Popol Vuh #fa23worldlit.

 When I began reading I got a sense of mythology due to the pantheon of gods in the mesoamerican culture. Their capital Cumarcah in the Quiche which just means forest is interesting to me. Im glad I was able to learn about their language even if it is just a word here and there. Then we get into the excerpts they have translated and the analysis of them which is very helpful. I want to first talk about the metaphor of creation. The sowing and the dawning, I believe is a different perspective on the other metaphors of creation and I like it. I see it as the sowing is the baby being created in the womb and the dawning is the baby being born. I like this metaphor because it can correlate to a lot of other things as well. Another notable topic is the "pairs" of gods. Usually at from the mythological beings I know, aren't mentioned solely in pairs and I like this difference because it shows a more human side to these beings, allowing not only us, but the the ancient mayans to see that coming together whether its 2 people or a nation only makes us better. I like this because it instills humility in them. The framer and The shaper, they play two different roles as the gods of "creation" because things aren't created the same as we know and I like that they don't create life with some magical force it tells us that the framer creates by putting them together piece by piece, the same way we can do it. The Shaper creates by shaping things the same way humans can shape things, so these gods aren't just these omnipotent beings known for power, but also the way they relate to humans. They mention the creation of animals briefly before they then mention the downfall of these animals due to lack of intelligence, however they refer to the animals as the natural guardians of the Quiche. Then we get into the Flesh of the earth, mud. I thought this section was interesting as well because they make everything feel human. Although the earth is bigger than humans could ever comprehend they still give it a sense of humanity by giving it "flesh", and I think that view on the world is very unique.

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