Response to Popol Vuh

The Popol Vuh, in a way, represents everything I believe. But also, it speaks of stories and characters that I know cannot be true. I relate to this story because it is quite similar to the story of creation from Genesis that I was taught from the Bible. And also the story tells of things that I firmly believe in, but may be entirely fictional. For example, Chapters 1-5 speak of several gods, one for each different aspect of creation it seems. Christianity has always taught that there is only one god, and that to honor any other god is a sin. Hmm.

Fortunately, most everyone can relate to the creation story because it speaks of humans, which is what we are. All humans have ancestors and might even share some many of the first ancestors; so in this way, the story is relatable to most anyone or anything that breathes.

Yes, I was taught that God (the Creator) made the heavens and earth, the animals, sky, sea, land, and humans. God took dust from the earth to make Adam, the first man, and took a rib from Adam to make his female companion, Eve. The Popol Vuh speaks of an entirely different story. I find it amusing that in this account of creation, the Creator had a "trial, an attempt at man." And there was also a flood in which the Creator wiped out the sinner just as their was in Genesis.

So that;s enough of me making observations from the Popol Vuh. I wanted to say that reading this has broadened my mind to different takes on the creation story, let alone religion. I respect these beliefs because religion is often the foundation for which many communities, such as the Mayans or Aztecs stick together. In addition, I find it refreshing to see cultures passionate about their beliefs; however, I start to get confused when there are so many gods for different purposes.

I did enjoy how epic the stories were. It is surprising how often murder occurs thousands of years ago. It's as normal as can be. And I did like the reference to the humans looking like monkeys. Was this a nod to the topic of evolution or are they even related?

These chapters make for very good reading, but are hard to take seriously because they are definitely fictional.