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El Mito del Dios Maíz — Transcript

by Canal Catorce · 2,282 words · 355 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:57The story of the birth, death, and
0:59resurrection of the maize god is the
1:01oldest and most widespread in Mexican
1:03territory. It was born in Mesoamerica
1:07when the cultivation of the plant began
1:10some 5,000 years ago. It reached us in
1:14the form of myth, the oldest voice to
1:16recount wonderful events, real or
1:19imaginary, which was adopted by peoples
1:21as part of their collective memory. The
1:27myth of the creation of the cosmos is
1:29the foundational story of the ancient
1:31cultures of Mesoamerica. In it, the
1:35emergence of the earth, the creation of
1:38the sky and the underworld are narrated
1:40, painted, or written in hieroglyphs,
1:46the inaugural episodes that prepare the
1:48birth of humans and the maize plant
1:50transformed into a god. In the
2:07Guatemalan Petén jungle, we find the
2:09beautiful mural of San Bartolo, dating
2:11back to between 200 and 100 years
2:13before the current era. In it are
2:23painted the gods of the four trees that
2:25hold up the sky and spilled their own
2:27blood to bring about the ordering of
2:29the world. In these paintings, the
2:40emergence of the Earth as a primordial
2:43mountain appears. The mythical mountain
2:48is the place where essential foods
2:49rested, a symbol of the human dwelling
2:51and the ceremonial and political center
2:53of the peoples of Mesoamerica. These
2:59scenes, full of harmony and color, have
3:02antecedents in the Olmec culture. An
3:18example of how a myth is constructed,
3:20what parts compose it, how it is
3:22preserved in memory, and how it is
3:24transmitted from one generation to the
3:26next, is provided by the myth of the
3:29maize god. It is a very ancient tale,
3:36as it was born when the first maize
3:38seeds were sown thousands of years ago
3:40and it continues to be told today in
3:42various parts of Mexico and Central
3:44America. Archaeologists, who study the
3:51constructions and things our ancestors
3:53made, affirm that the initial images of
3:56the plant, in the form of the maize god
3:58, appeared between 1500 and 1000 years
4:01ago. Before the current era, these
4:06researchers found the first images of
4:08the maize god in the so-called Olmec
4:11culture, the first civilization in
4:13Mesoamerica. The Olmecs created
4:20villages that later became lordships
4:22and kingdoms in Veracruz and Tabasco,
4:24where they built great cities like San
4:26Lorenzo Tenochtitlan and La Venta. The
4:33core of the La Venta Ceremonial Center
4:36was the primordial mountain, at whose
4:38base stelae were planted with the
4:40effigy of the maize god. Around it,
4:49plazas, courtyards, and grandiose
4:51monuments were built, dedicated to the
4:54ancestors and founders of the people.
4:58In the ceremonial center, great
4:59offerings were buried, dedicated to the
5:01gods of the earth and the germination
5:03of plants. The Olmec farmers diligently
5:11studied the formation processes of the
5:14corn plant and captured the moments of
5:16birth, germination, and flowering in
5:18engravings and sculptures. Through
5:23their arts, they depicted the origin of
5:25the corn seed and its sprouting as a
5:27plant on the earth's surface. Near La
5:41Venta, at a place called La Merced,
5:44archaeological excavations discovered a
5:47sculpture representing the corn god,
5:50who was then the grain that nourished
5:52most of the population and the promoter
5:55of the milpa, cultivation terraces,
5:58temples, palaces, plazas, pyramids, and
6:01settlements. This is one of the first
6:06sculptures of the corn god. In it, he
6:09is portrayed in the shape of a grain,
6:12with four seeds stamped on the four
6:14sides of his face and an ear of corn
6:16sprouting from his head. Later, the
6:22figure of the corn god multiplied on
6:25axes made of jade, bone, and other
6:27materials. In these, one can see the
6:33god's face surrounded by sprouted corn
6:36kernels, ears of corn sprouting from
6:38the top of the head, or figures
6:40carrying ceremonial bars in their hands
6:42. Other representations of the corn god
6:51were sculpted on large stone monuments,
6:54such as in Pajapan, Veracruz, and
6:56Teopantecanitlán, Guerrero, showing
6:58the expansion of his effigy beyond
7:00Olmec borders. The Pajapan sculpture
7:04features a figure in the act of raising
7:07a cosmic tree, whose headdress is a
7:09representation of the corn god.
7:13Monument 1 of Teopantecanitlán is a
7:15frontal representation of this god. The
7:19royal headband on his forehead is
7:21adorned with four sprouted corn kernels
7:23. Many of these figures were made of
7:27green stones like serpentine or jade,
7:29which were the most valuable, as the
7:31Olmecs considered the color green a
7:33symbol of water and the green leaves of
7:36corn. In these figures, an ear of corn
7:41sprouts from the head with plant leaves
7:43on the sides. For the ancient
7:47inhabitants, this image was the symbol
7:49of nature's rebirth and the sprouting
7:51of their precious food, the corn plant.
