Calendar wheel from book of Chilan Balam
The books of [Chilam] Balam are Maya books of history, prophecy, religion and ritual, as well as medicine and astronomy. They were written in the Maya language in European script, and they include pre-Conquest accounts as well as accounts from the colonial period. A significant portion bear signs of the influence of European literature and culture.
Chilam, or chilan, means mouthpiece, and balam means jaguar; therefore the Books of Chilam Balam are the “Books of the Jaguar Priest.”