Pre-columbian Native Tale 

 

From clay, the gods created the first maya-quiches.

They did not hold for long.

They were soft, powerless;

they fell apart before they could walk.

Then the gods tried with wood.

The stick figures talked and walked,

but they were dry:

they had no blood, no substance,

no memory or path.

They did not know how to talk to the gods,

or found anything to tell them.

Then the gods, out of corn,

created the mothers and the fathers.

With yellow and white and black corn

they kneaded their flesh.

Both men and women came from the corn,

like the gods did.

Their gaze extended over the whole world. 

 

Eduardo Galeano - Memorias del fuego