The sea did not portray the sky; nothing below was like above. Nothing stood over the Nothing. The endless waters were calm although it seemed they were lost in an invisible and distant abyss.
There were no stars, there was no light, and in the silence of the dark the Ancestors waited. They are called Tepeu, the Water; Gucumatz, the Fire, and Juracan, the Heart of the Sky, the Thunder; names that keep the deep secrets of creation, of life and death, of the Earth and of all the beings inhabiting it.
When the three Ancestors approached the place where the darkness was hidden, they talked to reach an agreement on the task that they were going to undertake.
The first they thought was:
- How will we bring forth the light? We must consider that the light needs to feed on what there is in the eternity.
The three saw what was the original nature of the life that floats in the middle of creation. The Ancestors saw then, they guessed the existence of everything what was going to be born and, before that revelation they said to themselves:
- It is good that the Earth drains and that the waters separate from it, so there can be fields to be worked. Fields in which the seed will be fertilized by the humidity of the air, the dew that falls from above and by the humidity under the Earth. Thus the trees will grow, they will be dressed up with flowers and they will give fruits to scatter their seed. And the beings that populate the Earth will harvest those fruits and they will eat them, those fruits will be their food. They will never have another one. They will die the day they change it by other than this one we give them.
So was written the future of the beings who would cultivate the fields.
It was then when the clouds that darkened the space separated, since they had filled what was between the sky and the Earth. Underneath them and over the water surface began to appear the hills and the mountains that those beings would see. And in immense valleys the forests formed, with trees of very diverse species. A bitter and sweet perfume came off the forests covered with trees that produced rich sap.
Later a breach was opened that divided the dry space and the humid space.
Seeing what they had done, they said:
- The first creation has been finished and we see that she is beautiful to our eyes.
And although their work seemed to be finished, continued working and said:
- What good are the trees growing alone? They are still surrounded by darkness. We think that it would be good if they had guardians and servants.
It was then when they decided to put next to the trunks that had already taken roots and between their green branches, the beasts and the animals that obeyed the order of the Ancestors immediately, but remained inert, immovable in the same place in which they were created, as if they were blind and insensible, like stones without soul. Nevertheless, some began to move without seeing where they went and they fell, returning to be unmoving.
The Ancestors said then:
- You, beast, you, animal, will go to the river in search of water and of her you will drink; you will sleep in the caves that for you we have dug; you will walk on your four legs and you will maintain the head inclined. The day will arrive in which your backs will be good to take very heavy load. You, bird, will have your house in the branches of the trees where you will make your dwelling, you will fly through the air and you will reach the transparent region of clouds, near the sky. And thus you will become many, you will multiply and your children and those that from them descend will do the same and follow in everything, your example and your virtue.
And all the animals, those that crawl on the Earth and those that fly over her fulfilled the mandates received and looked for their dwellings in caves and flowery meadows, and the birds built, between the branches, their nests.
Once all these beings built their lives in the most convenient form for them, the Ancestors, seeing this, met again and said:
- All those beings we have created must be obedient to our mandate and to live submissive within their own atmosphere, but must not be dumb, in silence, because silence is as much as desolation, as abandonment and even like death.
Later, with a voice that resounded like the voice of the thunderclap, one of the Ancestors said to them:
- You listen. Now that each one recognizes those of its own species, you must learn and say our names, so that you do not forget who created you and who sustains you. Call us so we can come to your aid. Thus it is done.
But all those beings were overwhelmed without knowing what to do, did not know to speak, seemed dumb although all emitted voices according to their species.
When they saw this, the Ancestors said:
- This is not right, we have remedy it, before it is impossible to do it.
Again the Ancestors met in council and, reaching an agreement, they spoke to the beasts and the animals saying:
- Since you have not spoken as we ordered, from now on you will change your form to live and your food will be very different. You will not live again in harmony, everyone will flee from the others and from them will defend and look for a place where it can hide its fear and its cowardice. Thus you will do it. In addition, for not knowing to pronounce our names nor knowing who we who created you nor given samples of any understanding, your flesh will be destroyed and eaten. You will be your own killers, and you will devour each other. This will be your destiny and nothing will be able to change it because it is justice.
Tepeu, Gucumatz and Juracán met and devised new beings capable of understanding, of speaking, of revering them and harvesting the fruits they had seeded on Earth and said:
- What can we do so that the new creatures know how to call us by our names and understand, since that is just, invoke us as its creators and adore the Gods? Let us remember that the first beings that we made could not admire our greatness and didn't even realize our splendor. Let us see if we can create beings more docile to our mandate.
After deliberating about the new being they began to form with clay the flesh and the structure of the being they had already imagined.
Very carefully they modeled it without missing any detail. When he was completed they saw that, unfortunately, it did not do either, because to make it they had used a little black mud, with a straight and hard neck; a toothless wide and twisted mouth and blind, colorless eyes. Discouraged they verified that the dolls thus formed could not even stand because they crumbled, fell and they dissolved in the water. In spite of all those disadvantages, the new doll could speak; it had the gift of speech. And its voice sounded harmonious, like music come from the skies and whose like had never been heard. The dolls spoke, but they did not know what they said, they had no conscience and so, they ignored the sense of their words.
