And Here Is The Beginning Of The Conception Of Humans

And Here Is The Beginning Of The Conception 0fhumans And Of The Searc

And Here Is The Beginning Of The Conception 0fhumans And Of The Searc And Here Is The Beginning Of The Conception 0fhumans And Of The Searc AND HERE IS THE BEGINNING OF THE CONCEPTION 0F HUMANS, and of the search for the ingredients of the human body. So they spoke, the Bearer, Begetter, the Makers, Modelers named Sovereign Plumed Serpent: "The dawn has approached, preparations have been made, and morning has come for the provider, nurturer, born in the light, begotten in the light. Morning has come for humankind for the people of the face of the earth," they said. It all came together as they went on thinking in the darkness, in the night, as they searched and they sifted, they thought and they wondered. And here their thoughts came out in clear light.

They sought and discovered what was needed for human flesh. It was only a short while before the sun, moon, and stars were to appear above the Makers and Modelers. Broken Place, Bitter Water Place is the name: the yellow corn, white com came from there. And these are the names of the animals who brought the food: fox, coyote, parrot, crow. There were four animals who brought the news of the ears of yellow corn and white corn.

They were coming from over there at Broken Place, they showed the way to the break. And this was when they found the staple foods. And these were the ingredients for the flesh of the human work, the human design, and the water was for the blood. It became human blood, and corn was also used by the Bearer, Begetter. And so they were happy over the provisions of the good mountain, filled with sweet things, thick with yellow corn, white corn, and thick with pataxte and cacao, countless zapotes, anonas, jocotes, nances, matasanos, sweets--the rich foods filling up the citadel named Broken Place, Bitter Water Place.

All the edible fruits were there: small staples, great staples, small plants, great plants. The way was shown by the animals. and then the yellow corn and white corn were ground, and Xmucane did the grinding nine times. Corn was used, along with the water she rinsed her hands with, for the creation of grease; it became human fat when it was worked by the Bearer, Begetter, Sovereign Plumed Serpent, as they are called. After that, they put it into words: the making, the modeling of our first mother-father, with yellow corn, white corn alone for the flesh, food alone for the human legs and arms, for our first fathers, the four human works. It was staples alone that made up their flesh.

THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE FIRST PEOPLE WHO WERE MADE AND MODELED. This is the first person: Jaguar Quitze. And now the second: Jaguar Night. And now the third: Mahucutah. And the fourth: True Jaguar. And these are the names of our first mother-fathers. They were simply made and modeled, it is said; they had no mother and no father. We have named the men by themselves. No woman gave birth to them, nor were they begotten by the builder, sculptor, Bearer, Begetter. By sacrifice alone, by genius alone they were made, they were modeled by the Maker, Mod- eler, Bearer, Begetter, Sovereign Plumed Serpent.

And when they came to fruition, they came out human: They talked and they made words. They looked and they listened. They walked, they worked. They were good people, handsome, with looks of the male kind. Thoughts came into existence and they gazed; their vision came all at once.

Perfectly they saw, perfectly they knew every- thing under the sky, whenever they looked. The moment they turned around and looked around in the sky, on the earth, everything was seen without any obstruction. They didn't have to walk around before they could see what was under the sky; they just stayed where they were. As they looked, their knowledge became intense. Their sight passed through trees, through rocks, through lakes, through seas, through mountains, through plains.

Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar were truly gifted people. And then they were asked by the builder and mason: "What do you know about your being? Don't you look, don't you listen? Isn't your speech good, and your walk? So you must look, to see out under the sky. Don't you see the mountain-plain clearly? So try it," they were told. And then they saw everything under the sky perfectly. After that, they thanked the Maker, Modeler: "Truly now, double thanks, triple thanks that we've been formed, we've been given our mouths, our faces, we speak, we listen, we wonder, we move, our knowledge is good, we've understood what is far and near, and we've seen what is great and small under the sky, on the earth. Thanks to you we've been formed, we've come to be made and modeled, our grandmother, our grandfather," They said when they gave thanks for having been made and mod- eled.

