short story: Origin Story of the Maya

Popol Vuh: Origin Story of the Maya

Creation or Origins Stories

• Many different people and religions have creation stories

• There stories are about how human life started on the planet

• Xpiyacoc, Xmucane, Quitte, Mahuccatah

This origin story was told by the Maya, whose powerful empire flourished in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico and Guatemala from around 250 to 900 CE. It’s the beginning of a long, detailed story called the "Popol Vuh" which means “council book.” It was first translated into alphabetic text from Mayan hieroglyphics in the 16th century.

Now it still ripples, now it still murmurs, still sighs, and is empty under the sky. There is not yet one person, not one animal, bird, fish, or tree. There is only the sky alone; the face of Earth is not clear, only the sea alone is in a pool under all the sky. Whatever else might be is simply not there.

There were makers in the sea, together called the Plumed Serpent. There were makers in the sky, together called the Heart of Sky. Together these makers planned the start of life.

Multiple Choice

What does it mean when the story states "It is empty under the sky"?

• there is no ocean

• there are no people

The Earth arose because of them. It appeared simply by them speaking. It arose suddenly, like a cloud unfolding. Then the mountains were separated from the water. All at once great mountains came forth. The sky was set apart, and the Earth was set apart in the middle of the waters.

Then the makers in the sky planned the animals of the mountains — the deer, pumas, jaguars, and rattlesnakes. Then they started the nests of the birds, great and small. “You precious birds; your nests are in the trees and bushes.” Then the deer and birds were told to talk to praise their makers, to pray to them out of respect. But the birds and animals did not talk; they just squawked and howled. Because they did not speak they had to accept that their flesh would be eaten by others.

The makers tried again to form a giver of respect, to make a creature who would nurture and provide. They made a body from mud, but it didn’t look good. It talked at first but then crumbled and disintegrated into the water. Then the Heart of Sky called on the wise ones, the diviners, the Grandfather Xpiyacoc and the Grandmother Xmucane, to help decide how to form a person. The Grandparents were also creator gods and said to make wooden carvings that were human in looks and speech. So wooden humans came into being; they talked and multiplied, but there was nothing in their minds and hearts, no memory of their builder, no memory of the Heart of Sky.

Multiple Choice

What did the makers first try to make humans out of?

• wood

• mud

• water

Then there came a great destruction. The wooden carvings were killed when the Heart of Sky devised a flood for them. It rained all day and all night. The animals came into the homes of the wooden carvings and ate them. The people were overthrown. The monkeys in the forest are a sign of this. They look like the previous people — mere wooden carvings.

The story continues with the final people being made from maize, or corn. This time, Xmucane grinds maize into flour and combines it with water. From the dough, she creates the first true humans: Jaguar Quitte, Jaguar Night, Mahucatah and True Jaguar. These four men become the forefathers of the Mayans.

For the Maya, there was a close relationship between corn and life. By growing maize, the Maya were able to stop being hunter-gatherers and dedicate to agriculture. For them, surviving and growing as a civilization depended on being able to grow this crop. The cycle of maize growing became a symbol of death and rebirth.

Open Ended

Do you know of any other creation stories?