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Popol Vuh
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Themes
Creation and Destruction
Since the beginning of the earth’s creation in the Popol Vuh, there has been destruction. The duality of these forces is necessary to strike a balance in the newly-formed world. After the landscape of the earth has been framed and shaped, the animals and first people of the world are both created and destroyed in order for the gods to grow closer to the vision of what they hope to achieve in the world. When the animals fail to be capable of speech necessary for adequate worship, the creator deities tell them, “You shall be replaced because you were not successful (65). Just as the animals are created to tend to the earth, their statuses are destroyed to make room for the creation of people.
The subsequent attempts at creating people also depict an increasing tension between creation and destruction. As the gods grow closer to creating fit people to worship them, their destruction of them becomes more dramatic and brutal. When the first mud person is made, they realize that while the mud person is capable of speech, they do not possess any knowledge. Thus, the Framer and the Shaper “undid it” and “toppled what they had framed, what they had shaped” (67).
In a more exaggerated form of destruction, the wooden effigies suffer an excruciating end for possessing speech and knowledge but lacking devotion in their hearts and mind. Not only are the wooden effigies eaten by the animals, but they are tortured by household items. The original authors of the Popol Vuh state, “Their faces were ground up because they proved incapable of understanding the face of their mother and the face of their father, Heart of Sky, Huracan by name” (74). In each iteration of creation, the destruction of animals and people become more dramatized. This tension is necessary for the gods to approach their perfect creations. Thus, to grow closer to this goal, they must be willing to destroy all traces of the qualities that fail them.
The Punishment of Prideful Behavior
The expression of pride is a sinful action in the Popol Vuh. Deities and people alike offend the gods with their pride in several ways. Pride manifests in the celebration of one’s gifts without acknowledging the role of the gods in such talents. This is the case when the gods create the wooden effigies. Lacking heart and mind, the wooden effigies are a dangerous combination of ignorance and arrogance. They indulge in the abundance of the earth without fully devoting themselves to worship. Thus, they are brutally destroyed for such deep offense.
Pride also emerges when deities or people attempt to match their abilities to that of the gods. In the case of Seven Macaw and his sons, they offend the creator deities when their actions seem to rival the gods’ divine abilities. When Seven Macaw presents himself as a false sun, he exhibits prideful behavior, as his actions intervene in the creator deities’ careful design of the earth. His sons are also complicit, as Zipacna flexes his incredible strength and Cabracan flagrantly topples the earth through his magical ability. Their tampering with the earth’s meticulous design captures the attention of Hunahpu and Xbalanque who decide to act on Heart of Sky’s desire to punish the offending family. Hunahpu and Xbalanque feel justified in punishing Seven Macaw and his sons as “they saw pride as evil” (88). They internalize this belief from Heart of Sky’s set of values concerning the earth.
When the first people discover gods, pride continues to be a grave sin. When the nations ask the first four men, Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam, for some of their fire, they anger the godTohil, as he believes that they should ask him directly for such a gift. The nations demonstrate their pride and ignorance by refusing to communicate with Tohil directly. Thus, the nations are punished through sacrifice for letting their prideful ways steer them away from rightful worship.
Unification and Division
The theme of unification and division is prevalent throughout the Popol Vuh, particularly in the later, historical narrative of the book. As the book tells the story of the beginnings of the Quiché people, the theme of unification and division elaborates on how they sustain themselves as a people. Throughout Quiché history, people come together and separate to create communities while also generating tensions between different groups. According to the Popol Vuh, the first Quiché people begin the world as a unified group. Together, they travel to the citadel, Tulan Zuyva, where they are to receive their gods for worship. The authors state, “It was there that the languages of the nations were changed. The languages came to be different. They did not hear each other clearly when they came from Tulan, thus they split apart” (199). Once the people leave Tulan Zuyva, they lose a common language, and, as a result, they go their separate ways.
At times, the Quiché people come together through shared gods, despite their differences in language. However, the gods’ favoritism towards the first four men and their kin leads to some disparity in their alliances with one another. Despite their differences, there is an urge to unite together as Quiché people. After Tulan Zuyva, the people continue to migrate. They reach a mountain called Chi Pixab where the three lineages of Quichés, the Tamub, and the Ilocab unite momentarily. They collectively declare at Chi Pixab, “We, the three Quichés, will not be lost, for our word is one” (206). The phrase “our word is one” does not necessarily pertain to a shared language, but refers to a shared promise to assist each other through mutual growth. This promise is significant for the development of future generations of Quiché people.
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