They understood everything perfectly, they sighted the four sides, the four corners in the sky, on the earth, and this didn't sound good to the builder and sculptor: "What our works and designs have said is no good: 'We have understood everything, great and small,' they say." And so the Bearer, Begetter took back their knowledge: "What should we do with them now? Their vision should at least reach nearby, they should see at least a small part of the face of the earth, but what they're saying isn't good. Aren't they merely 'works' and 'designs' in their very names? Yet they'll be- come as great as gods, unless they procreate, proliferate at the sowing, the dawning, unless they increase." "Let it be this way: now we'll take them apart just a little, that's what we need. What we've found out isn't good, Their deeds would become as great as ours, just because their knowledge reaches so far. They see everything," so said the Heart of Sky, Hurricane, Newborn Thunderbolt, Raw Thunderbolt, Sovereign Plumed Serpent, Bearer, Begetter, Xpiyacoc, Xmucane, Maker, Modeler, as they are called. And when they changed the nature of their works, their designs, it was enough that the eyes be marred by the Heart of Sky. They were blinded as the face of a mirror is breathed upon. Their eyes were weakened.

Now it was only when they looked nearby that things were clear. And such was the loss of the means of understanding, along with the means of knowing everything, by the four humans. The root was implanted. And such was the making, modeling of our first grandfather, our father, by the Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth. AND THEN THEIR WIVES AND WOMEN CAME INTO BEING.

Again, the same gods thought of it. It was as if they were asleep when they received them, truly beautiful women were there with Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar. With their women there they became wider awake. Right away they were happy at heart again, because of their wives. Celebrated Seahouse is the name of the wife of Jaguar Quitze. Prawn House is the name of the wife of Jaguar Night. Hummingbird House is the name of the wife of Mahucutah. Macaw House is the name of the wife of True Jaguar. So these are the names of their wives, who became ladies of rank, giving birth to the people of the tribes, small and great. AND THIS IS OUR ROOT, WE WHO ARE THE QUICHE PEOPLE.

And there came to be a crowd of penitents and sacri- ficers. It wasn't only four who came into being then, but there Were four mothers for us, the Quiche people. There were differ- ent names for each qf the peoples when they multiplied, there in the east. Their names became numerous: Sovereign Oloman, Cohah, Quenech Ahau, as the names of the people who were There in the east are spoken. They multiplied, and it is known That the Tams and Ilocs began them.

They came from the same place, there in the east. Jaguar Quitze was the grandfather and father of the nine great' houses of the Cauecs. Jaguar Night was the grandfather and father of the nine great houses of the Greathouses. Mahucutah was the grandfather and father of the four great houses of the Lord Quiches. There were three separate lineages.

The names of the grand- fathers and fathers are not forgotten. These multiplied and flow- ered there in the east, but the Tams and Ilocs also came forth, along with thirteen allied tribes, thirteen principalities, includ- ing: The Rabinals, Cakchiquels, those of the Bird House. And the White Commeals. And also the Lamacs, Serpents, Sweatbath House, Talk House, those of the Star House. And those of the Quiba House, those of the Yokes House, Acul people, Jaguar House, Guardians of the Spoils, Jaguar Ropes. It is sufficient that we speak only of the largest tribes from among the allied tribes; we have only noted the largest. Many more came out afterward, each one a division of that citadel. We haven't written their names, but they multiplied there, from out of the east. There came to be many peoples in the blackness; they began to abound even before the birth of the sun and the light. When they began to abound they were all there together; they stood and walked in crowds, there in the east.

There was nothing they could offer for sustenance, but even so they lifted their faces to the sky. They didn't know where they were going. They did this for a long time, when they were there in the grasslands: black people, white people, people of many faces, people of many languages, uncertain, there at the edge of the sky. And there were mountain people. They didn't show their faces, they had no homes.

They just traveled the mountains, small and great. "It's as if they were crazy," they used to say. They derided the mountain people, it was said. There they watched for the sunrise, and for all the mountain people there was just one language. They did not yet pray to wood and stone.

These are the words with which they remembered the Maker, Modeler, Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth. It was said that these were enough to keep them mindful of what was in shadow and what was dawning. All they did was ask; they had reverent words. They were reverent, they were givers of praise, givers of respect, lifting their faces to the sky when they made requests for their daughters and sons: “Wait! thou Maker, thou Modeler, look at us, listen to us, don't let us fall, don't leave us aside, thou god in the sky, on the earth, Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth, give us our sign, our word, as long as there is day, as long as there is light. When it comes to the sowing, the dawning, will it be a greening road, a greening path?

