In order to understand what the Popol Wuj is to the Maya people, we first need to make clear what a myth is. Myth and Popol Wuj are closely connected.
When we think of myth, sometimes we think of Greek Gods and epic stories. However, myth is really an overarching term for a class of story informed by patterns of the natural world around a group of people who pass the story down through generational storytelling, until it has become something that no individual person knows the origin of. Myth also helps explain the world in metaphorical terms, in a way that kids can understand and learn from.
The Popol Wuj, or Book of Counsel, for the Maya people is their myth. Popol Wuj is a myth that explains their world, origins, culture, in an epic tale of heroism.
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