#2: The Popol Vuh & El Q'anil:Man of Lightning

I really enjoyed reading Adrian Recino’s version of the Popol Vuh and Victor Montejo’s El Q'anil this past week. I found the manner in which each of the stories presented the creation ‘myth’ of the Mayan peoples (Quiche Maya and Jakaltek Maya) to be very interesting. Indigenous values and worldviews are deeply embedded into both the Popol Vuh and El Q’anil. However, in El Q’anil , Montejo establishes direct ties between his people (Jakaltek Maya) and Xalja’ (their land base). These kinds of connections are not established within Adrian Recino’s version of the Popol Vuh. What might be a plausible explanation for this? Perhaps Recinos lacked the motivation to make these connections since he is an allied writer and not an indigenous one. On the other hand, since Montejo is a Jakaltek Maya; he has the knowledge and motivation to establish these ties.

Decolonizing Our Minds #1

I chose the title “Decolonizing our Minds” because I believe it to be very important to this course. As students, we need to be aware of the need to decolonize our minds, especially when examining Native American Literature which may not adhere to the general conventions of literature. Hence, we should also be aware that while literature is most often examined from a Euro-centric point of view, it should be examined within its own context. 

For this reason, I especially enjoyed reading Linda Smith’s 25 Indigenous Projects which describes Storytelling (#4), Writing (#11), and Representing (#12) as ways in which cultural survival, self-determination, healing, restoration and social justice are pursued by Indigenous peoples. I found the listing of storytelling (which intersects with both Writing and Representing) as an Indigenous project to be very interesting.  Storytelling is very important since it allows cultural beliefs and values to be passed down from one generation to the next. Furthermore, as Smith states, “The story and the story teller both serve to connect the past with the future, one generation with the other, the land with the people, and the people with the story” (p.145). Thus, I believe storytelling and oral tradition to be a vital part of Native American Literature because it allows for a more accurate depiction and representation of Indigenous people from their own perspective.