Believe What the Natives Tell You?— The "Sacred Records" of Mesoamerica, Part II

continuing with the numerous re cords that Mesoamerican Theorists constantly claim were found in Mesoamerica when the Spanish came, of which the Conquerors burned most, and the subsequent writings of Indian-Spanish historians of the 16th thru 18th centuries, such as Fernando de Alva Cortes Ixtlilxochitl, Frah Juan de Torquemada, Toribio de Benavente Motolinia, Bernardino de Sahagun, Geronimo de Mendieta, Diego Munoz Camargo, and many others.

In the writings of the Popol Vuh (Book of the Community), Fray Francisco Ximinez (above) claimed it was first written in the language of K'iche (Quiche) based on oral tradition using characters in the Latin alphabet in the mid-sixteenth century. Ximenez copied the original work, which no longer exists, and called it the Manuscript of Chichicastenango, claiming the Maya considered the work a collection of "stories and mythology."

Currently, there are doubts about the true authorship of the Popol Vuh. Many of the legends that are told are very similar to the Judeo-Christian and some critics think that it was written by the Spanish priests to convince the natives of Christianity. Scholars such as Rene Acuna have doubted that the content reflected in the Mayan Popol Vuh is real.

Acuna states:"The Popol Vuh is a book designed and executed with Western concepts and was actually written in the style of a European, and was not written by a native as has been said. I do not think this has been a spontaneous self-taught native, who began to write the memoirs of his nation."

It should be noted that the book was used to evangelize the natives at that time. In addition, Ximenez made several clerical errors which reveals his ignorance of the K'iche (Quiche) language, which he claimed to be interpreting." (Temas del Popol Vuh, Mexico, 1998). In addition, Miryam Audiffred, an accomplished Spanish writer in London, stated of the Popol Vuh: "It was written in the characteristic of western linguistics."

When talking about "sacred records" held by the early natives, such as Toltecas, Olmecs, etc., of Mesoamerica, we need to understand what these records were, where they came from, and why they were in Mesoamerica.

Huematzin (pronounced we'matsin) is mentioned in some Mesoamerican codices as being a sage, a member of Toltec nobility, and a scholar, who is said by some to have lived during the end of the 8th century; however, Ixtlilxochitl claims he lived during the end of the 12th century. It is unknown whether he was an actual historical person or a legendary figure. According to the Aztec Chronicles, he was the wisest man in Tollan, a city of the Toltecs (which may or may not be identical with the archaeological site of Tule Hidalgo), and that he owned many sacred books (teoamoxtli). However, all we know of Huematzin is that his name is in Ixtlilxochitl's 17th century manuscript, Relaciones Historicas, In this 1608 work, Ixtlilxochitl refers to Huematin as an astrologer.

Ixtlilxochitl and the Lords of Totonicapan (written in 1554) credit the early colonizers with possession of the creation account, and that Huematzin's divine book covered the period from the creation of the world up to his time--the twelfth century A.D.

The point to all this is simple. Since, as stated in the last post, all Nephite records were hidden (buried) by Mormon and later Moroni, for fear the Lamanites would destroy them, it seems most likely that no records of any kind existed after 421 A.D. in the Land of Promise. Secondly, the Lamanites were not record keepers and had no written information about their history as far as anyone knows, and as the Book of Mormon verifies. Thus, as asked in the last post, who would have kept any records that were handed down through the Mayan, Mexican, or other natives of Central America?

The answer rests in only one source. The Nephites and Lamanites who sailed to "a land which was northward" in Hagoth's ships around 54 B.C. (Alma 63:4-7), and were never heard from again as late as 380 A.D. (Alma 63:8), when Mormon closed out his record and abridged Alma's writings.

Thus, while no records would have remained in the Land of Promise, those who went north in Hagoth's ships and settled in Mesoamerica, brought with them the traditions, history and heritage of their people dating back to when Lehi left Jerusalem, and through the knowledge of the Brass Plates,  about the Flood and even to the Creation. Naturally, down through the years, the Nephites who settled in Mesoamerica around 50 B.C., continued with their religion, told and retold, wrote and rewrote, their history, and it was handed down through the generations as foretold in the various, sketchy reports of people like Huematzin, the Lords of Totonicapan, and later, Ixtlilxochitl, and even later, Sahagun, etc.