The Wooden People.pdf

Reader's Guide ■ THE WOODEN PEOPLE: from the POPOL VuH Background Popol Vuh (p6'pal vu'), or The Book of Counsel, is the Quiche (ke·cha' ) Mayan book of creation . Called the Mayan Bible by poet Carlos Fuentes, the Popol Vuh is one of the most important sources of pre-Columbian myth in Central Am...

Reader's Guide ■ THE WOODEN PEOPLE: from the POPOL VuH Background Popol Vuh (p6'pal vu'), or The Book of Counsel, is the Quiche (ke·cha' ) Mayan book of creation . Called the Mayan Bible by poet Carlos Fuentes, the Popol Vuh is one of the most important sources of pre-Columbian myth in Central America. The Quiche Mayans settled in the highlands of Guatemala in about the ninth century A.D. Their great work, the Popol Vuh, tells the story of their origins and destiny. The Quiche Mayans believed that the Popol Vuh was a gift from the gods that could help people to see beyond the obvious and to become aware of mysteries and secrets that would otherwise be beyond the range of human insight _ The Quiche Mayan creation myth that follows , "The Wooden People," comes from the first part of the Popol Vuh. This episode is the third creation story in a sequence of four. At this ·point in the mythic cycle, the gods have failed in two attempts to create suitable human beings. The first two attempts resulted in the creation of the animal kingdom and a being made of mud that disintegrated almost as soon as it was formed. Now the gods have made beings out of a more substantial material: wood. These wooden people, or manikins, become the world's first people. Writer's Response " The Wooden People " includes an account of a devastating flood. Before you read this myth, write your ideas about why a flood might have been seen by early people as both a destructive and a creative force. In what ways can a flood be "cleansing"? Literary Focus A plot is the series of connected events that make up a story. The most suspenseful or exciting point in a plot is the climax. In the climax, something happens to resolve the story's central confl ict. Theclimax brings about a change in the situation presented in the story or results in a change in the main character or characters. As you read "The Wooden People," determine what the climax .of the story is. The Wooden People 17 THE WOODEN PEOPLE from the Popol Vuh A Quiche Mayan Myth translated by D ENN IS TEDLOCK l Pay s1ncial atteution to tlte beha.vior of the mauikitts-the IT wooden people. Ju wltat ways are they like t1s? This was the peopling of the Maker, Modeler2 who the face of the earth: gave them birth, gave them They came into being, heart. They became the first they multiplied. they had numerous people here on daughters, they had sons, the face of the earth. these manikins, woodcarvAgain there comes a huings. But there was nothing miliation, destruction, and in their hearts and nothing demolitlon. The manikins. in their minds, no memory woodcarvings were killed of their mason and builder. when the Heart of Sky deThey just went and walked vised a flood for them. A wherever they wanted. great flood was made: it Now they did not rememcame down on the heads of ber the Heart of Sky .1 the manikins, woodcarvAnd so they fell. just an ings. experiment and just a cutThe man's body was Mayan statuette. out for humankind. They carved from the wood of the lnsdtuto Noaonol de Anrro{JOlogio e H1stona were talking at first but coral tree by the Maker, their faces were dry. They were not yet develModeler. And as for the woman, the Maker, oped in the legs and arms. They had no blood. Modeler needed the pith of reeds for the no lymph. They had no sweat, no fat. Their woman's body. They were not competent, complexions were dry, their faces were nor did they speak before the builder and crusty. They flailed their legs and arms, their sculptor who made them and brought them bodies were deformed. forth, and so they were killed. done in by a flood: And so they accomplished nothing before I. Heart of Sky: the father god of the Quiche Mayans. 18 World Myths and Folktales 2. Maker, Modeler: the Quiche Mayan god of creation. There came a rain of resin from the sky. There came the one named Gouger of Faces: he gouged out their eyeballs. There came Sudden Bloodletter: he snapped off their heads. There came Crunching Jaguar: he ate their flesh. There came Tearing Jaguar: he tore them open. They were pounded down to the bones and tendons. smashed and pulverized even to the bones. Their faces were smashed because they were incompetent before their mother and their father. the Heart of Sky, named Hurricane. The earth was blackened because of this: the black rainstorm began. rain all day and rain all night. Into their houses came the animals. small and great. Their faces were crushed by things of wood and stone. Everything spoke: their water jars. their tortilla griddles. their plates. their cooking pots. their dogs. their grinding stones. each and every thing crushed their faces. Their dogs and turkeys told them: "You caused us pain. you ate us. but now it is you whom we shall eat." And this is the grinding stone: "We were undone because of you. Every day. every day. in the dark. in the