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AnonymousPopol Vuh
Nonfiction | Scripture | Adult | Published in 1554A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Section 9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
“The Arrival at Tulan” Summary
The first four men, along with the Tamub and the Ilocab, arrive at a place called Tulan Zuyva, at Seven Caves and Seven Canyons, where they will beseech their gods.
“The Progenitors Receive Their Gods” Summary
At Seven Caves and Seven Canyons, the gods, Tohil, Auilix, and Hacavitz reside. One by one, the first four men, the Tamub, and the Ilocab carry the gods home with them. First, Balam Quitze carries out Tohil, who the Tamub and the Ilocab also receive and worship. Then Balam Acab carries out Auilix. Mahucutah carries out Hacavitz. Iqui Balam carries Nicacah Tacah.
“The Progenitors Leave Tulan” Summary
The first four men, the Tamub, and the Ilocab are united because they worship the same god, Tohil. Together, Tohil, Auilix, and Hacavitz become the three main gods of worship. The god, Nicacah Tacah, is not mentioned beyond this point in the Popol Vuh because Iqui Balam, who receives the god, does not have any progeny.
“The Nations Ask for Their Fire” Summary
For days following the discovery of fire, it rains and hails. Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam appeal to Tohil for some warmth. Tohil answers their prayers and creates a fire for them. Meanwhile, the other nations suffer from the cold as well since their fire has been extinguished from the rain. They beg for some fire from Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam. However, the men deny the nations some of their fire as they no longer speak the same language. A Xibalban messenger tells Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam that since Tohil is their god, they must not give away his gift of fire to the nations. If the nations want fire, they must make an offering to Tohil, rather than appeal to the four men.
“The Nations Are Deceived into Offering Themselves” Summary
The nations ask Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam what they must do to procure some of the fire. The four men ask Tohil for his counsel. Tohil asks that the nations offer up “the breast beneath their shoulders and their armpits” in exchange for fire (203). The nations interpret this figuratively to mean that they must honor and worship Tohil with regular offerings. They agree to Tohil’s words, and thus, they receive fire to warm themselves. However, this is not to last, as Tohil’s words are meant to be taken literally. The nations must sacrifice their hearts beneath their shoulders and armpits. Thus, the nations are all sacrificed, their hearts extracted by the gods. In this way, the gods demonstrate the favoring of Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam.
Tohil declares that Tulan Zuyva is not the permanent home of Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam. He tells them to embark on the road to find their true homes. They must go in pursuit of the Icoquih, the Green Morning Star (also known as Venus). First, they must give thanks to the gods by piercing their ears and pricking their elbows. The men do this before embarking on their journey, pleasing the gods.
“The People Gather on the Mountain Chi Pixab” Summary
Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam gather along the mountain called Chi Pixab with the Tamub and Ilocab people. There, they each declare their names and pronounce themselves as part of the Quiché people. They declare, “We, the three Quichés, will not be lost, for our word is one” (207).
“Their Suffering on the Mountain Chi Pixab” Summary
To get to Chi Pixab, Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam endure many trials. They have to cross a sea, which they do by walking on stones along the way. On occasion, the sea would also part for them and they walk through it on their way to Chi Pixab. During the journey, they have no food, drinking only atole, a drink made of maize grains. They carry the gods Tohil, Auilix, and Hacavitz on their backs. As a result, the four men fast with their wives during the journey and continue their fast atop Chi Pixab.
“The Progenitors Await the First Dawn” Summary
Tohil orders Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam to hide him and the other gods in the forest, where other warriors cannot steal and defeat them. The men carry Tohil, Auilix, and Hacavitz on their backs into the forest, where each of the gods receive their new hiding places. Auilix is placed in the canyon called Hidden Canyon. Hacavitz is left at a “great fire house” (210) or red temple on a mountain. Tohil is hidden in a mountain as well. Nearby, the Tamub hide their god, Amac Tan, while the Ilocab hide their god, Amac Uquincat. Together, they all wait for the dawn, to see the Green Morning Star, Icoquih.
“The Appearance of the First Dawn” Summary
When dawn arrives with the sun and Icoquih rising in the sky,Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam, along with the Tamub, the Ilocab, and the remaining allied nations, rejoice. While they speak in different languages after departing Tulan Zuyva, the appearance of dawn unites them as “they all had but one dawn” (215). The sun dries up the wet earth. It also turns Tohil, Auilix, and Hacavitz into stone along with the puma, jaguar, rattlesnake, and pit viper. Thus, the people are protected from some of the more dangerous animals in the forest. In celebration, Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam sing a song called “Our Burial” that mourns the separation of people in Tulan Zuyva.
Section 9 Analysis
One of the principal themes of these sections is the tension between union and division. While the four men, the Tamub, the Ilocab, and the allied nations are united prior to Tulan Zuyva, their founding of the gods at the sacred citadel causes them to split off into different factions. The authors of the Popol Vuhindicate that after Tulan Zuyva, the various groups no longer speak the same language despite the overlaps in worship. However, it also fortifies the Quiché lineages between the four men, the Tamub, and the Ilocab. Meanwhile, the allied nations do not receive the same protections from the Quiché gods given this division following Tulan Zuyva. This division is both a joyous occasion for the fortification of Quiché while also a somber one, as it represents a deepening rift in the time to come. In “The Appearance of the First Dawn,” Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam commemorate these mixed emotions through the singing of the song, “Our Burial.” The song celebrates the coming together of the people, but also mourns the connections lost after Tulan Zuyva.
In “The Nations Ask for Their Fire” and “The Nations Are Deceived into Offering Themselves,” the gods exhibit favoritism towards Balam Quitze, Balam Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui Balam. When the four men ask for fire to warm themselves from the cold, the godTohil grants them this fire willingly. When the nations ask the four men to share the fire, they inadvertently betray Tohil by seeking favors from the four men first. They fail to directly seek fire from Tohil, as the four men have done, but rather boldly encroach upon the god’s gift to others. Thus, Tohil’s punishment of the nations involves the offering of “the breast beneath their shoulders and their armpits” (203), which figuratively describes dedication to worship and literally means the extraction of one’s heart. As the nations fail to demonstrate their faith to Tohil the first time, their eventual gift of fire comes at a sacrificial price.
The dawn in the East is a significant moment in the Popol Vuh narrative as it connects this storyline with an earlier one concerning Hunahpu and Xbalanque’s redemption of One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu. Upon Hunahpu and Xbalanque’s defeat of the Xibalban lords, One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu are able to rise to the sky and become a part of its firmament. The four men, the Tamub, the Ilocab, and the nations have been waiting for light in the sky to transform the face of the earth. When dawn arrives, the gods turn to stone, the more dangerous creatures are frozen, and the people are warmed. It is also a briefly unifying moment, as it reminds the people that despite the divisions that occur following passage through Tulan Zuyva, “they all had but one dawn” (215). This suggests that while they may have differences in language, they share in their reliance on dawn’s light and warmth.
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