Biblical Creation and Popol Vuh Creation Myths - Research Paper Example

A Comparison between Biblical Creation and Popol Vuh Creation Myth Life is full of mysterious phenomena that cannot be measured or explained scientifically. One such phenomenon is how the world was formed. Many scholars and scientists have brought forth theories, with little or no evidences to back them up, but still their explanations have left us with more questions than answers. Different cultures around the world have adopted beliefs to explain this mysterious aspect of our lives, but one common thing among them is that a superior being/beings is responsible for the creation of the universe. Two common myths are Popol Vuh- the Mayan creation story and the Biblical account of creation found in the book of Genesis. Mayan’s creation myth is enshrined in the Popol Vuh. In this story, the gods created animals and other creatures to praise them. However, the gods realized that animals and creatures could not do anything of value apart from eating. They decided to make a creature that was intellectual, and could talk and reason. They first attempted to create humans using mud, but these humans talked senselessly and could easily be destroyed by water. This type of man was too weak to procreate or even walk. The gods abandoned this bunch due to their inability to praise and glorify them. The gods tried again. They fashioned humans out of wood to make them strong and solid. These wooden beings were more human due to their physical appearance, their ability to talk and procreate. However, these wooden beings lacked emotions and did not recognize their creators. Due to their dense population on earth, the gods destroyed them using a heavy flood that swept them from all corners of the earth. In their final attempt at human creation, they used corn to mold the flesh. Blood was made from water while fat was acquired from grease. The perfect humans were created. This explains why Mayans considered corn to be very important. Despite talking and praising their creators, these humans were considered too smart by the gods. They perceived and understood all phenomena and this did not please the gods as they considered them a threat. They decided to cloud their abilities, taking away some knowledge and skills and adding flaws to make them imperfect. In the Biblical account of creation, God created the heavens and earth in five days. On the sixth day, God created man in His image and on the seventh day He rested. He ordained the seventh day as the day of rest. The Biblical God was very powerful and only used words in the creation process. God realized that man was very lonely and decided to create a companion for him. He used one of his ribs to mold a woman. This explains why men have fewer ribs than women. He put the two into the Garden of Eden where He instructed them to eat fruits from all trees except the tree of knowledge. (Doug, 2014) However, Adam and Eve were duped by a serpent to eat the forbidden fruit. This angered God and He banished them out of Eden to a life of pain and struggle. Man and the snake were made eternal enemies. The man was made to toil and struggle to find food while woman was to experience pain during labor. Adam and Eve procreated and their off springs multiplied to fill the whole earth. The people became sinful and immoral, this angered God. He destroyed the whole earth using a flood. However, he saves Noah’s family plus a couple of every animal. After the floods, He commands Noah plus his sons and all the animals to procreate and fill the earth. Due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience, every human being is born with the original sin. (Doug, 2014) It is evident that both stories have vast similarities. Apart from the fact that there are superior beings involved, the worlds in both accounts were created and destroyed. In both stories the universe and all creatures were created before humans. Both accounts indicate that God was dissatisfied in some way. For example, in the Biblical story God did not like lonely state of man and decided to create a companion for him. The Mayan gods were not satisfied by the mud and wooden beings and also fashioned true humans from corn. In the beginning, the world is considered a dark void with nothing but silence; the Gods possess the light that brings forth order in the chaos that dominates the earth. In both stories the world was destroyed by floods. The Gods were not happy by humans’ disobedience and therefore struck them with flood. It is also worth noting that in both cases the Gods did not want humans to have so much knowledge. In Popol Vuh, the gods did not fancy man’s all-knowing ways and therefore added flaws to them. In the Bible, God gave Adam and Eve orders not to eat fruits from the tree of knowledge, but when they disobeyed he plunged them to a life of misery. Both accounts reveal the fate of humans. Once perfect creatures, humans became cursed with ignorance and sin. On the other hand, the two accounts also had major differences. First of all, the God of the Bible used the word of mouth to create the universe and man while the gods in Popol Vuh literary molded humans from mud, wood and corn. Followers of the Bible are monotheistic as they believed in one God while the Mayans were polytheistic due to the many Gods that were involved in creation. Furthermore, days are not mentioned in the Mayan account while in the Bible, God creates the whole universe in six days. It is also worth noting that the Biblical God was all powerful and everything He created was perfect. On the other hand, the gods in Popol Vuh were not perfect and could make mistakes, though they had the power to correct them. In addition, the Mayan creation story ends with humans being made imperfect while the account in Genesis gives a chronological event of what happens after Adam and Eve disobeyed God. The main reason why the gods in Popol Vuh created humans was for them to praise and glorify them. However, God created Adam and Eve to reign and be guardians of all His creations on earth. Moreover, it is evident that the first humans communicated directly with God in the Biblical context while in the Popol Vuh humans do not speak directly with the gods; they were only required to glorify and praise them. Unlike in the Biblical account where two humans are created first, the gods in the Mayan myth created many humans at once. (Tonic, 2007) Despite different cultures and traditions all over the world, many creation stories share so many similarities, a clear indication that they may have originated from the same source. Due to the similarities shared by the two deities, many Jews and Christians believe that Mayans are a lost tribe of Israel. This may explain why native Mexicans embraced Christianity with zeal when it was brought to them. Culture and tradition affect the religious beliefs of people and once acquired at a young age, it is hard to be altered. Differences in religious beliefs should not be used to create divisions or conflicts. The fact that most of these myths resemble point to a common origin, but due to movements and interactions with other cultures, the stories may have changed a bit. The most important thing is that most acknowledge a supreme God who created everything and should be praised and glorified in all ways possible. Works Cited American Bible Society. Genesis 1, 1995. Web. Mar. 30, 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1&version=CEV Doug, Linder. In the Beginning: Two Stories of Creation, 2004. Web. Mar. 30, 2014. Retrieved from: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/gen1st.htm HubPages. A Comparison between Genesis and the Maya Creation Myth. Web. Mar. 30, 2014. Retrieved from: http://cartoonepisodes.hubpages.com/hub/Genesis-and-the-Maya-Creation-Myth HubPages. Popol Vuh: A Mayan Myth of Creation. Web. Mar. 30, 2014. Retrieved from: http://caranoelle.hubpages.com/hub/The-Mayan-Popol-Vuh John van Wyhe. The Creation Stories of Genesis. Web. Mar. 30, 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.victorianweb.org/science/science_texts/genesis.html Lucy, Tonic. Genesis vs. Popol Vuh: A Compare and Contrast of the Creation Myths, Jul. 17, 2007. Web. Mar. 30, 2014. Retrieved from: http://voices.yahoo.com/genesis-vs-popul-vuh-compare-contrast-the-437957.html?cat=34 Nicoletta, Maestri. Popol Vuh : The Sacred Book of Maya Quiche. Web. Mar. 30, 2014. Retrieved from: http://archaeology.about.com/od/mayaarchaeology/a/Popol-Vuh.htm Popol Vuh. The Creation. Web. Mar. 30, 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.criscenzo.com/jaguarsun/popolvuh.html Reactions to the World. A Comparison between Genesis and the Maya Creation Myth, May 7, 2010. Web. Mar. 30, 2014. Retrieved from: http://reactionstotheworld.blogspot.com/2010/05/comparison-between-genesis-and- maya.html The Spiders Den. Maya Creation Myth and Biblical Creation Myth, Apr. 3, 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. Retrieved from: http://ladyofspiders.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/maya-creation-myth-and-biblical-creation-myth Read More