Give us a steady light, a level place, a good light, a good place, a good life and beginning. Give us all of this, thou Hurricane, Newborn Thunderbolt, Raw Thunderbolt, Newborn Nanahuac, Raw Nanahuac, Falcon, Hunahpu, Sovereign Plumed Serpent, Bearer, Begetter, Xpiyacoc, Xmucane, Grandmother of Day, Grandmother of Light, when it comes to the sowing, the dawning," they said when they made their fasts and prayers, just watching intently for the dawn. There, too, they looked toward the east, watching closely for the daybringer, the great star at the birth of the sun, of the heat for what is under the sky, on the earth, the guide for the human work, the human design. They spoke, those who are Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Ma- hucutah, and True Jaguar: "We're still waiting for the dawning," they said, these great knowers, great thinkers, penitents, praisers, as they are called.

And there was nothing of wood and stone in the keeping of our: first mother-fathers, and they were weary at heart there, waiting for the sun. Already there were many of them, all the tribes, in- cluding the Yaqui people, all penitents and sacrificers. "Let's just go. We'll look and see whether there is something to keep as our sign. We'll find out what we should bum in front of it.

The way we are right now, we have nothing to keep as our own," said Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar. They got word of a citadel. They went there.

Paper For Above instruction

The Origin of Humanity and the Role of Divine Beings in Mesoamerican Creation Myths

The creation myth of the Mesoamerican peoples, especially among the Maya, presents a rich narrative of the origins of humans, divine interventions, and the foundational role of gods in shaping the universe and humanity. Central to this myth is the story of the conscious effort of divine beings to conceive and create human life from the elements of nature and spiritual forces, emphasizing the interconnectedness between the divine, the natural world, and human existence.

In the Maya conception, the beginning of humans is intricately linked to the divine figures, such as the Sovereign Plumed Serpent, Xpiyacoc, and Xmucane. These deities represent the active creators who, through thought, speech, and sacrifice, fashioned the first humans from elements like corn, water, and sacred substances. The myth underscores that humans did not emerge spontaneously but were modeled intentionally by divine craftsmen to fill a purpose within cosmic order. The animals that brought the staple foods, such as fox, coyote, parrot, and crow, symbolize the partnership between humans, animals, and gods, highlighting the collaborative nature of creation.

Furthermore, the narrative illustrates the importance of nourishment—corn, cacao, fruits, and other rich foods—as essential components in human formation, signifying the deep spiritual and physical connection between sustenance and life itself. The myth recounts that the first humans were crafted with deliberate care, and their senses—sight, speech, movement—were given to them to enable awareness and interaction with the world. The divine designers, like Xmucane, performed complex tasks such as grinding corn nine times to produce the flesh and fat necessary for human life, symbolizing the sacred labor involved in creation.

The myth also describes the divine beings’ concern over human knowledge and the danger of humans gaining too much awareness. The gods initially granted humans all-encompassing vision and understanding, which posed a threat to their divine status. To mitigate this, the gods diminished human sight, limiting it to nearby views, symbolizing the moderation of human understanding and the recognition of divine limits. This act signifies that human knowledge is ultimately bounded by divine will, emphasizing the hierarchical structure of divine and human realms in Mesoamerican cosmology.

The narrative accounts for the emergence of the first human ancestors—Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar—created without biological parents, symbolizing a divine act of modeling and sacrifice rather than natural birth. Their subsequent acquisition of consciousness, speech, and perception marks the beginning of human life and culture, illustrating the divine role in establishing civilization. These ancestors, endowed with perfect sight and knowledge, serve as the foundational figures for the Quiché and broader Mesoamerican peoples, their identities rooted in divine craftsmanship and sacred authority.

The story further emphasizes the importance of prayer, reverence, and supplication to the divine in seeking guidance and sustenance. The first humans, recognizing their dependence on divine forces, lift their faces to the sky, ask for signs, and pray for sustenance and enlightenment, reflecting the inseparable link between spiritual devotion and survival. Their longing for the dawn and the rising sun symbolizes hope, renewal, and the continuous divine-human relationship vital to sustaining life and cultural identity.

In conclusion, the Mesoamerican creation myth highlights the divine origin of humans, the collaborative efforts of gods and natural elements in human formation, and the importance of spiritual reverence. It underscores that humanity’s existence is a sacred act, rooted in divine sacrifice, craftsmanship, and cosmic order, offering profound insights into the worldview and cultural values of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations.

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