The Creation of the Maya

This post is by Tyson Wine

MAYAN STORIES

I will be posting a few blogs on the Mayans, although I do not intend on considering all of these blogs to count for my entire credit.

I returned from the Yucatan Peninsula three days before the quarter started, so I'm still twitterpated by the amazing ruins I visited and the stories I've heard and read. Although the Mayas were highly advanced, they were also very connected with the Earth. Their understanding of the cosmos is nearly unmatched, but few realize that this understanding comes from a necessity to understand a delicate growing season for maize!

The stories below are from a National Geographic Collector's Edition called "mysteries of the Maya: the rise, glory and collapse of an ancient civilization." This edition should be displayed until the 3rd of November, and I hope anyone interested in this amazing culture finds a copy!

THE MAYA CREATION STORY:

In the Mayan creation myth, two brothers who were exceedingly skilled at the Mayan ballgame made too much noise for the gods and ended up getting defeated at the ballgame, sacrificed, and buried under the court. All except one brother's head, which was hung on a tree to await the young goddess Xquic. Hun Hunahpu, the brother (or at least his head) spat into the hand of Xquic and impregnated her with the brothers who became known as the "Hero Twins." For some reason, maybe their increasing skill at the ballgame of their stubborn refusal to die, the gods defeated them once again, this time to grind them up and throw them into the river. Of course our heroes were not so easily killed, and they returned as fish and again later as performers.

The gods resided in the underworld, known as Xibalba, which actually refers to underground caves, but is translated as "the Place of Fright." Much of the Mayan territory, including the Yucatan Peninsula, is completely flat, allowing for no rivers or lakes above the surface. The water permeates down to form underwater rivers and pools, known commonly as "cenotes" but cenote can refer to any cave, regardless of whether it contains water. While in these stories, the dark forces of nature live in these caves, they are also highly regarded due to the fact that they are the only source in much of the northern Mayan world to get fresh water. Many of these cenotes later held special purposes, including some for sacrificial purposes (such as the famous one at Chichen Itza), but they were highly respected and necessary for the survival of this culture.

Because they're awesome and extremely refreshing in the humid jungles of Yucatan and Quintana Roo, I have joyfully included a photo of a cenote. This portal to the underworld was quite refreshing, albeit it was in the middle of the city of Valladolid. This is called Cenote Zaci, and it truly feels magical and spiritual. This photo is by Julie Creagor, my travelling companion, Anthropology major at Western.

To continue with the story, the twins went to Xibalba and showed the gods an impressive trick in which Xbalanque cut off his brother's head, but quickly put Hunahpu back together, impressing the gods wildly. The brothers offered to do this for the gods as well. The gods all got their turn at getting killed and beheaded by the brothers, but the brothers failed to put them back together ...

This story is shows the necessity of balance. As NGM puts it, "with good thus triumphing over evil, the Earth was now ready for the creation of human beings." The brothers became the sun and the moon as gifts for the Mayans, showing daily their path into the underworld and their return the following day as a reminder of their success! The balance of night and day, of good and bad, seems to be a theme of many indigenous cultures. I can't help but see this among many indigenous cultures. What's more, this story shows that strength and power do not always triumph over evil - you need to be clever an quick-witted, which the Maya may have understood to a greater degree than many cultures. Not they they didn't make mistakes (I'll tell a story about environmental degradation later...) but it appears that the strength of their culture and the vast, advanced culture that they developed was due to their wit much more than having been given much in the way of natural resources or ideal climate.

The above drawing of the brothers' trick by John Jude Palencar. For more drawings and some amazing photos of many Mayan ruins, visit National Geographic Special Maya Issue Online. Discovered at San Bartolo, Guatemala, this painting is the oldest known painting of the Mayas, radiocarbon dated at 100 BC. This painting is of the creation story and the Maize God who became king. For a brief bit on this painting go to The Iran Daily. There is also a larger portion of this painting copied and pieced together using a flatbed scanner!!! To see this, go to National Geographic Special Maya Issue Online.
Lastly, the Mayans believed themselves to have emerged from the ground itself in the form of the maize god, as god and king were one. Although the Mayans ate corn due to its nutrition content and starchiness, it had a spiritual significance to them as well since it appeared to have similarities to themselves. The new stalks sprouting from the ground was similar to themselves coming from the ground; cutting the grown stalks humbled them with the awareness that all life must die in the life cycle.

This post is getting long, but I'll post another explaining some of the TEK that may be the reason the Mayans became one of the most advanced ancient civilizations. You'd be surprised to know that it's all about corn!

This post is by Tyson Wine

Source: National Geographic Staff. "Rediscovering the Maya" and "The Birth of Kings." National Geographic. p. 16 to 45. 2008. For more info visit NGM online.