72 pages • 2 hours read
AnonymousPopol Vuh
Nonfiction | Scripture | Adult | Published in 1554A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
PreambleChapter Summaries & Analyses
“The Creation of the Mud People” Summary
The authors of Popol Vuh state that the following pages consist of the origin stories of the Quiché people, otherwise known as the Maya population prior to the Spanish conquest of Latin America. The original authors “hide their faces” (36) to elide persecution from the Spanish for attempting to preserve Quiché stories and traditions in the Popol Vuh. The Popol Vuh is written “under the law of God and Christianity” (55), which places the book at the time of Spanish conquest and Christian missionary presence. The translator of this edition of Popol Vuh, Allen J. Christenson states that despite this note, few Christian and Spanish-derived words appear in the book, suggesting that the original authors attempted to preserve as much pre-Columbian cosmology and history as possible.
In Popol Vuh, there are three pairs of deities who go by various names throughout the text, and who are responsible for shaping the world: the Framer and the Shaper, Sovereign and Quetzal Serpent, and Xpiyacoc and Xmucane. These deities plan the creation of the world by first measuring four sides and four corners of the earth and sky, then placing stakes in the ground to mark their boundaries. Their efforts are overseen by Heart of Sky, otherwise known as Huracan.
“The Primordial World” Summary
At the beginning of the world’s creation, there is only the sky. The earth has not been made yet so there are no distinct natural features. It is incredibly still. There, the Framer and the Shaper, Sovereign and Quetzal Serpent, and Xpiyacoc and Xmucane are alone in the water wrapped in the feathers of colorful birds, the quetzal and the cotinga. The principle god, Heart of Sky, presides over these deities, and guide them towards creation.
“The Creation of the Earth” Summary
Heart of Sky is comprised of the three deities possessing the powers of thunder, wind, and sky: Thunderbolt Huracan, Youngest Thunderbolt, and Sudden Thunderbolt. They come together with Sovereign and Quetzal Serpent to decide how to create “light and life” (60). They discuss the arrangement of the world and ask questions such as “How shall it be sown?” (61). Finally, they come to an agreement. They say the word, “Earth” (61), and immediately, a mist appears to create the earth. They do the same with the mountains and forests, conjuring their appearance by uttering their names. Then the waterways are created and divided so that they pass through the mountains. The gods decide that they would create humans to worship the world they have created.
“The Creation of the Animals” Summary
After the creation of the mountains, forests, and waterways, He Who Has Begotten Sons and She Who Has Borne Children (also known asXpiyacoc and Xmucane, respectively) suggest that there be guardians for these parts of the world. Thus, it is agreed that the gods should create animals. He Who Has Begotten Sons and She Who Has Borne Children decide to create the deer who would live along the rivers, canyons, meadows, orchards, and forests. They also decide that the deer should have four legs to stand on. Then they create the birds and house them atop trees and bushes. There are also jaguars, pumas, serpents, rattlesnakes, and pit vipers. The animals would preside over the created world and take care of the earth.
“The Fall of the Animals” Summary
The Framer and the Shaper order the animals they create to talk to each other. They demand, “Speak therefore our names. Worship us, for we are your Mother and your Father” (64). They want the animals to speak words of worship so that their statuses as their creators can be revered. However, the speech of the animals cannot not be understood as “[t]hey did not speak like people” (65). The deities warn the animals that if they do not vocally express worship, they will be replaced. They threaten to create humans who would take over the animals’ homes and eat them. With this threat, they order the animals to speak again. Once more, the animals cannot not produce human speech. The deities decide to proceed with their punishment, which is to relegate animals to the status of food for humans.
“The Creation of the Mud Person” Summary
The Framer and the Shaper decide to try again to make “a provider, a sustainer” (66) for them, creatures who would worship them through human speech. They decide to make these creatures out of mud but are unsuccessful. The mud crumbles and the creature’s form does not hold. The mud person can speak but their speech is emptied of knowledge. They decide to undo their mud creations since it is not successful. Unsure of how to proceed, they agree to call upon Xpiyacoc and Xmucane to help with a “divination” (68), or shaping of a new mud person.
Preamble Analysis
Christenson explains that it is difficult to determine the exact number of deities mentioned in the Popol Vuh, as some may simply be alternative names for the same deities. However, the three pairs that he determines as chief figures in creation under the instruction of Heart of Sky (also known as Huracan) are Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, the Framer and the Shaper, and Sovereign and Quetzal Serpent.
In “The Primordial World,” Quetzal Serpent, a hybrid deity, represents creatures of air and earth. His presence also refers to the duality of worlds, the sky above and the earth below. The combination of deities under the form of Quetzal Serpent is both a symbolic and literal interpretation of the primordial world, where only the sky and the earth existed. As in other instances throughout Popol Vuh where it is difficult to distinguish single deities from other forms, the mention of Quetzal Serpent in this section seems to refer to both the individual god as well as the merged form of the Framer and the Shaper, Sovereign and Quetzal Serpent, and Xpiyacoc and Xmucane. The merge occurs when quetzal and cotinga feathers wrap around the three pairs of deities.
“The Creation of the Earth” demonstrates the power of language and imagination to bring forth creation of the world. In the making of the earth, the act of naming coincides with creation. The emphasis on naming as making indicates the importance of language to the Quiché. The significance of language is also apparent in “The Creation of the Mud Person,” where the absence of knowledge among the first people is a serious slight to the gods. Among the mud person’s absence of knowledge, the mud person lacks the ability to produce intelligible speech, which suggests that an ignorant person is an incomplete human. The deities’ disposal of the mud person after this revelation suggests that knowledge, in addition to use of language, are important joint values in Quiché society.
The reference to “divination” (68) in “The Creation of the Mud Person” also demonstrates a parallel between creation of the world to the planning and cultivation of maize. The initial framing of the world designates four sides and corners in the same way that a maize field requires such planning and measurement. In this section, the creation of the world and cultivation of the land relates back to a divinatory practice. Christenson explains that in Quiché tradition, there is the Q'ijixik, a divinatory ceremony where grains of maize are cast and interpreted. Thus, when the creation of the first people fails, it makes sense that the Framer and Shaper would call upon Xpiyacoc and Xmucane for their divinatory powers to help make better people. The desire to create a person who would be “a provider, a sustainer” (68) of the land as well asof the deities demonstratesa connection between cultivation of the land, divination, and worship.
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