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The Creation (Popol Vuh)

4/7/2015

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Introductory Discussion Questions:

What would the world be like without people (the good) (the bad)?

What kinds of things have you thought about making or doing?

Did you make or do those things?

If you only had to think of something to make it a reality, what would you think about?

What would you not think about?

Synonym Matching

Beginning                                                                                            maker                                                                                  

Hurricane                                                                                            atmosphere

Story                                                                                                     only

Maker                                                                                                   start

Sky                                                                                                         action

Modeler                                                                                              storm

Alone                                                                                                    tale

Movement                                                                                         creator

Antonym Matching

Praise                                                                                                    badly

Dawn                                                                                                    destroy

Land                                                                                                      criticize

Well                                                                                                       water

Glory                                                                                                     dusk

Nurture                                                                                                drabness

THE CREATION (Popol Vuh)
Here is the story of the beginning, when there was not one bird, not one fish, not one mountain.
Here is the sky, all alone. Here is the sea, all alone. There is nothing more –no sound, no movement.
Only the sky and the sea. Only Heart-of-Sky, alone. And these are his names: Maker and Modeler,
Kukulkan, and Hurricane.

But there is no one to speak his names. There is no one to praise his glory. There is no one to nurture his greatness. And so Heart-of-Sky thinks, "Who is there to speak my name? Who is there to praise me? How shall I make it dawn?" Heart-of-Sky only says the word, "Earth," and the earth rises, like a mist from the sea. He only thinks of it, and there it is. He thinks of mountains, and great mountains come. He thinks of trees, and trees grow on the land. And so Heart-of-Sky says, "Our work is going well."

Listening Blank Fill
Here is the ________ of the beginning, when there was not one bird, not one fish, not one mountain. Here is the _______, all alone. Here is the sea, all alone. There is nothing more –no sound, no movement. Only the sky and the ______. Only Heart-of-Sky, alone. And these are his names: ________ and Modeler, Kukulkan, and Hurricane.

But there is no one to speak his ________. There is no one to praise his glory. There is no one to nurture his ___________. And so Heart-of-Sky thinks, "Who is there to speak my name? Who is there to praise me? How shall I ________ it dawn?" Heart-of-Sky only _______ the word, "Earth," and the earth rises, like a mist from the sea. He only thinks of it, and there it is. He thinks of __________, and great mountains come. He thinks of trees, and trees _______ on the land. And so Heart-of-Sky says, "Our work is going _______."

Fill in the Blank with a, b, c, or d.
Here is the story of the beginning, 1(    ) there was not one bird, not one fish, not one mountain. Here is the sky, all 2(    ). Here is the sea, all alone. There is nothing more –no sound, no movement. Only the sky and the sea. Only Heart-of-Sky, alone. And 3(    ) are his names: Maker and Modeler, Kukulkan, and Hurricane.
       
But there is no one to speak his names. 4(     ) no one to praise his glory. There is no one to nurture his greatness. And so Heart-of-Sky 5(     ), "Who is there to speak my name? Who is there to praise me? How shall I 6(    ) it dawn?" Heart-of-Sky only says the word, "Earth," and the earth rises, like a mist from the sea. He only thinks of it, and there 7(    ) is. He thinks of mountains, and great mountains come. He thinks of trees, and trees grow on the land. And so Heart-of-Sky says, "Our work is 8(    ) well."

1. a. if b. when c. therefore d. as                              2. a. only b. himself c. alone d. singular                

3. a. these b. those c. this d. that              4. a. There b. There are c. They’re d. There is

5. a. did think b. will think c. thinks d. thought                   6. a. make b. cause c. do d. create

7. a. they b. he c. it d. she                            8. a. go b. do c. going d. come

Pair Work Discussion Questions

A:

1.       In what way or ways is this story similar to the first story?

2.       Do both stories have a definite starting point?

3.       Which of the two stories do you like best? Why?

4.       Both of these stories are very ancient; do people still believe them today?

5.       Why do you think people do or do not believe them today?

B:

6.       In what way or ways is this story not similar to the first story?

7.       What are the names of the creators in each story?

8.       Why do you think Heart of Sky decided to make the earth?

9.       Is it ok for a god to want to be praised? Why or why not?

10.   Is it good for man to want to be praised?

Key Vocabulary:
Bird   niao 3

Fish   yu  2

Mountain   shan 1

Sky             tian 1

Sea    hai 3

Sound    sheng 1

Movement    dongzuo 44 

Heart   xin 1

Word   hua 4

Rises   shangsheng 41

Mist    bowu 24

Think    xiang 3

Grow    zengda 14

Land    ludi 44

Hurricane   jufeng 41

Exercise Answers

Synonym Matching: beginning-->start / hurricane-->storm / story-->tale / maker-->creator /sky-->atmosphere / modeler-->maker / alone-->only / movement-->action

Antonym Matching: praise-->criticize / dawn-->dusk / land-->water / well-->badly / glory-->drabness / nurture-->destroy

Fill in the Blank: 1. b. when / 2. c. alone / 3. a. these / 4. d. There is / 5. c. thinks / 6. a. make /

7. c. it / 8. c. going

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    Author

    My name is Paul. I am from Michigan, USA. I am a perpetual language learner and teacher, trading my time between two continents. I obtained my MA in TESOL from Cornerstone University. 

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