Genesis vs. the Popol Vuh
Genesis vs. the Popol Vuh Throughout history, a number of different cultures have developed their own versions to how the world began. Two to be compared are the Genesis account, found in the Bible and the Mayan creation story, known as the Popul Vuh (Book of the Community). From reading these accounts of creation, one can achieve a deeper understanding of the people that the story was written for, including their beliefs, values, and traditions. Not only that, the similarities between the two stories just seem to prove that overall, everything points to God, the Creator. In the book of Genesis, the creation story begins with a God, alone. There was nothing but him. When he wanted to make something, all he had to do was speak and it would be just as He said. He did this for seven days, creating certain things on certain days. After every day, God would say, “It is good”. On the sixth day, He created man and woman, in His image, to worship Him and give Him praise. He only gave them one rule, to not eat from the Tree of Good and Evil. It did not take long before man and woman (Adam and Eve) broke that rule. God punished them because they had sinned against Him. Many years later, His creation was still sinning and was not feeling bad about it. God decided to “start over”. He sent a terrible flood that wiped out everything, except one holy man, his family, and some animals. In the Popul Vuh, the story beings with Heart-of-Sky. There was not one bird, one fish, one mountain. There was no sound or movement. Just the sea, the sky, and Heart-of-Sky: alone. Heart-of-Sky thinks, “Who is there to speak my name? Who is there to praise me?” So then, he speaks only one word- Earth- and the earth rises like a mist. All he has to do is think of it, and it appears. He creates mountains and trees and says, “Our work is going well”. Heart-of-Sky creates animals and tells them to pray to him, but all they do is squawk and howl. They do not praise Heart-of-Sky. He tries again,