Popol Vuh: Parts 3 and 4

 Week 3: Popol Vuh Parts 3 and 4

The entire second half of the Popol Vuh was so interesting to read, but there were a couple things that especially stood out to me:

Throughout both parts, I thought that it was super clear how much value is placed on knowledge and how important it is to the K'iche'. In the text, figures were only praised surrounding their knowledge of the world; One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu were visionary seers on the face of the earth, the Framer and Shaper simply sent their thoughts into the world to search for humanity, the true people made from maize were only true because they spoke, looked, listened, and their knowledge was completed by everything under the sky, and they thank the gods because now they "speak and listen, ponder and move". I what hammered this point home for me though was that Xpiyacoc and Xmucane redesigned and limited humanity's vision and knowledge level, because their initial sense of the world was comparable to the gods; from this I interpreted that for the K'iche', sociocultural hierarchies are primarily based on who has the most knowledge of the world, which I found super interesting!

On kind of a similar note, another takeaway for me was the moral teaching that was repeated throughout the text that jealousy and envy will be your downfall. When the lords of Xibalba summoned One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu to their world, one reason why was because they wanted their leathers, belts, headresses, face-masks, and finery, and although it happened later on, they were ultimately defeated when they personally directed resurrected Hunahpu and Xbalanque to kill them for their dance. When the younger brothers of Hunahpu and and Xbalanque were jealous of their talents and mistreated them as a result, "their brilliance was blocked by envy" and "the abuse they plotted in their hearts rained down on their own backs", while Hunahpu and Xbalanque weren't enraged and simply let it go. I read this as a moral teaching that jealousy directly correlates with evil, and if you just let it roll off of you and don't let it consume you, your enemies will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing. (Yes, that was a Taylor Swift quote, and yes it fit perfectly!)

The last major thing that jumped out at me when reading the text was the extensive repetition of names, stanzas, and synonyms used to describe the face of the earth, the lord and order in Xibalba, and the lineage of the first true people. I think this serves as a mnemonic strategy to make sure the K'iche' stories, knowledge, culture, morals, and history stick with the reader, and that this also helps construct the narrative that the stories within the Popol Vuh are extremely important and true. This was especially implemented throughout the explanations of why things are the way that they are today, like how toads drag their backsides when hopping because the twins crushed it, the mosquito sucks the blood of travellers, that the blades are used to cut meat because the twins promised this, and why the underworld, or hell, is only for those who are rotten, violent, and sinners as punishment for the twins and their fathers' suffering. I think that these two elements worked well together to clearly emphasize to the audience that the Popol Vuh contains the true story of the origin of the world.