Tepeu and Gucumatz raise land from the still sea, then set mountains, waterways, plants, and animals in their appointed places. When animals cannot speak or praise their makers, the creators seek beings with understanding, first shaping unsuccessful people from clay and wood.
The Feathered Serpent Joins the Creation
The creators spoke while the world was an empty sky above a still sea. There was no light, sound, land, animal, or plant. Gucumatz, the Great Feathered Serpent, lived in the sea among the blue-green feathers of the quetzal. Tepeu joined him. They decided to form the earth. Tepeu is also called Heart of Sky. Gucumatz is called Heart of Earth.
‘Let there be earth,’ they said. The sea withdrew, and the earth’s platform appeared. Land came forth where there had been only water. Mountains rose, and the earth took the shape of a mountain-plain. Water channels separated from the land and wound among the mountains. The sky was set apart from the earth, which lay among the waters.
The creators spoke what they imagined into being. Trees appeared, and vegetation covered the land. They made animals for the forest, coast, and open land, then placed each in a suitable home. Deer went to clearings and riverbanks. Birds were given their own surroundings. The makers ordered the animals to praise them and name them as their creators.
The animals could make sounds, but they could not speak as the gods wished. They could not offer the required praise or recognition. The creators therefore placed them in the wild, where they would be hunted. They then planned to make beings able to understand and praise them. Their first attempt used clay, but the form fell apart when it became wet. They tried again with wood. These beings stayed whole, walked, talked, and reproduced, but they were too inflexible for the creators’ purpose.
The Destruction of the Wooden People
The creators made the earth, mountains, trees, sky, and animals through thought and speech. When the animals could not speak their creators’ names or praise them, the creators gave them bodies and homes but removed their rule over the earth. They then shaped a human form from clay. It fell apart when it became wet, so they tried again with wood.
The wooden people remained whole. They walked, talked, and multiplied. Yet they were incomplete. They had no souls, and they could not remember or honour the beings who had made them. They also mistreated their dogs by beating and starving them. The cooking pots and grinding stones suffered their use as well. The wooden people therefore failed to become the responsive beings the creators intended.
Gucumatz and the other creator gods allowed their destruction. A great flood covered the world. In one account, the Heart of Sky sent it, and rain of resin fell from above. The wooden people sought shelter, but the punishment followed them. Jaguars tore open their bodies and crushed their bones. Vultures pecked out their eyes. Camazotz, the vampire bat, tore off their heads. Other accounts name Sudden Bloodletter, Crunching Jaguar, Tearing Jaguar, and Gouger of Faces among their attackers.
The wooden people’s dogs turned against them and crushed their faces in revenge for the abuse they had suffered. The cooking pots threw heated rocks at them. The grinding stones crushed them into pieces. The flood and the attackers destroyed the woodcarvings, leaving them unable to continue as the intended human beings. The creators punished them because they could not recognise, praise, or properly thank their makers.
The Creation of the Mud People
Gucumatz, also called Gugumatz or Heart of Earth, and Tepew caused land to appear where there had been only sea. They shaped the earth’s platform, then raised hills, valleys, and mountains. They made trees and animals, giving the birds wings and nests in the trees, while jaguars roamed the forest floor as predators. The animals received dominion over the earth, but this arrangement failed when the Makers demanded praise. The animals could not speak the names of their creators. They squawked, chattered, and howled. Gucumatz and Tepew therefore decided to make beings with greater awareness of creation and its makers. They wished to be recognised and praised. The animals kept their bodies and homes, but lost their right to govern the earth. The Makers told them that their flesh would be consumed and eaten. They then formed people from mud or clay. The figures had human shapes, but water made them melt. Their bodies could not hold together. They also lacked proper speech and could not name or worship their creators. The Makers destroyed them and tried again with wood. The wooden people walked, talked, multiplied, and had daughters and sons. Yet some accounts say they had no souls and acted like animals. They had nothing in their hearts and did not understand their makers. The gods therefore sent destruction, and most of the wooden people drowned. Those who survived became monkeys, which resembled people but had no human speech, soul, or understanding. Later attempts used corn for the human body, with corn meal forming the arms and legs.
