Ashley Duvelius: Popol Vuh Reader Response

Popol Vuh:  Dawn of Life


Hi everybody!  Sorry this is coming to you so late, I had a busy day with school and going straight to work! :( Popol Vuh was a very interesting Latin American read.  It was an account of how the world started, all in one night.  The Maya legends say that the gods (the Creator, the Maker, Tepeu, Gucumatz, the Forefathers) first filled the Earth with water and woodland, then the small wild animals came to be.  The gods were not satisfied that the animals could not speak and could not adore them or invoke them.  So that is when the gods created the first men, made of earth and flesh of mud.  The mud people were soft, did not move, melted away, and their sight was blurred.  This, too, was unacceptable for the gods.  They destroyed the mud creatures and set forth creating once again.  The gods next tried to make men out of wood.  These woodmen were a next-step-up, since they indeed "existed and multiplied".  However, they had no souls and soon forgot their creators.  Not to mention, they awkwardly walked on all fours.  Even I couldn't imagine men made of wood, splinters would be terrible.  The gods decided it was best to destroy the woodmen with a flood.  Those who survived were later viciously annihilated by the pots, pans, and animals they had treated so badly.  The last tale of the Maya was that of Vucub- Caquix.  Vucub-Caquix was a god who became so vain and greedy that he thought of himself as the Sun and the Moon.  To be vain and greedy was a major sin for the Maya, and so the gods put him back in his place.  Or rather, put in his grave, along with his vain sons.  I really enjoyed this story.  It is was rich in belief and I loved how these people believed in their gods with their entire being.  I believe that was the moral of the story, in fact, to love your creator with your entire being.  I would like to read more enchanting tales of myth and legend!  Keep them coming Latin America! 

Thank you for listening,
Ashley Duvelius