When they saw this, the Ancestors thought and said:
- In spite of all your defects you must live while new beings come to replace you. Meanwhile, you must reproduce, multiply and try to improve your species.
And what the Ancestors said was done. They beheld their so defective and so delicate and fragile work, and they said:
- How will we make new beings that know what they do? Beings that speak, that think, that are superior, that invoke us and know their creators?
They were in silence, meditating while from the night arose all those things that terrify the beings who inhabit the Earth. Suddenly, a lightning illuminated the blackness and gave light to the mind of the Ancestors.
They made new beings, but they did not make them from mud, but from wood so that they could stand, to walk firmly towards a chosen point.
And the dolls met in small groups, they coupled and had children. But they did not know where they went nor why. They did not recognize the supreme will of the Ancestors. They did not have feelings or emotions. They walked, they climbed, they crawled in the caverns and they drank water from the rivers, but when they fell it was forever, they did not rise again. They were like dead with movement. And as they did not recognize the Ancestors, they fell from their grace. They were condemned to die. When they least expected it a terrible burning ash rain fell on them that extinguished their existence.
(See The Five Suns Myth from the Toltecs at the Aztecs page, the similarities are surprising)
And after the fire consumed them all, the Ancestors erased all trace of them and sent on all the Earth deluge that covered fields, overflowed precipices, and raised beyond the tops of the highest peaks of the mountains. And when the waters had gone, the Ancestors again and decided to create a new being.
Of tzité, the maize, was made the man, of espadana, certain grass that crowns itself with small corn, was made the woman. But the Ancestors were not satisfied with the new pair and sent a great bird named Xecotcovah and a jaguar called Cotzbalam to destroy them with its beak and their claws. It was done. Then a great darkness rose on all Earth and all the small beings whose soul had remained invisible, and the stones to grind the grain, and the pots, and the jars and everything that had served them during their ephemeral life, rose against them and attacked them. The survivors ran for the forests, the caves and mountains, and there they found death, only a few remained, hiden in the trees. This is why the monkeys resemble men so much and they remind us of the form of the cavemen in forests of the Quiché land.
While the darkness gave way to the smooth clarities of the next dawn, Tepeu, Gucumatz and Juracán met again, because they knew that before the light came they had to make the new man, a being who would have flesh, bones and what the others had lacked: intelligence.
So, joining their powers they said:
- This is the propitious hour to give our blessing to the food that will sustain the new man we will make.
And their words of blessing resonated all over the Earth and were like a perfume that filled of aromas all creation.
Nothing escaped that perfume and was to become part of the origin of the third man. Very shortly all the lights that shone in the sky would appear and spill their light on the Earth. The clarity reached the darkest corners where, according to our books, the cat, the vixen, the parrot, the cotorra and the crow lived. And all those animals received the good news that the yellow, blue and white maize was ripe, and where was the water that would to form the flesh of the man who soon would be created. And with maize and water they made a drink that would give life to the new beings. And thus they created four of them, and so that their legs nor the arms would not bend, they put within them a reed frame.
And once they were crafted to the satisfaction of the Ancestors, they ordered them to think, to speak, to see, to walk and to realize everything that existed around them. And all of it was obeyed by the new beings, and they understood what was underneath the Earth, under the sky, what rose on the Earth and what moved and vibrated in the wind. These four beings, equipped with intelligence were called: Balam Quitzé, Balam Acab, Mahucutah and Equi Balam.
The Ancestors called the first of them and they said to him:
- Speak and say for you and your companions if you have idea and feelings, if your form is good to walk, if you can see all things, if your language is exact and correct, if you have memories of something, if you understand what I say to you, if you can see the fruits that we have given you so that, if it is so, you can go to harvest it and have it. Have your companions do the same, but if you do not understand, if there is something you cannot do, stay there, where you are, do not move and neither will your companions. All of you must know the extent of your powers.
Balam Quiché, who had understood everything, and in the name of the others spoke like this:
- You have given us life, understanding, strength, permanence, and we know what is inside us and outside us. We distinguish the great from the small and know that there is much hidden from our eyes and that this will be revealed to us in its own time, because everything is inside what surrounds us, inside the Earth, the water and the sky.
When they heard such answer, the Ancestors were worried and they met again.
- They understand and know what is great and what is small and that, later, can be detrimental. It is not advisable that they can solve all the mysteries. We are going to limit their knowledge and their faculties. Thus they will not sin of pride. Thus their children will not know more than their grandparents and they will never get to feel like Gods, because such thing would be fatal for all the Creation.
And so they wouldn't be alone, the Ancestors concentrated in making the women, and they made them while the men slept. When they woke up, they saw the women by their sides, asleep and quiet like shiny wooden dolls. And seeing them so beautiful, so delicate, with such a smooth and terse skin, they took them as companions. And men and women, with mutual pleasure knew each other bodies and procreated children who began to populate the Earth. And the new generation was of creators and worshippers and sacrificers, which are offices full of dignity. They were beautiful like their mothers and strong like their fathers and learned, later, the mystery of their origin.
This is how the Ancestors: Tepeu, Gucumatz and Juracán, were the grandparents of the people who peregrinated and settled to integrate the tribe of the Quichés. Let's not forget their names, because they are the ancestors of those who populated these lands, in the region of the east, where the sun is born.
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