Analysis Mayan Creation Myth

The meaning of creation is to bring something into existence and a myth is a story usually about an event in history that is usually untrue. So, a creation myth is a story about how earth, humans, and other living things came into existence. The Maya creation myth has three different stories about creation. The stories include how beings were made and how they were also destroyed because the gods were unsatisfied with their creations.

The first Maya story is about the sky god Huracan, who created earth, but the sky was attached.

For there to be room on earth for anything living, there needed to be space. So, it is said that a tree was planted to create a livable space between the sky and earth. The Maya had said that while the tree rooted, the trunk continued to grow making space for humans, animals, and other vegetation. The Maya’s also believed that plants and animals existed before humans.

Humans were created next, because the gods were unhappy that there was nothing living to honor them and their creations. The gods had made three creations but destroyed two of them.

The gods first creation was said to be unproductive because they could not move. These people could speak but could not think. The gods first creation of people was made of mud. The mud people did not please the gods, so the gods destroyed them with a flood of water.

Next, were the men made from wood and the women made from tall grass-like plants.

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The problem with this creation of people were also that they did not honor the gods and the people had no souls. Another trait these people had were that if they died, they would rise three days later due to immortality. Now, when this type of creation was destroyed by boiling hot water, another story told is that the ones who survived supposedly became monkeys.

The last creation of people were human and what people know as modern-day humans. The gods made this creation from white and yellow maize dough and their own blood. When the gods created these people, they almost destroyed them for being too intelligent. The gods that these people could potentially threaten their authority by being this wise. So, the god Huracan stepped in and made the people less wise by clouding their heads. The gods chose not to destroy them after their heads became clouded.

The Maya creation myth can tell us that they gods were strict upon being worshipped, but the gods being strict is what shaped their civilization. The Maya civilization is shaped upon sacrifice and rituals to the gods. The gods wanted to be worshipped or praised with every creation they made. From their last creation to todays modern-day people the gods are praised more than they ever were before.