English
According to Quiche Maya, what is called as Guatemala today, claims Popol Vuh to be the story of God’s creation. Having been translated into various language and with various titles, the book is popularly known as the ‘Mayan Bible.’ This book is many centuries old and it comprises of the numerous myths of the Quiche Maya. The book, which is divided into four parts, together narrate the story of life, the victory of death over the celestial twin heroes, the numerous efforts made by Gods in creating human beings, and the eventual success of Gods in creating human beings, as believed by the Mayans. It is precisely the part IV of the book that deals with the creation of human beings. According to this section of the book, God created the first human beings from maize and initially four men were created by God, who were extremely good people with a handsome appearance. The first human beings that God created were so perfect that their knowledge grew boundless and this became an issue of concern for Gods and they realized that it is not a good thing for humans to have similar powers and knowledge like their creators. In order to differentiate human beings from their creators, Gods introduced the concept of morality and conferred that even human beings could become great like Gods, but for it to happen, humans should procreate, proliferate at the sowing and the dawn, regardless of the fact that they grow beyond all human powers. Once having barred the human vision, Gods introduced wives with whom men were happy. They lived happily together and were satisfied with themselves having children, doing agriculture and farming, and by appreciating the plethora of good things that God has bestowed them with in their lives. The book finally ends with Quiche migration and their lineage.
Works Cited
Tedlock, Dennis. "And here is the Beginning of the Conception of the Humans." Tedlock, Dennis. Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life. 1996. 145-198.
