Popol Vuh video and mp3 - Bettina - live on Beat Club, April 24, 1971

Above: Popol in action

The Popol Vuh

Are utzijoxik wa'e

k'ak atz'ininoq,

k'akachamamoq,

katz'inonik,

k'akasilanik,

k'akalolinik,

katolona puch upa kaj.

"This is the account of how

all was in suspense,

all calm,

in silence;

all motionless,

still,

and the expanse of the sky was empty."

from the Popol Vuh's creation story

The Popol Vuh ("council book") is the Mayan book of "The Dawn of Life", a sacred text which contains the creation myths and histories of the Quiche people. The original is now lost due to the book (and people) burning tendencies of the conquistadors, but luckily some Mayan priests and clerks secretly made copies of some of the older hieroglyphic books, but using the Roman alphabet. It is a fascinating book that shows us flashes of the pre-columbian Mayan culture, as if reflected through the broken shards of a mirror.

Popol Vuh is also the name of a 70s German band led by Florian Fricke which provided soundtracks to many Werner Herzog films, including Aguirre, the Wrath of God (an appropriate choice considering their name) and Nosferatu.
Popol Vuh blended the new moog synthesizer with tribal rhythms and drones. Here is a video of Popol Vuh performing the instrumental "Bettina" (apparently named after Bettina Fricke, their Tabla player) on German tv's Beat Club in 1971. Trippy lo-fi video fx, modular synths, fur vests and tablas. Thanks to NoDude at dimeadozen.org for the upload. Enjoy!

Popol Vuh - Bettina - Video - 41 MB .avi file

Popol Vuh - Bettina - mp3 - 4 MB file