FIRST VOICES
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The Sun and The Moon
The first sun, the sun of water, was taken by flood. All those who dwelt upon the earth became fish.
The second sun was devoured by tigers.
A rain of fire devastated the third one, which set aflame all the peoples.
The fourth sun, the sun of wind, was erased by the tempest. Every person was turned back into apes and all were dispersed among the mountains.
Thinking it over, the gods reunioned in Teotihuacán.
“Who will be in charge of bringing the dawn?”
The Lord of the Shells, famous for his strength and good looks, stepped forward.
“I’ll be the sun,” he said.
“Who else?”
Silence.
All of them looked toward the Little Putrefying God, the ugliest and most miserable of them all, and they decided:
“You.”
The Lord of Shells and the Little Putrefying God took themselves to the hills that are now The Pyramids of The Sun and The Moon. There fasting, they meditated.
Later, the Gods gathered wood, set a huge fire, and called to the two others.
The Little Putrefying God took the hint and jumped into the flames. Right away, he emerged, incandescent, in heaven.
The Lord of Shells looked upon the fire with a furrowed brow. He stepped forward, then back, held himself away…turned about twice. Since he could not make up his mind, they had to push him. After a great delay, he rose up to the sky. The gods, furious one and all, cuffed him about the head. They beat him about the face with a rabbit, time after time, until they killed off his very brightness. Thus it is that the arrogant Lord of The Shells became the moon. The blemishes on the moon are the scars from that punishment.
Bu the resplendent sun was not moved. The obsidian sparrow hawk flew toward the Little Putrefying God:
“Why aren’t you moving?”
And this is how the despised, awful smelling, put down cripple responded:
“Because I love blood and kingship.”
This fifth sun, the sun of movement, lit up the Toltecs and lit up the Aztecs. He had claws and fed on the hearts of the humans.
Translation ©2023. Terence Clarke. All rights reserved.
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About Eduardo Galeano? click here. For Galeano’s great Memoria del fuego, click here.
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