As most religions, the Mayans have their own interpretation of how the world came to be. However, unlike most religions, the Mayans don’t have just one creation story, but several.
The basic creation myth is known as the Popol Vuh. A prominent variation of this story is the tale of the the creation of the world and the forth creation of the Maya. Tepeu, Gucumatz and Huracan were the first beings to exist and were responsible for the creation of the world. They decided in order to preserve their legacy, a race of beings must be created who could worship them, the animals they created were unable to do this, their first failure, the second attempt was by creating people out of mud, the third was out of wood. The wood people were unintelligent and were flushed out by a large flood. It was the fourth attempt when humans were made from Maize that the Gods succeeded. So, the Mayans believe we are living in the fourth creation of the earth.
A common trait amongst the many creation myths is that humans are created by using maize. The reason for this is that the cultivation of maize shaped the mayan community to become a highly advanced civilization.
The basic creation myth is known as the Popol Vuh. A prominent variation of this story is the tale of the the creation of the world and the forth creation of the Maya. Tepeu, Gucumatz and Huracan were the first beings to exist and were responsible for the creation of the world. They decided in order to preserve their legacy, a race of beings must be created who could worship them, the animals they created were unable to do this, their first failure, the second attempt was by creating people out of mud, the third was out of wood. The wood people were unintelligent and were flushed out by a large flood. It was the fourth attempt when humans were made from Maize that the Gods succeeded. So, the Mayans believe we are living in the fourth creation of the earth.
A common trait amongst the many creation myths is that humans are created by using maize. The reason for this is that the cultivation of maize shaped the mayan community to become a highly advanced civilization.