8:00An ancient tradition says that most of
8:02the gods created by human beings were
8:04made in their own image and likeness.
8:09This is exactly what the Olmecs did, as
8:11they conceived their corn god by giving
8:14him a human figure, with a face of
8:16Olmec features and a mouth shaped like
8:19a jaguar's muzzle, a protruding fang,
8:21and almond-shaped eyes. This tradition
8:29continued with the Maya. In the year
8:392001, the American archaeologist
8:41William Saturno discovered
8:43extraordinary, colorful, and beautiful
8:45Mayan paintings in the Petén jungle of
8:48Guatemala, where one of the main
8:50characters is the corn god. These
8:55paintings are dated to 100 or 200 years
8:57before the common era. They are 2,000
9:01years old. These murals are near a
9:06Petén village called San Bartolo, and
9:07the paintings bear that name. On the
9:20painted walls appears the harmonious
9:22figure of the maize god before the
9:24primordial mountain. Beside him, two
9:40women and other characters pay him
9:42homage and bring him offerings. The
9:52whole composition rests upon the
9:54stylized body of a long feathered
9:55serpent. In the San Bartolo paintings,
10:01the perfection in drawing the human
10:02body stands out. On the face of the
10:06maize god, one observes a tiger-like
10:08mouth with a prominent fang and Olmec
10:10features. The figure is harmonious, and
10:14the color of the paint models the
10:16interior part of the body. More
10:21paintings have been discovered on the
10:23walls of San Bartolo. Among these, one
10:28can see the maize god being carried by
10:30a character falling into the water or
10:38happily shaking a rattle and playing a
10:42turtle shell accompanied by two
10:44characters, as he seems to be
10:47celebrating his rebirth. This sequence
10:55of images is related to another story
10:57told on paper many years later, in 1554
10:59. It is a story recounted in the Popol
11:05Vuh, the masterpiece of Mayan
11:07literature. The book tells that Jun
11:20Junapu, the father of a family living
11:22on the earth's surface who represents
11:24the maize seed, is forced to descend to
11:27the underworld, the dark and cold
11:29region called Xibalba in the Popol Vuh.
11:37There he faces the rulers of this
11:39tenebrous place, monstrous beings
11:41representing decay and death, who
11:43eventually sacrifice him. By killing
11:47him, they prevent him from rising to
11:48the earth's surface and being reborn as
11:50a maize plant. The Popol Vuh then
11:54narrates the feat of Jun Junapu's sons,
11:57the so-called divine twins or hero
11:59twins, who travel to rescue him. The
12:03twins are also challenged by the lords
12:05of Xibalba to descend into the
12:06underground world. Upon descending into
12:10this dark region, they are subjected to
12:11traps, tricks, and deceptions intended
12:13to prevent them from recovering their
12:15father's remains. This part of the
12:18Popol Vuh is filled with challenges
12:20that threaten the twins 'lives. They
12:24confront a proud being who poses as the
12:27sun and must use all their ingenuity to
12:29defeat him. They defeat other evildoers
12:34who caused earthquakes and disturbed
12:35the stability of the world. Finally, on
12:42the ball court, they face the terrible
12:44lords of Xibalba, who have skeletal and
12:47monstrous forms. After many adventures
12:53narrated with suspense and drama and
12:54alternated in time, the twins are
12:56almost on the verge of death, but they
12:58manage to escape and finish off the
13:00lords of Xibalba. Many years later,
13:08these exploits narrated in the Popol
13:10Vuh book were found by Maya scholars in
13:13paintings, sculptures, polychrome
13:16vessels, and codices dating back to the
13:19Classic period, between 200 and 900 AD.
13:26By comparing these discoveries with the
13:28Popol Vuh narratives, it was possible
13:30to reconstruct the story of the Maize
13:32God in three dramatic moments. A story
13:37that the Maya told in colorful images.