dawn. forever. , r-r-rip. r-r-rip. r-r-rub. r-r-rub. right in our faces. because of you. This was the service we gave you at first. when you were still people. but today you will learn of our power. We shall pound and we shall grind your flesh," their grinding stones told them. And this is what their dogs said. when they spoke in their turn: "Why is it you can't seem to give us our food? We just watch and you just keep us down. and you throw us around. You keep a stick ready when you eat. just so you can hit us. We don't talk. so we've received nothing from you. How could you not have known? You did know that we were wasting away there. behind you. • "So. this very day you will taste the teeth in our mouths. We shall eat you," their dogs told them. and their faces were crushed. And then their tortilla griddles and cooking pots spoke to them in turn: The Wooden People - 19 "Pain! That's all you've done for us. Our mouths are sooty, our faces are sooty. By setting us on the fi.re all the time, you burn us. Since we felt no pain, you try i t. We shall burn you," all their cooking pots said, crushing their faces. The stones, their hearthstones were shooting out, coming right out of the fire. going for their heads, causing them pain. Now they run for it. helter-skelter. They want to climb up on the houses, but they fall as the houses collapse. They want to climb the trees; they're thrown off by the trees. They want to get inside caves. but the caves slam shut in their faces. Such was the scattering of the human work, the human design. The people were ground down, overthrown. The mouths and faces of all of them were destroyed and crushed. And it used to be said that the monkeys in the forests today are a sign of this. They were left as a sign because wood alone was used for their flesh by the builder and sculptor. .-11111 First Thoughts What is the most exciting or dramatic part of this myth to you? Identifying Facts 1. Describe the wooden people . In what ways are they just a "cutout," or preliminary design, for human beings? In what ways are they like us? 2. Why does the god Heart of Sky punish the wooden people? How does he punish them? 3. What origin does th is myth explain? 20 World Myths and Folktales THE BONAMPOK FRESCO CYCLE, Mayan. I:\ Whot non- human objects come to life in V this myth? What do they do to the people? So this is why monkeys look like people: they are a sign of a previous human work, human design-mere manikins, mere woodcarvings. Interpreting Meanings 1. What do you consider the climax, or point of greatest suspense, in this story? Does the climax occur in a brief moment, or does it take up a longer portion of the story? Explain. 2. The word competent means "having the right qualities or abilities to fu lfill a function." In what way were the wooden people " not competent"-that is, unable to act as the Mayan gods expected? 3. The gods in the Popol Vuh tried to create humans th ree t imes, and three times they fai led. What does this tell you about the way the Quiche Mayans viewed their gods? Applying Meanings How do the wooden people fail the gods? How might th is myth have served to teach the Qu iche Mayan people proper behavior? Creative Writing Response Narrating a Series of Events. One of the most amazing incidents in this myth is the revenge of the pots, pans, and tortilla griddles against the wooden people. Write a one- or two-paragraph narrative in which you describe an inanimate object or objects coming to life and interacting with people . For example, what might your television say about your viewing habits? Tel l what happens, where it happens, when it happens, and who is involved. Include vivid imagery to bring the fantastic situation to life for your readers. What is the climax of your narrative? Language and Vocabulary Imagery Imagery is language that appeals to the senses. Most images in literature are visual-that is, they create pictures in the reader's mind by appealing to the sense of sight. But imagery can also appea l to the senses of hearing, touch, taste, or smell. In fact, an effective image may appeal to several senses at once. Dennis Tedlock' s translation of the Popol Vuh is ful l of powerful imagery. Reread these passages from ''The Wooden People." Then make a list of which sense each passage appeals to: sight, hearing, taste, touch , smell , or a combination of several. 1. "They were talking at first but their faces were dry. They were not yet developed in the legs and arms. They had no blood , no lymph. They had no sweat, no fat. Their complexions were dry, their faces were crusty." 2 . "They were pounded down to the bones and tendons, smashed and pulverized even to the bones." 3. "The earth was blackened b_ecause of this; the black rainstorm began, rain all day and rain all night." 4. "Everything spoke: their water jars, their tortilla griddles, their plates. their cooking pots, their dogs, their grinding stones, each and every th ing crushed tt1eir faces." 5. " 'Our mouths are sooty, our faces are sooty. By setting us on the fire al l the time, you burn us.' " Find other examples of imagery in this myth. How would you describe the overall effect of the imagery? The Wooden People 21