Popul Vuh Analysis

The Popul Vuh is a myth or story describing the process of the earth and all of its inhabitants being created according to what the Mayans believe. Throughout this passage there are a few questions historians can ask and many are answered, including: What are some important aspects of Mayan culture and what items do they cherish? What is the purpose for writing this material? Who was this story intended for? Just as all other writings, this story has some bias to address before breaking down the material. One example is that the entire passage is strictly based on what the Mayan are familiar with and does not extend much past their environment. Meaning they speak specifically about the animals and plants they know and give them much

This story helps to fill the emptiness of uncertainty, because for many it is much easier to believe in something someone tells you than to question life and get the answers for yourself. It is can be settling to have someone tell you all the answers to all your questions, if they have already ventured the spirituality of this world and have made conclusions that you can align with then it makes your life much easier. It gives everyone one less thing to worry about. It also helps to establish reasons for many of the Mayan actions like sacrifices. It consolidates the purpose for killing people because there is a great power that created the world that wants the Mayans worship. One can see the Mayan’s gods need for human worship here “Name our names, praise us. We are your mother, we are your father,” This is from a part of the story when the gods try to make humans to worship and speak to them, but they fail and create animals unable of worship, which upsets

This writing shows that the Mayans did in fact believe in gods, as stated earlier. Through the text there is mention of many different gods with all kinds of unique duties and features. Many of these gods can be seen in this quote “Only the Maker, Modeler alone, Sovereign Plumed Serpent, the Bearers, Begetters are in the water, a glittering light. They are there, they are enclosed in quetzal feathers, in blue-green.” These god like beings named in the previous excerpt seemed to be alone in an empty world with only water and sky as shown here “Only the sea alone is pooled under all the sky; there is nothing whatever gathered together. It is at rest; not a single thing stirs. It is held back, kept at rest under the sky” The passage goes on to show many ways of how these beings start to shape the earth and create life as well as introduce more higher beings who also help to create things of the earth like they are