13:42The first episode recounts the death of
13:44Jun Junapu, who descends to the
13:46underworld and is beheaded by the lords
13:48of Xibalba. Several Maya vessels and
13:57plates from the Classic period show his
13:59decapitated head. Another episode tells
14:07of the journey of Jun Junapu's sons
14:08into the Earth in search of their
14:10father's body. The beautiful paintings
14:16show the figures and names of the twins
14:18, who in the Classic period are called
14:21Jun Ahau and Yax Balam. The first has
14:25black spots on his body and the second
14:27has patches of jaguar skin attached to
14:30his legs and arms. The twins face the
14:35lords of Xibalba, who invent various
14:37traps to kill them. As the twins manage
14:41to escape and come out unscathed from
14:43these deceptions, they are challenged
14:45to a ball game where the loser will be
14:47sacrificed. The twins accept the
14:51challenge, evade all dangers, escape
14:53their evil enemies, and finally manage
14:55to destroy them. The famous Blom plate
15:01shows one of these scenes, the moment
15:04the twins confront the vain bird that
15:06claimed to be the sun. The third
15:15episode is the culminating act of the
15:17myth, as it narrates how the twins help
15:19resurrect their father and bring him to
15:21the Earth's surface, transformed into
15:23the young Maize God. Classic period
15:28paintings show a character rescuing
15:30maize seeds from the underworld and
15:32transporting them in a canoe,
15:34overcoming numerous obstacles. On the
15:40bottom of this polychrome vessel, the
15:42character appears reclining as if he
15:43had just been born. In the scene on the
15:52left, two naked women help him dress in
15:55his jade stone attire. And on the upper
16:03right, he is seen in a canoe steered by
16:06two paddlers, carrying on his lap the
16:08bag of precious maize grains he has
16:10rescued from inside the earth. On
16:22another colored vessel, four characters
16:24can be seen in a canoe paddling through
16:26the cold waters of the underworld. The
16:30one on the left emerges from the earth,
16:32represented by a turtle shell, and
16:34carries on his chest the maize seeds
16:36rescued from inside the earth. In
16:41another painted image, we see the
16:43preparations for the emergence of the
16:45maize plant on earth. A figure is seen
16:49surrounded by three beautiful naked
16:51women who prepare to adorn him for his
16:53ascent to the Earth's surface. To the
16:57right, the twins Jun Aha and Yash Balam
16:59bear witness to this scene. Finally,
17:05the plant transformed into a humanized
17:07God is reborn triumphantly from within
17:10the earth. In the paintings, the plant
17:19transformed into God sprouts from a
17:21turtle shell symbolizing the earth,
17:23with the support of his loyal children,
17:26who help him emerge from the underworld
17:28, pouring water into the earth's cleft
17:30and reaching out to welcome him. This
17:38sequence of painted scenes culminates
17:40in a triumphant dance of the maize god,
17:43celebrating his victory over the agents
17:45of death and sterility and his glorious
17:48rebirth as a plant transfigured into
17:50the Maize God. Both in the paintings of
18:07the Classic period, dating from the
18:09sixth to the ninth centuries AD, and in
18:12the Popol Vuh account written in the
18:1516th century, the features of the myth
18:17and classic tale stand out, giving
18:20prominence to the main actors: the
18:22Maize Seed god and the hero twins who
18:24collaborate in his rescue. Along with
18:29the alternating and dramatized
18:31composition of the episodes, characters
18:34, actions, and plot run united in the
18:36inevitable triumph of the creation of
18:39life. A work of human ingenuity. The
18:47long history of the Maize God myth,
18:49narrated in images, glyphs, songs, and
18:52texts, contains a moral and a model of
18:54behavior. The moral is that farmers,
18:58through effort and inventiveness,
19:00created the maize plant that sustained
19:02the first human beings and initiated
19:04civilization. It is a moral tale that
19:09affirms the virtues of creative and
19:10civilizing labor. Another lesson is
19:18that whoever is tenacious and possesses
19:20ingenuity can overcome the greatest
19:22obstacles and defeat beings governed.
19:25by vanity and a destructive desire. In
19:33the Popol Vuh, they are an example of
19:37these virtues, and through their wit
19:39and cunning, they managed to defeat the
19:41evildoers of Xibalba, bring maize to
19:43human beings, and restore harmony to
19:45the world. The myth of the Maize God
19:49summarizes the virtues of the peasant
19:52people. Cultivating the plant was the
19:55task that united the diverse settlers
19:57in an enterprise of collective survival
19:59. It implied notions of community work,
20:04discipline, planning, and collaboration
20:06. The collective nature of maize
20:12cultivation gave rise to the division
20:14of labor within the family unit and
20:16organized the activities of the peasant
20:18community around the annual production
20:20cycle of the plant. Clearing and
20:25tilling the soil from February to March
20:27, planting between April and May,
20:29caring for and watering the plant from
20:31June to September, and harvesting and
20:33storage from October to November. Such
20:42was the agricultural calendar that
20:44defined the work and rites of the
20:46peasant community throughout the year
20:48and across the centuries to this day.
20:57The laborious task of burying the first
20:59seed in the Earth's moist interior, the
21:02tireless struggle against the elements
21:04that oppose its germination, and the
21:08triumphant sprouting of the plant above
21:11ground—the three key episodes of the
21:13corn god's tale—summarize the
21:15indigenous ingenuity used to create
21:17life and civilization. Oh. Oh.

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