The Origins of the Mayans
Before Earth began,
there were two gods, Tepeu the maker and Gucumatz the feathered spirit. These
two gods came together to create Earth. Everything they thought of and dreamed
of became real resulting in mountains, valleys, trees, water and the sky. Once
the Earth was created, the gods wanted to create creatures to watch their
creation and can worship them. Animals were then created, but the animals were
only able to roar, chirp, howl, and moan. They tried and tried, but were unable
to worship the gods so the gods ordered them to stop. The gods decided to try
again. Their goal was to create an intelligent being that were capable of worshiping
them. In their first creation, they used
wet clay, but when the first man talked, he fell apart. Next, they used wood,
it was successful at first. The new beings were much stronger. They were able
to move, talk, and reproduce. However, their words were meaningless and hearts
were empty. They did not remember their
creators and did not worship them so the gods were unsatisfied so they sent a
flood down to wipe them out. The animals were commanded to destroy the
survivors and the rest who survived ran to the woods and became monkeys. The
gods left them to be an example to the next beings. In their next creation, the
gods were having a difficult time finding a material that would succeed until
the animals brought white corn. The gods smashed the white corn and it was a
success. The new humans were able to see everything and understand it. The gods
did not want the new men to see more than them so they took some of their
vision away so the humans were unable to see their gods and were only able to
see the things that were close to them. Their understanding of Earth was
decreased, but the people would continue to worship them. The gods created four
more women for the four men they created who then became the ancestors of the
Quiche people.
"Mayan Creation Myth." YouTube. Web. 23 Jan. 2015
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