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A Legend of the Mayas

Hideo Yokokawa


Jessica Helen Lopez
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(1)


20 thousand years ago, in the Wisconsin glacial period of the diluvial epoch, a number of tribes living in Eurasia shifted in waves to the north east , and moved to the American Continents, through the Bering Land-bridge. 

In the new lands, they further continued moving down to the south and scattered all over the continents in small groups after thousands of years. One of the tribes called the mayas settled down in the Mesoamerican territory.

In the deep night of the 7th day of Flowers, when the ecliptic and moon’s path took the exactly same orbit under the canopy, was born Mamaluna, who was the 9th daughter of the family. Her father was Yashukuk, an astrological priest. Her mother was Margarita.

On this particular day, according to their astronomy, the moon was newly born again, and the next day, the sun was to be reborn too. Otherwise, the world was to collapse.

People gathered on the hill with fear and hope, waiting for the daybreak. "Lo!" shouted Yashukuk, pointing his finger to the scarlet morning star. Soon the gold arrows began to fill the canopy of the sky.

The drama of the twilight and dawn in midday continued. The sun concealed itself into the black spot and was soon reborn. People kneeled showered by the bright new sunbeams.

(2)

Mamaluna grew up with a macaw from her cradle days. The bird was named Paco. They were always together. Their relation was like an air one another. They communicated in an inaudible sphere. They have jointly owned their hearts and minds.

For the mayas, father of all things in nature was the sun, while mother was the land, and mother's womb was the underground. Caves were regarded as sanctuaries. Macaw was a symbol of the sun which fought against the darkness and death.

Margarita taught reading and writing to Mamaluna, who soon read through the massive amount of records carved on the stone monuments in the platform of the palace. Particularly, she was captivated by the astronomical records which had been accumulated for thousands of years.

Yashukuk frequently took her with him to the astronomical observatory and taught her the basic astronomy. When grown up, she was versed in it almost at the same level of his.

One night when the sky was brightly glittering with an unusual number of shooting stars coming from a vicinity of the Great Bear, Mamaluna felt something invisible like glowing gold from afar the southern limit of the canopy. Wondering what it was, she murmured something in her mind.

One day, she told Yashukuk that there were two spots in the canopy of heaven; one was a silvery white and the other was of blackness. Furthermore she added that the space was not simply cubic but consists of geometrically many dimensions . He simply laughed at and disregarded what she had said to him.

(3)

Napacusco, a young man of the aimalas living in the area of Lago Titicaca, was under the heavens jeweled with stars. The sky was flooded by a number of shooting stars which came from a vicinity of the Southern Cross. From afar the northern edge of the canopy, he felt that he heard a voice of platinum whiteness calling him.

He left Titicaca where he had been born and descended the Andes towards the north. He came down to a forest of the flat area, where he found a macaw that followed him maintaining a [proper distance, flying ahead of him or getting backwards. He named it Rara.

He entered the jungle. He went forward, cutting his way by a hatchet. Leading him to the north, Rara's movements became much more busy than before.

Flying ahead of him, Rara gave a piercing scream. A jaguar was watching him for a chance. Numerous macaws flied in the mid air between Napacusco and the jaguar, threatening it with awfully loud screeches. A huge macau glided silently from the back behind and stabbed the vital part between hipbones of the jaguar with a sharp beak. The jaguar run away dragging its hind legs.

After cutting through the jungle, he saw a rich field. Settling on his shoulder, Rara pressed its cheek to his and told him in an inaudible voice that they are reaching the land of platinum whiteness. He nodded.

..... continued to (4) JUMP UP

 

 

(4)

A cannibal tribe called the meadias was secretly enveloping the city of Copan, which was covered by the gloomy air. Grosso raised his right hand to command an attack to his men. That instant the invisible golden arrows from the sun pierced their eyes, ears and throats. They fell down and became worms. The birds came and pecked at hem. The city was again covered by the bright platinum light. People of the city felt something strange, but nobody except Paco and Rara realized what had happened actually.

Napacusco entered the city zone with Rara on his shoulder. The pedestrians saw a soft golden aura shrouding them. A man said that the god's messengers came. The rumor spread. Rara said to Napacusco that the valley which was seen over there was the place where the platinum whiteness originated. They entered the forest in the valley.

Napacusco found a lady who was bathing in a pond surrounded by bushes. She was shrouded by an aura of platinum whiteness. She was Mamaluna. He kneeled in front of the absolutely beautiful, while Paco and Rara were crossing their cheeks one another. Napacusco dedicated Mamaluna a gold necklace that he brought from Titicaca where the sun had been born. Mamaluna accepted Napacusco's courtship. Paco cut off a part of the pendant that Mamaluna was wearing. It was a bone of her great ancestor. Rara planted it in Napacusco's breast muscle.

People gathered at the platform of the palace. When Mamaluna and Napacusco appeared in front of them, they saw a brilliance mixed with platinum whiteness and gold that shrouded the pair. The brilliance spread and covered the whole place. In a wondrous mist of light, chewing cocas and drinking chicha, people were intoxicated by the beautiful of the pair.

(5)

At a twinkling starlit night, Mamaluna took Napacusco with her to her secret cave which was above the pond where they met for the first time. The cave was filled by the mist of soft solemn light. There was a spring in the center; The ceiling was the canopy pf heaven. Lying down themselves side by side with face up beside the spring, they watched the canopy.

In the part of the sky where she saw the Grate Bear, while he saw the Southern Cross in the same place. She soon understood that he was under the sky of Titicaca. Both of them realized that the canopy was dual like two sides of the same coin and that the distance means nothing to them.

 That night, Yashukuk was observing the movement of the stars. In the Milky Way he found two undiscovered stars which were close together; one was shining in gold, and the other in platinum whiteness. In the light of candlestick, he recorded the fact on the stone monument He remembered what Mamaluna had once had said to him about her astronomical view which had sounded curious to him.

Getting back to his residence at midnight, he told Margarita about what happened that night, She smiled but said nothing. She had known every thing already. They went to bed and fell in deep sleeping.

When the day broke, all people living in the territory of the city of Copan disappeared suddenly. Even now nobody knows what  happened and where they have gone.