The Chilam Balam, the Rulers and God. A New Perspective on the Christianization of the k´atun Prophecies of the Chilam Balam

Abstract This paper analyzes a specific genre of colonial Maya literature: the prophecies found in the so-called Books of Chilam Balam, written in the Maya language during the colonial period. These texts predict events related to 20-year periods known as k’atun . A comparative examination of these prophecies reveals that while some are of clear Maya origin, others gradually incorporate Christian concepts and even direct references to Catholic texts. I propose a typology of three distinct kinds of prophecies: traditional, transitional Christianized, and overtly Christianized. This classification is supported by linguistic and structural analysis, including the presence of loanwords, shifts in grammatical constructions, changes in prophetic structure, and the semantic transformation of key terms. Traditional Maya prophecies primarily express concerns with good governance by local rulers; in contrast, Christianized prophecies reinterpret similar passages to foretell the authority of a universal Christian God. Rather than approaching these texts from a purely historical or philological perspective, this study adopts an anthropological–linguistic lens. It considers the prophecies as literary and ideological efforts by Maya authors and scribes to reframe their pre-Hispanic past and make sense of their transformed world under colonial rule.