Quiché Maya

Quiché Maya
The piece of literature, The Wooden People from the Popol Vuh, a Quiché Mayan myth, is a representation of the life, times, and cultural values of the Mayan culture of Mexico in the 16th century. The exact year it was written in is unknown. This myth is a Mayan creation story translated by Dennis Tedlock. The wooden people in the story refer to the first humans that the Maker, the Quiché Mayan god of creation, made out of wood. He grew displeased with his creation however, and so he sent a great flood to destroy them, very similar to the Great Flood in the Bible. As the rain fell, everything around the wooden manikins came to life and spoke out against them, fed up with how they had been treated. The animals scrutinized the manikins harshly and said they would eat them as the manikins had eaten the animals. Tools of the manikins came alive and turned against them also. As a result, the manikin society was destroyed, and the myth suggests that the survivors fled into the forests and became monkeys; which is why monkeys bear similar resemblance to humans. Many aspects of daily life for the Quiché Mayan people contributed to the details in this myth, such as the significance of the jaguar, the importance of their main crop maize, and their amazing feats in Astronomy .
The ancient Mayans worshipped the jaguar as a god of the upper and under worlds. In later civilizations, it became the symbol of war (Bunson). The jaguar “seemed to demonstrate 2 social status specifically with strong, powerful and leading members of society” (Saunders and Graham-Campbell). Ancient warriors and Maya kings would wear jaguar pelts as a main component in their armor as a sign of their strength and prowess. The jaguar is referred to as balam in many Maya languages (Saunders and Graham-Campbell). “The term balam, as well as certain of the living animal 's physical attributes, appear[ed] to have signified lordship. In the Popol Vuh, the term balam referred to magical power and was used as a description, almost a title, signifying the qualities of strength and might” (Saunders and Graham-Campbell). Because the myth came from this culture, in the myth, two of the enraged animals were the gods Crunching Jaguar and Tearing Jaguar. Crunching Jaguar ate the manikin’s flesh, while Tearing Jaguar tore their bodies open. The gods viewed the manikins as incompetent, so the jaguar gods were sent as punishers to the manikins; something that would have made perfect sense to the Maya people who wrote this myth.
Despite not having telescopes, the ancient Mayans were able to understand astronomy. The Mayans could establish, with a two hour margin of error, when eclipses, equinoxes, and solstices would occur, and could determine the 500-year cycle of Venus. Mayan astronomers were especially skilled in mathematics long before other cultures. They even used a positional system based on 20 much like our decimal system, which is based on 10 (Mayans and their…). Using their expertise in astronomy, the Maya created a seasonal farming calendar which gave them specific times to plant maize, the most important element in their diet. For example, today, evidence in some recovered painted books depict the drought or dry season as the most profitable time to plant the maize (Mayans and their…). “To the ancient Maya, maize was the primary

