Mayan+Mythology

Introduction: Mayan culture told the story of the Vukub-Cakix, a giant bird who was the god of the sun and the moon. This story was told for many purposes beyond entertainment for the culture. Many cultures have stories they pass down throughout the centuries that are called mythology. They incorporate supernatural forces, ways something came to be, human qualities, and the culture’s beliefs. The story has morals to be learned from why the story was told, reflects beliefs of the culture, and in many ways is similar to other culture’s mythology, such as Greek and Roman.

1.Story Analysis:The Mayans believed that in their culture, all should be subservient. Vukub-Cakix was a giant bird that was the sun and moon god, who boasted constantly about his powers. The result of his bragging was hatred from those around him, and he was killed. The Mayan culture tells this story to teach a moral. It is not right to brag or become over confident, it is not wise and will not give good fortune. www.sunandmoonstudios.co.uk

2. Summary: In the myth of Vukub-Cakix, the giant scarlet macow began disrespecting the gods by claiming he was the god of the sun and the moon. Hurakan, the god of weather, sent Hun Hunahpu and Vukubahpu to punish Vukub-Cakix. They tricked Vukub into having his emerald teeth removed. Vukub was unable to eat and ashamed of his appearance so he flew off into the constellation of Great Bear. The Mayans believed that the scarlet macaw is the shadow of Vukub-Cakix. The myth was made to explain to the Mayan people how the gods dislike arrogance and they will punish you if you act like you are higher than everybody else.  www.pretty-parrots.com

4.Culture Analysis: The myth of Vukub-Cakix shows how much the Mayans valued being humble and modest. When Vukub-Cakix started to brag and boast about how he was the sun and the moon, a god named Hurakan sent people to punish him. When he was punished, he ended up flying off into the constellation known as Great Bear. The scarlet macaw is an endangered bird that symbolizes the shadow of Vukub-Cakix. The Mayans believed that the gods would punish people if they became arrogant. Similar to the Greek and Romans, the Mayans believed that if you thought that you could do everything on your on without help from the gods, the gods would punish you.  flickr.com

5. Culture Comparison: Greek and Roman mythology relates to Mayan mythology because of how the Mayan, Greek, and Roman characters connect to each other. They are defined by the following categories: innocent, arrogant, tricksters, and overall destructive characters. Vukub-Cakix is like Zeus because they are both arrogant about who they are, they think they are better than anyone else in the world. Zipacna and Cabrakan can relate to Apollo because they are like the golden boys or the perfect children but, they are also like Hephaestus because they are innocent, they were only killed because they were the sons of Vukub-Cakix. The magicians were like Hermes because they tricked people into believing stuff that may or may not have been true. The gods Hun-Apu and Xbalanque are defined as Poseidon and Ares because they are destructive and are out to kill who or what ever gets in their way. These characters are all very similar, their stories may be different but they all have their own reasoning for what they plan to have happen to one another.

Conclusion: The Vukiub-Cakix and the Mayan culture can be quite decieving. There are the ones who have been tricked and there are also the "tricksters". The stories morals were learned learned from how the story was told, it reflects beliefs of the Mayan culture, and in many ways it is similar to Greek and Roman mythology.

Citations http://my.raex.com/~obsidian/Mayapan.html http://books.google.com/books?id=tmvoy11yvI0C&pg=PA210&lpg=PA210&dq=vukub-Cakix&source=web&ots=rpNZmeXrdD&sig=I5VtbXw1TGpfL0B62lYk sdRksfg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result http://bulfinch.englishatheist.org/creation/Kiches-Creation.htm