What is the name of the collection of Maya prophetic texts?

The collection of Maya prophetic texts is known as the Books of Chilam Balam, commonly shortened to Chilam Balam.

These writings were produced in the Yucatán during the colonial period, after the Spanish conquest, in the Yucatec Maya tradition. They are not a single ancient manuscript but a group of books associated with different communities. The best-known example is the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel, named for the town of Chumayel.

Their contents are remarkably varied. Alongside prophecies and calendrical material, the books preserve historical chronicles, religious passages, astronomical ideas, medical recipes, ritual knowledge, and material influenced by Christianity. They were written using the Latin alphabet, but much of their subject matter draws on older Maya traditions.

The name refers to Chilam, a prophetic oracular priest, and Balam, a personal or emblematic name often translated as “jaguar.” A frequent mistake is to identify these texts with the Popol Vuh: the Popol Vuh is a separate Kʼicheʼ Maya creation narrative and cultural record.