Extra Credit Reading Notes: Mayan Folktales Reading

These notes are from the first 20 pages of Heart of Heaven, Heart of Earth, and Other Mayan Folktales, which is the book I'm using as inspiration for my storybook project. I love the supernatural elements of these stories and want to capture them in my own stories.

Heart of Heaven, Heart of Earth: A Tzutuhil Tale: Many stories in this book take place in present-day or during the last century, so this is one of the oldest tales in the book. I think this contributes to the mysterious, magical tone. The Tzutuhiles of olden days were peaceful, wise, and could become invisible at will. When the Spaniards came, the most powerful decided to disappear into the clouds, under the lake, in the volcano, and into the hills rather than fight a bloody war. However, they are still present in spirit. There is a custom for Tzutuhiles today to kiss the air as they go about the day in remembrance of these Tzutuhiles who disappeared. I would like to emulate this second layer of magic and history in my storybook.

Story of a Hunter: This story is about a hunter and a dueño of the place that he hunts. I like dueños and dueñas because they each have unique appearances, powers, and domains, and they often exist to teach humans a lesson. In this story, a hunter kills too many animals, so the dueño sends a snake to bite him. Afterwards, the hunter heals and continues to hunt, so the man dies but remains tormented by the dueño. Wounded animals attack him, but the man can't do anything to cure them, so he is stuck there in misery.

Image Source: Lake and volcanoes in Guatemala via Wikimedia Commons.

Story Source: Sexton, J. D., & Ujpán Ignacio Bizarro. (1999). Heart of Heaven, Heart of Earth, and Other Mayan Folktales. Smithsonian Institution Press.