Alexis Ofshtein 11/18/19 Pd 2

Sumerian- Team 6 first played some music to set the mood for their presentation. Before the gods there was darkness. The sea goddess Nammu was known as the “original dark chaos” and everything rose out from her. Namuu gave birth to Anki who was the heaven and earth. When Anki took the form of a mountain, it split in two by the air god Enlil. From this, An (the god of the sky) and Ki (the goddess of the earth) were born. Enlil impregnated Ninlil with the moon god Nanna. Nanna and Ningal gave birth to Utu, the sun. Before humans, deities were the laborers and when they went on strike, the gods had to plan a new race to be the servants to the gods. A god with great intellect, Geshtu-e was sacrificed and the birth goddess Ninmah created men and women from clay.  Team 6 gave us a poem and it meant how they sacrificed the god with intellect to impose their burden on man and cause them to service the gods. It meant the uniting of the flesh and soul. The presentators talked about the difference between the Sumerian belief with how the world was created to modern belief.  

Mayans Team 1: The two gods, Tepeu the Maker and Gucumatz the Feather Spirit, “glittered in brilliant blue and green feathers.” The gods came together and created the world with their thoughts where the beings looked over the Earth and worshipped the gods. The gods first thought about animals, but couldn’t praise them. Next they made humans from clay but they crumbled. After, they made humans from wood but had no mind or hear and had to be destroyed. Lastly, humans were made out of maize and god blood and successfully praised the gods. Some important gods are Quetzoloatl (god of the morning star), Yum Kaax (god of nature), Maize god, Chaac (rain god), and Kinich Ahau (sun god). Team 1 talked about some important Mayan legends. Two brothers fell in love with the same girl and battled each other to the death. The gods reincarnated them. One was reborn as a Chechen tree, which burns anyone who touches it. The other brother was reborn as a Chaca tree, which heals any injuries done by the Chechen tree. For every Chechen tree, there is a Chaca tree next to it. Another legend was about the princess and the beetle. A beautiful princess fell in love with a man who her father disapproved of. The father ordered the man to be turned into a beetle instead of being killed. The princess decorated him with jewels and wore it on her chest. Another myth talked about was about hero twins. They became the the rulers of the earth and were turned into the sun and the moon. Mayan rulers claimed to be descended from them justifying their right to the throne. This creation myth is similar to the big bang theory. 

Reflection: Hearing about these two creation stories were a good start to our presentations. I really liked how Team 6 played sumerian music to set the mood and immerse the audience into the presentation. The Sumerian and Mayan stories aren’t commonly known and I learned a lot today. I learned how Sumerians belief that the goddess of the Sea Nammu was known as the original dark chaos and everything came from her. I learned about Mayan legends and how they all have a theme behind them. It would have been difficult for both presentations to talk about all the gods, so maybe they could’ve posted a link with the list and descriptions of the gods. Today’s class was interesting and overall learned a lot. It is very interesting to see how different groups of people form a community and culture based on their beliefs.