Mayan Folk Tales at Costume SuperCenter.com

Mayan Folk Tales

Mayan folktales are truly fascinating. If not for a special book known as the Popol Vuh which wove all of these stories into one origin legend, it’s likely that most Mayan folktales would have been lost. Nobody even thought of gathering Mayan folktales until after 1900. The folktales were told to explain things like how the moon came into existence or why a certain animal had certain colors. In comparison, Mayan folktales are unlike America’s folktales because their characters are not suitable for Halloween costumes! When you read some of the Mayan folktales, you will know why.

The Disobedient Son

This is the story of a disobedient boy whose mother sends him to live with his godfather, a priest, who gives him a job everyday. The priest hangs a skeleton in front of the church bell and tells him to ring it that night. The boy sees the skeleton and breaks it. Next, the priest tells him to take care of a sick man. When the boy goes to the sick man’s house, he asks the man if he’s going to die. The man answers yes and the boy strangles him. The priest then tells the boy the man was never sick and the priest just needs another job for the boy.

Then, the priest gives the boy a letter to deliver to the devil’s house and tells him it will take 4 years to get there. The boy goes and makes it to the house, but the devil isn’t there. The boy gets impatient. Finally, the housemaster brings out a “little devil” to receive the letter. The boy drags the little devil all the way back to the priest, who never expects to see him again, and says, “Here is your answer.” The story ends there.

The Rabbit and the Coyote

This folk tale tells about a rabbit and the stupid coyote that follows him around. The rabbit tricks the coyote into thinking the sky is falling and tells him to hold up a large rock to prop the sky up while he looks for a stick. The rabbit runs off and doesn’t return.

The rabbit is getting a drink. When the coyote asks what he’s doing, the rabbit tells the coyote he should drink all the water in the lake because there’s food at the bottom. The coyote begins to drink, the rabbit runs off, and the coyote gets sick because he drank too much water.

The Rabbit Throws Out His Sandal

The story starts with a rabbit inside a cave. Outside, there are animals who hate him so much that they are planning to kill him. They begin by attempting to get the rabbit to come out. The rabbit says he will come out, he is just taking off his sandal and he will come out in a moment. The animals tell him to throw it out and that they’ll catch it. The sandal is thrown and the animals throw it away but when they go to the cave, the rabbit is gone. In anger, the animals kill each other and the rabbit manages to get free.

The Jaguar and the Little Skunk

There is a jaguar and a female skunk. The jaguar is the godfather to the skunk’s son. One day, the jaguar goes to the skunk’s house to teach his godson to hunt. The jaguar takes him to a place where they kill a deer. After a hearty meal, they take some deer meat back to the mother skunk. When they run out of meat, the young skunk goes out hunting again, thinking he can catch another deer. When he doesn’t come back, the mother discovers his body near some deer tracks.