MESOAMERICAN COSMOGONY Lecture 30 Mayan Popol Vuh Council

MESOAMERICAN COSMOGONY (Lecture 30)

Mayan Popol Vuh (Council Book) Nahuatl/Aztec Leyenda de los Soles

Mayan Cosmogony/Anthropogony : 3 Failures Before Success STAGES DETAILS Plumed Serpent (= Gucumatz = Heart of Earth) inhabits primal waters Heart of Sky Hurucan (= Heart of Sky) = Thunderbolt Hurricane, Newborn Thunderbolt, Sudden Thunderbolt Plumed Serpent + Heart of Sky earth created by power of word animals of forests, animals of mountains assigned habitats and habits humans 1 mud creature [consultation with Xpiyacoc and Xmucane] humans 2 wood people humans 3 maize people

• creation of beings runs through three failed stages before success • ideal being must speak, recognize its makers, and praise them • animals cannot speak • mud creature cannot speak, think, move, reproduce • wood creatures are dry, thoughtless, arrogant, abusive • human ancestors created from maize

Human vs. Animal HUMAN ANIMAL speech noise + praise - praise city wilderness eater eaten

Mud Being vs. Wood Being MUD WOOD - speech + speech - awareness immobile sexless gendered sterile fertile wet dry

Mud vs. Wood vs. Maize MUD WOOD MAIZE - speech + speech - awareness + awareness immobile sexless gendered sterile fertile wet dry ___________ - blood - fat - lymph - sweat wet ___________ + blood + fat + lymph + sweat empty full - memory + memory - nourishing + nourishing abusive respectful