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THE MAYA LEGEND

OF THE ECLIPSE
Written by JOS SAMUEL MRIDA*, josemerida@gmail.com

Based on a popular belief

A long time ago, in the millenary forests of Guatemala, there lived a zompopo ant. There were

many ants in the forest, as many as there are stars in the sky, but this one was different. This one could

see the Sun.

The ants lives were very simple. Theyd go out every day to collect leaves from the trees, and

carefully cut them up. They didnt have anything else to do, and they didnt need anything else. The

ants were perfectly happy going about the same routine every day.

One day, the ant saw the sun at the zenith. He wondered whether there was a way to get up

there, and even whether he himself could go all the way up there. Maybe there was more to life than

just cutting up leaves.

It was a crazy dream. Throughout his whole life, hed only ever thought about one thing: cutting

up leaves from the forest into half-moon shapes. That had never been a problem before; ants love

climbing and cutting, and cutting and climbing. But this ant wanted more.
One afternoon, he got chatting to the brightly-coloured macaw that was nesting in a tree near his

anthill. Everything looked different from the tree-tops. Maybe the macaw could teach him something

new.

Excuse me, macaw, said the ant, have you ever seen the Sun?

By my feathers, of course I have!, she replied proudly. Where do you think I go when I fly

up into the sky?

The ant was surprised by this, and said:

So might it be possible for me to go up there too? Im tired of cutting leaves and climbing

trees. I want to try something new.

The macaw burst out laughing, her feathers shaking with mirth.

You want to go to the Sun? But thats impossible! Youre an ant! The only thing that you can

do is climb trees and cut leaves. Thats what you were born for.

The ant was very sad when he heard this, because he was sure that the macaw must be right. He

slowly climbed down from the tree, and went back to his anthill. He wanted to think things through. It

was true, he was indeed an ant, but he didnt understand why that should mean that he could never go

anywhere else. And so he decided to ask the other ants, the ones who always came to climb trees with

him, what they thought.

Listen, he said, Ive been thinking, and I think that Id like to try to climb up to the Sun. I

want to see what the world looks like from way up there. I dont want to spend the rest of my life just

cutting leaves.

The other ants stared at him, shocked.

All the way to the sun?, they asked him, surprised. How do you think you are going to do

that? It was a good question, but the ant wasnt going to let anything stop him. It was obvious that no

one was going to come with him, so he set off alone, without waiting for anyone else. If the macaw

could make it, then so could he.


And so he climbed up high, and then even higher. That centenary ceiba tree was bigger and

higher than he could ever have imagined. It seemed endless; the Sun rose, set and rose again, and still

he climbed. He lost count of all the steps; he had to stop and rest, because his legs were so small and

fragile.

Finally, he climbed higher than any ant had ever climbed before and reached the canopy of

branches and leaves that cover the whole of the Mayan forest in Guatemala. He redoubled the last of

his strength, climbing over the branches, pushing through the leaves and there it was! The Sun! It

was even bigger and brighter than he had dreamed it would be. It was sitting on top of the ceiba tree at

midday, lighting him up like never before. For a moment, the ant stood still, unable to believe his eyes.

And then he started climbing it.

He couldnt help it: he opened his jaws and bit off a piece of the Sun. After all, thats what he

had been born for.

Far below, the macawwho had never really flown all the way to the Sunwas staring at the

ground, confused. The light had changed. There was something strange going on The Sun always

shines through the leaves, but it looks different today, she thought. I can see something other than

sunbeams today.

That day, the Sun looked like the Moon. Half-moon shaped sunbeams dappled the forest floor.

And that was how the first eclipse happened, when the zompopo ant bit Kinich-Ajaw, the Sun.

The ant stayed in the sky, and turned into the morning star, shining next to the Sun at the break

of day. And every now and again, he repeats this feat and comes to bite off a little piece of the Sun; to

the amazement of all.

Guatemala, 2017.

* JOS SAMUEL MRIDA (Guatemala, 1982) est professeur de mathmatiques du Guatemala.

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