Deeper Reading:
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The abuela, or grandmother, says that they are “people of the corn/
gente de maíz.” This is a reference to the Mayan story of creation found
in the Popol Vuh. The gods, after multiple attempts to make humans,
finally succeeded once they made them from corn. The title of the book,
Under the Ocelot Sun, refers to another Mesoamerican creation myth,
this one from the Nahua people. (In the U.S. we typically refer to the
Nahua as Aztecs or Mexica. They are mostly from Central Mexico
and they were the group who held political and cultural power
throughout most of central Mexico when Cortez and his men arrived.)
The Aztec empire comes into power after the golden age of the Mayans.
The Aztec pantheon (their collection of gods) and the cosmological
myths (their stories about how the world was made) that formed their worldview are similar to those of the earlier Mayans. In this way, the Mayans are to the Aztecs as the Greeks are to the Romans. Despite these similarities, there are local differences, not just between Mayan and Aztec cultures and gods, but also among those cities and regions within the Aztec empire. This account, which focuses solely on the Aztec/Nahua and the Mayans, leaves off the Otomí, the Zapotec, the Mixtec, the Lenka, and all the other indigenous groups in Mexico and Central America. Still, despite these differences, the large cats of the jungle, the jaguar and the ocelot, are totemic animals, and corn plays a central role in the diet and the mythologies of Mesoamericans.
Creation stories tell us who we are and what we value. The Mayan Creation story, as told in the Popol Vuh, can be seen here. The story notes that there were several moments of creation, and that finally, with the creation of people made of corn, the gods were satisfied. Among other things, this story speaks of the importance of corn for the Amerindians of Mesoamerica. All the various cultures have corn gods who are important and central deities. Click here to read more about the importance of corn gods. The website is related to the British Museum, where tthat houses this particular image. It uses the word maize, which is what British English uses to refer to what American English calls corn. The word maize comes from the Spanish, maíz, which comes into the Spanish from the Taíno or Arawakan, the language of the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean.
As noted, the Mexica or Aztecs, come after the Mayans, and there are many similarities between their stories and their gods. The Mexica also tell of multiple creation events. They call these cycles suns. Click here to watch a video on Mexica Creation stories. The first sun goes by various names, one of these is the Jaguar sun, because it ends with jaguars destroying the world.
-What are some creation stories that you know?
-What are the lessons they teach?
-How are references to creation stories and myths used in literature?
-How do we use them in our everyday lives?
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The grandmother tells stories of growing up in rural Honduras.
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-Why does she do this?
-Do your parents or grandparents or other family members tell you stories about when they were young?
-Do they tell you stories about the time before you were born?
-Why do they do this?
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The mother and daughter of the story are from Tegucigalpa. They have lived all their lives in the capital city. The grandmother, on the other hand, is from the mountains, she is from rural Honduras.
-Why might have the grandmother, or the grandmother’s parents left rural Honduras for the capital city?
-Is this phenomenon of leaving rural areas for urban areas something unique to Central America, or is this also common in other countries?
-Maybe even here, in the United States?
-Why do people do this?
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People leave their home and immigrate to new countries for many different reasons. Among these reasons are climate change and environmental disasters, poverty, ethnic and/or political violence. Often people leave not just for one reason, but because a number of reasons come together and make life extremely hard.
-What are some of the possible reasons given in the book for why Central Americans would come to the United States to seek asylum?
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Over the last 30 years, the American government has responded to the influx of Mexican and Central Americans workers by building walls along the southern border.
-What do walls do?
-Why do we put up walls?
-How effective are walls?
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In the story, the mother notes that laws protect some animals, like the national bird of Honduras and others.
-Why do we protect some animals?
-Do people have the same rights and protections as animals that are protected by laws?
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Do you think you or your family would ever leave the city, the state, or the country where you live? Why?
​-Do you think that this would be hard to do?
-Would you ever leave on foot and cross the jungle and rivers to come?
-Why do you think people would undergo such struggle to come to a new country?
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In the book, the mother calls her daughter a treasure.
-Would you or your family suffer for the sake of a treasure?
-What does calling her daughter a treasure mean about what is valuable and worth fighting for?
