Paris codices—and consider what they reveal about Maya astronomy, ritual, and history. We also discuss the Maya alphabet Landa recorded: was it a misunderstanding, a masterpiece, or both? Join Lucas and Luna for a nuanced look at colonialism, cultural loss, and the tangled legacy of a man who burned what he later helped decode.
#DiegoDeLanda #MayaCodices #Maní #AutoDeFe #Yucatán #MayaWriting #DresdenCodex #MadridCodex #ParisCodex #RelaciónDeLasCosasDeYucatán #MayaAlphabet #MayaEpigraphy #Colonialism #BookBurning #Mesoamerica #History #FexingoHistory #Maya
Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
buymeacoffee.com