A hammock to hold the world up.

[njolsson]

I am of the Judeo-Christian belief as far as the story of creation goes, but I've got to hand it to the Mayan creation myth I just read about, where the spider god Tocotl weaves an enormous hammock to hold the world up!

Does anyone know where I can find a more detailed version of the myth? Google only yields the one sentence summary. I guess I'll have to try the library for some Mayan mythology textbooks.

I thought HF might enjoy this tidbit. I've always liked spiders, and I've got a new-found love of hammocks, so it's a win-win myth for me.

Heck, I've got a little time to spare today, so I will make up my own myth:

When the young world was a newly fallen fruit from the tree that grows in the center of the universe, the people upon it were unhappy and frightened. They were on constant watch and in fear of the anacondas, caymans, ants and centipedes that crawled in the mud and darkness of the floor of the universe, where the world sat. The sun and moon passed over and around the world, giving some light to the people through the forest canopy above. The spider goddess Tocotl saw that it would be good to bring comfort and rest to the people, so she wove a gossamer hammock around the world, and tethered it to the moon with wide webbing straps and to the sun with a ring buckle system. At first she did not get the tension and web configuration quite right, and the people complained that their shoulders were squeezed and that they could not get flat enough. Soon, however, thanks to some earnest weaving and an easy adjustment of the rings, the size of the hammock body and its sag were set just right. The people were grateful, but they continued to complain about the noise of the critters crawling below the hammock as they tried to sleep, and asked that Tocotl provide them with an underquilt and extra large tarp to keep the rain out.

[Cannibal]

I am of the Judeo-Christian belief as far as the story of creation goes, but I've got to hand it to the Mayan creation myth I just read about, where the spider god Tocotl weaves an enormous hammock to hold the world up!

Does anyone know where I can find a more detailed version of the myth? Google only yields the one sentence summary. I guess I'll have to try the library for some Mayan mythology textbooks.

I thought HF might enjoy this tidbit. I've always liked spiders, and I've got a new-found love of hammocks, so it's a win-win myth for me.

Heck, I've got a little time to spare today, so I will make up my own myth:

When the young world was a newly fallen fruit from the tree that grows in the center of the universe, the people upon it were unhappy and frightened. They were on constant watch and in fear of the anacondas, caymans, ants and centipedes that crawled in the mud and darkness of the floor of the universe, where the world sat. The sun and moon passed over and around the world, giving some light to the people through the forest canopy above. The spider goddess Tocotl saw that it would be good to bring comfort and rest to the people, so she wove a gossamer hammock around the world, and tethered it to the moon with wide webbing straps and to the sun with a ring buckle system. At first she did not get the tension and web configuration quite right, and the people complained that their shoulders were squeezed and that they could not get flat enough. Soon, however, thanks to some earnest weaving and an easy adjustment of the rings, the size of the hammock body and its sag were set just right. The people were grateful, but they continued to complain about the noise of the critters crawling below the hammock as they tried to sleep, and asked that Tocotl provide them with an underquilt and extra large tarp to keep the rain out.

Other than the involvement of what I can only imagine being a huge spider, that's a pretty cool write-up.