Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
OthersimilaritiessharedwiththeBible'sbookofGenesisincludetheexplana-
tion ofastronomical features, including the Big Dipper,the assertion that woman
was created after man, and the conclusion that man at one point had come too
close to being like the divine, resulting in a confusion of languages to disperse
humankindintodifferent linguistic groups.The
Popol Vuh
isnotwithout itsown
talesofheroics,themostprominentbeingthemythoftheHeroTwins,whojour-
ney into the underworld (known as Xibalba), ruled by seven lords, and endure
great hardships.
Inadditiontotheinterestingmetaphysicalspeculationprovidedthroughoutthe
text, another fascinating feature of the
Popol Vuh
is that it may have served as
a book of divination, with some hidden meaning if read in a certain way that
allowed the reader to predict future events—hence its being referred to as the
“Council Book.” In a more literal sense, it also tells quite matter-of-factly of the
impending difficulties that will arrive with the coming of “enemies , hidden be-
hind mountains and hills,” a possible allusion to the civil war and its atrocit-
ies. Despite the hardships, the topic concludes that, “Our people will never be
scattered. Our destiny will triumph over the ill-fated days which are coming at a
time unknown. We will always be secure in the land we have occupied.”
Between Pachalum and the ruins of Mixco Viejo, the Río Motagua traverses for-
estedhillsidesandfields.Oneofthesehills,
Cerro Potosí,
isthoughtbylocalsto
be haunted. Townsfolk ascribe a number of mysteries to this seemingly innocu-
oushill,includingthepresenceofanimalsseenbutneverheard,anairplanecrash
for which wreckage was never found, and the seeming disappearance of people
who walk into the mountain's forests.
Oneofthemostpopulartalesisthatofawomanwhodecidedtotakeashortcut
across the mountain while walking to her village, never to be heard from again.
Familymembersandneighborssentasearchpartybutfoundnothing.Townsfolk
also tell of a plane crash many years ago, clearly taking place on the mountain.
When they went looking for the wreckage, there were no signs of the plane or its
passengers. Although the hill is not very densely forested and is covered mostly
inscrubforest,localsoftenhearthesoundsofturkeys,dogs,androosterscoming
from the mountain. Some local hunters have even been lured into its expanses
looking for animals they hear but can never find.
The secret to the origins of the strange happenings on this mysterious moun-
tain may lie buried with its former landowner, Don Serbando Rosales, a wealthy
