The First New Chronicle and Good Government, Abridged

David Frye's skillful translation and abridgment of Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's monumental First New Chronicle and Good Government (composed between 1600-1616) offers an unprecedented glimpse into pre-colonial Inca society and culture, the Spanish conquest of Peru (1532-1572), and life under the corrupt Spanish colonial administration.  An Introduction provides essential historical and cultural background and discusses the author's literary and linguistic innovations.   Maps, a glossary of terms, and seventy-five of Guaman Poma's ink drawings are also included.

SKU
26552g

Felipe Guaman Poma De Ayala
Edited and Translated by David Frye

2006 - 384 pp.

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Cloth 978-0-87220-842-1
$45.00
Paper 978-0-87220-841-4
$19.00
Instructor Examination (Review) Copy 978-0-87220-841-4
$3.00

David Frye's skillful translation and abridgment of Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's monumental First New Chronicle and Good Government (composed between 1600-1616) offers an unprecedented glimpse into pre-colonial Inca society and culture, the Spanish conquest of Peru (1532-1572), and life under the corrupt Spanish colonial administration.  An Introduction provides essential historical and cultural background and discusses the author's literary and linguistic innovations.   Maps, a glossary of terms, and seventy-five of Guaman Poma's ink drawings are also included.

Reviews:

"David Frye achieves a tour de force in rendering the chronicle comprehensible to a large audience without diminishing its richness as an historical source.  The different sections of this book respect the chronicle's original composition and translate Guaman Poma's main argument with accuracy. . . .
    "Frye's translation . . . offers a vivid portrayal of Peru's colonial society with its different strata, revealing the intricate nature of indigeneity and gender in the Andes following the Spanish conquest. . . . [T]he English text is fluid throughout.  This fluidity, however, neither stifles Guaman Poma's voice nor tones down his zeal in condemning the brutality and inequity of the colonial system.  Frye's achievement undoubtedly leans on his comprehension of the literary and historical context that surrounds the mestizo author, a context he summarizes in the introduction.  Punctuated by knowledgeable annotations throughout the pages and complemented by a glossary of Pre-Hispanic and colonial terms, this translation proves to be a valuable contribution for introducing students to the Andean society of the colonial era."
     —Bulletin of Latin American Research

 

"David Frye is a professional anthropologist and skilled translator.  [This book] includes an Introduction which provides most of the information needed to understand Guaman Poma de Ayala's text and Frye's translation thereof, a map, a glossary, an index, and generally helpful notes that demonstrate a solid command of the relevant primary and secondary literature.  The sections of the lengthy manuscript . . . selected for translation are representative of the work as a whole.
. . . Frye also includes some of Guaman Poma de Ayala's several hundred black-and-white drawings, which should be viewed as an integral, not merely supplementary, part of his work. . . . [T]his is a welcome translation, all the more so because it is well done. . . . Frye has been painstaking in his explanation of terminology.  I recommend this work for courses on Latin America during the colonial period, or more specifically the Central Andes (i.e., Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia)."
     —Hispanic American Historical Review

 

"Generations of scholars have grappled with the challenge of interpreting the person and project of the native Andean chronicler Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala.  This abridged English translation of Guaman Poma's Nueva corónica y buen gobierno represents at least two accomplishments.  First, it brings this person and project to many readers for the first time.  And, second, the words allow for new encounters with the possibilities in this text.  These words have a piercing directness that cannot be denied, and they will jar even seasoned scholars, who thought they knew Guaman Poma.  Frye has made judicious choices about inclusion, he has consulted widely, he has not shied away from the transformations that were part of being authentically native Andean in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and he has wisely refused to fill the telling silences left by the author himself.  Most significantly of all, for students and teachers, is that – in as much as it is possible – he has allowed Felipe Guaman Poma to speak for himself."
     —Kenneth Mills, University of Toronto

 

"This edition of Guaman Poma, with its helpful notes and section introductions, makes a work of central importance for Latin American history, anthropology and literature accessible to students and the general public.  David Frye has smoothed out the syntax of this difficult text enough to make it readable for such an audience without losing its seventeenth-century style. By leaving some Quechua words and phrases along with their translations, moreover, he has retained much of the feel of a colonial chronicle at the intersection of two cultures."
     —Sarah Chambers, University of Minnesota

 

". . . Frye has abridged, translated, and annotated Guaman Poma's massive early-17th-century work in order to make it accessible to English-speaking audiences.  Written by a Hispanized Andean, The First New Chronicle and Good Government contains 1,189 pages of text and illustrations addressing Christian and Andean history, as well as critiquing Spanish colonialism.  Frye's translation from the original Spanish and Quechua is based primarily on the digital facsimile edition published online in 2001 by the Danish Royal Library, which has the manuscript copy.  His valuable introduction contains not only the expected information on translation issues and a description of the organizational structure of the full work, but also a succinct eight-page history of Andean civilization, the Inca Empire, and the Spanish conquest and colonization, giving modern readers the information necessary to understand the text.  This edition also includes a glossary and index that will make it a useful resource for students as well as Latin American specialists."
     —V. H. Cummins, CHOICE

 

"Frye's introduction to Guaman Poma. . .  reads beautifully, is well thought-out, well-organized, and accessible to the reader. . . a fine model of the genre."
     —Rolena Adorno, Yale University

 

"David Frye is to be congratulated for his audacious and modest translation and annotation. . . ."
     —Hector Omar Noejovich Ch., Itinerario

 

"If there is one daunting proposition in the world of Andean colonial literature, it has to be the selection of text, translation, and annotation of Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's First New Chronicle and Good Government.  We should all be happy that David Frye was willing to take on this challenge to successfully produce a well-thought-out and accessible (though this will never be easy) version of this most unique book.
     "Frye manages to provide a good synthesis of the work and an excellent translation that strikes a balance between being overly literal (which would have paralyzed the reader) and too far removed from the original (as was the case with the only other abridged translation."
     "Frye's excellent introduction convincingly pulls together all that is known about Guaman Poma's life to explain how he ended up producing this work, which the intended to send to the Spanish king.
   —
Luis Millones Figueroa, Colby College

 

"Frye has done an excellent job in translating into English a very difficult text, making clear many passages that are almost undecipherable in the original. His versions of the text not included in the translations help to provide a more complete understanding of Guaman Poma's goals and the means he employs to achieve them.
    "A first-rate translation accompanied by very helpful notes that clarify both linguistic and historico-cultural matters. His introduction is concise and orients the reader to confront the difficulties that await him/her and to anticipate the benefits that will accrue from tackling this most challenging text."
     —Thomas A. O'Connor, Binghampton University

 

About the Author:

David Frye is Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan.