Mesoamerican creation myths
Mesoamerican creation myths are the collection of
Creation
The Maya gods included
The Aztec people had several versions of creation myths. One version of the myth includes four suns, each representing one of the four elements. In another version of the myth, the creator couple give birth to four sons, Red Tezcatlipoca, Black Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, and Huitzilopotchli. In both versions, the suns, or sons, are attributed with the creation of the Earth and common destructions that would have been experience by the Aztec people such as great floods and volcanic eruptions. Yet another version has Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca turn into snakes and destroy a great monster, ripping it in two where one half is cast down to become the Earth and one half is cast up to create the heavens. [2]
Other creation myths that are commonly known to natives of the Mesoamerican region include The Emergence of the Ancestors (Aztec), The Man of the Crops (Jicaque), Why the Earth Eats the Dead (Bribri), and Opossum Steals Fire (Mazatec).[1]
The Ball Game
One activity that was popular widely among Mesoamerican cultures is the ball game, similar to football, or soccer in the United States. Some societies played the game using their hips instead of feet, called Ullamalitzli. Evidence of the ball game has been found in nearly every Mesoamerican society, including the Olmec, Tlaloc, Aztec and more. The sacred origins of the ball game can be found in the Popol Vuh, which illustrates how two brothers defeated the gods of the underworld in a ball game and became celestials who became the creators. [3] The ball game may also relate to the movement of the sun through the heavens. Thus it is believed that the ball game remained an important part of Mesoamerican culture as a way to honor the gods who brought about the creation of the Earth and the people. [4]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 0688067212.
- ISBN 978-0-292-78130-6.
- ISBN 9780806138398.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link - ^ Uriarte, María (Spring 2006). "THE TEOTIHUACAN BALLGAME AND THE BEGINNING OF TIME". Ancient Mesoamerica. 17 (1): 17–38 – via JSTOR.
External links