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The Maya gods included [[Kukulkán]] (also known by the [[Kʼicheʼ language|Kʼicheʼ]] name [[Gukumatz]] and the Aztec name [[Quetzalcoatl]]) and [[Tepeu]]. The two were referred to as the Creators, the Forefathers or the Makers. According to the story, the two gods decided to preserve their legacy by creating an Earth-bound species looking like them. The first attempt was man made from mud, but Tepeu and Kukulkán found that the mud crumbled. The two gods summoned the other gods, and together they decided to make man from wood. However, since these men had no soul and soon lost loyalty to the creators, the gods destroyed them by rain. Finally, man was constructed from [[maize]], the Mayans staple and sacred food. The deity [[Itzamna]] is credited as being the creator of the calendar along with creating writing.<ref name=":0" /> |
The Maya gods included [[Kukulkán]] (also known by the [[Kʼicheʼ language|Kʼicheʼ]] name [[Gukumatz]] and the Aztec name [[Quetzalcoatl]]) and [[Tepeu]]. The two were referred to as the Creators, the Forefathers or the Makers. According to the story, the two gods decided to preserve their legacy by creating an Earth-bound species looking like them. The first attempt was man made from mud, but Tepeu and Kukulkán found that the mud crumbled. The two gods summoned the other gods, and together they decided to make man from wood. However, since these men had no soul and soon lost loyalty to the creators, the gods destroyed them by rain. Finally, man was constructed from [[maize]], the Mayans staple and sacred food. The deity [[Itzamna]] is credited as being the creator of the calendar along with creating writing.<ref name=":0" /> |
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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. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Taube |first=Karl A. |title=Aztec and Maya myths |date=1993 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-78130-6 |edition=1st University of Texas Press ed |series=The Legendary past |location=Austin |pages=33-34}}</ref> |
The [[Aztecs|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. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Taube |first=Karl A. |title=Aztec and Maya myths |date=1993 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-78130-6 |edition=1st University of Texas Press ed |series=The Legendary past |location=Austin |pages=33-34}}</ref> |
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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).<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=The Mythology of Mexico and Central America|first=John|last=Bierhorst|publisher=William Morrow and Company, Inc.|location=New York|date=1990|pages=67–77|isbn=0688067212}}</ref> |
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).<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=The Mythology of Mexico and Central America|first=John|last=Bierhorst|publisher=William Morrow and Company, Inc.|location=New York|date=1990|pages=67–77|isbn=0688067212}}</ref> |
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Mesoamerican creation myths are the collection of creation myths attributed to, or documented for, the various cultures and civilizations of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and Mesoamerican literature.
The Maya gods included Kukulkán (also known by the Kʼicheʼ name Gukumatz and the Aztec name Quetzalcoatl) and Tepeu. The two were referred to as the Creators, the Forefathers or the Makers. According to the story, the two gods decided to preserve their legacy by creating an Earth-bound species looking like them. The first attempt was man made from mud, but Tepeu and Kukulkán found that the mud crumbled. The two gods summoned the other gods, and together they decided to make man from wood. However, since these men had no soul and soon lost loyalty to the creators, the gods destroyed them by rain. Finally, man was constructed from maize, the Mayans staple and sacred food. The deity Itzamna is credited as being the creator of the calendar along with creating writing.[1]
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]
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