3 component of the human diet. Its importance was underscored by the cosmic role it played in the creation of humankind. According to Maya myths, gods formed the present race of humans from dough made of maize mixed with blood” (Ah Mun). The maize was so crucial for survival that in Mesoamerican mythology, life and death were often represented by the recurring farming cycle of harvesting, indicating death, and sprouting, indicating birth. In fact, one of the most significant offenses in ancient Mayan society was the maltreatment of maize which resulted in “loss of the soul” or even death (pre-Colombian civilization…). “From its Mesoamerican beginnings to the present, corn has been a symbol of life itself” (pre-Colombian civilization…). In the Wooden People myth from the Popol Vuh, the maize god, Ah Mun, “is central to the birth of the sun and the dawning of the world of the Maya where the first humans were shaped out of… the maize and blood dough (pre-Colombian civilization…). Because corn symbolized life, it’s only natural for the Maya’s creation myth to include corn in the creation of man.
Mayan priests never considered astronomy or astrology different from each other, and therefore used the calendar to predict when disasters would occur, the best time to perform rituals, and when to offer sacrifices. One of their most famous calendars was the Long Count, which will be completed on December 23, 2012 (Alles). Both Mayan astrologers and even some people today think that day will be the End of the World. Very similar to today’s calendars, the Mayan calendar was based on "rounds" of different days of the week in the year (astronomy, Maya). One round had combined twenty names with thirteen numbers for 260 days. Another pattern had eighteen "months" containing twenty days, with five more on the end, for an amount of 365 days. “The two patterns ran at the same time. Once every 52 years, the first dates in each of the two rounds would “coincide”” (astronomy, Maya). A "calendar round" is what Scholars 4 called that 52-year period. To the Mayans, “…eclipses were seen as the biting of the Sun and the Moon” (astronomy, Maya). The lunar eclipses were believed to be less dangerous than the solar. The knowledge of knowing when lunar and solar eclipses would occur was very important to the
Maya, it allowed them to perform rituals to avoid potential danger. Venus was observed as the most important of the planets, and was charted to enhance their ability to tell time. Like the jaguar, Venus is considered to be associated with war. “The Mayan rulers prepared for wars, expecting them on the days when Venus rose for the first time in its inferior or superior conjunction” (astronomy, Maya). Despite the Maya’s advanced knowledge in science and mathematics, they still show their obsession with death and destruction. Even in their creation myth, the manikins were dismembered and destroyed in the end. This myth is clearly molded by the culture of the ancient Mayans. Their whole culture revolved around violence and destruction. So naturally their creation story would reflect their violent culture, illustrating the destruction of mankind, rather than the flourishing of mankind. The Mayan people revered the jaguar as a god of war, unsurprisingly it showed up in the creation story as a punisher and destroyer of the manikin people. The next attempt by the gods at making competent humans was to make them out of the mixture of corn and blood. The use of corn to make life makes sense since essentially, corn was equivalent to life to the Maya. Clearly this creation story is representative of the their culture, as are all creation stories.

Works Cited
Alles, Gregory D., and Robert S. Ellwood. "Maya religion." Encyclopedia of World Religions: Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc.Web.11 Nov. 2009. .
Bunson, Margaret R., and Stephen M. Bunson. "jaguar in Mesoamerican culture." Encyclopedia of Ancient Mesoamerica. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1996. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 09 Nov. 2009. .
Foster, Lynn V. "Ah Mun." Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 09 Nov. 2009.
Foster, Lynn V. "astronomy, Maya." Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. .
Foster, Lynn V. "Mayans and their neighbors." A Brief History of Central America, Brief History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Modern World History Online, Facts On File, Inc. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. .
Foster, Lynn V. "pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico." A Brief History of Mexico, Brief History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Modern World History Online, Facts On File, Inc.Web.11 Nov. 2009. .
Saunders, Nicholas J., and James Graham-Campbell "Predators of culture: Jaguar symbolism and Mesoamerican elites." World Archaeology 26.1 (1994): 104-117. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. .

Cited: Alles, Gregory D., and Robert S. Ellwood. "Maya religion." Encyclopedia of World Religions: Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc.Web.11 Nov. 2009. . Bunson, Margaret R., and Stephen M. Bunson. "jaguar in Mesoamerican culture." Encyclopedia of Ancient Mesoamerica. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1996. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 09 Nov. 2009. . Foster, Lynn V. "Ah Mun." Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 09 Nov. 2009. Foster, Lynn V. "astronomy, Maya." Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. . Foster, Lynn V. "Mayans and their neighbors." A Brief History of Central America, Brief History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Modern World History Online, Facts On File, Inc. Web. 10 Nov. 2009. . Foster, Lynn V. "pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico." A Brief History of Mexico, Brief History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Modern World History Online, Facts On File, Inc.Web.11 Nov. 2009. . Saunders, Nicholas J., and James Graham-Campbell "Predators of culture: Jaguar symbolism and Mesoamerican elites." World Archaeology 26.1 (1994): 104-117. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. .