Introduction
Heroes depicted in literary works often represent people’s cultural values as they consider heroic what they value most. Examples can be found in Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali, telling about the heroic quest of Sundiata, and in Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life, telling about the heroic twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque. Sundiata follows his destiny, and his kind heart helps him overcome those who try to interfere with God’s plan, while the twins maintain the world balance by defeating those who endanger it.
Sundiata’s Destiny as the Source of His Heroism
Destiny is the central theme of Sundiata and one of the most significant and influential forces within the literary work’s setting. Sundiata’s heroic quest lies in the necessity to follow his destiny, confronting and successfully dealing with anything that can stand in his path. For example, the queen mother, Sassouma, attempts to outsmart destiny to save the throne for her son, for whom Sundiata is a danger. She approaches Mali’s nine great witches, older women who rule the night, holding the secret of life and representing nocturnal powers, and Sassouma asks them to kill Sundiata (Niane 24). Her request is the first obstacle in Sundiata’s path as he is destined to live and become a king. However, even the witches do not want to interfere with destiny, saying that everything, including life and death, has a cause, and nothing should happen without it (Niane 24). Although the queen mother offers a way to fool destiny and generate a cause for Sundiata’s death, the witches cannot do it because of the kindness in his heart. The hero follows his destiny’s path, and even the potency of witchcraft cannot change it.
Sundiata’s story illustrates that destiny is a web woven by God, and no power can cut it, which is why a true hero should embrace destiny instead of resisting it. The queen mother falls the victim of illusions that make people think they “can alter the course which God has mapped out, but everything he does falls into a higher order” (Niane 22). Everyone has their own destiny, which is why its power influences everyone’s life. However, heroes are those who accept their destiny, while those who attempt to interfere with it and change its course are doomed to fail. Sundiata is destined to become a king, beloved and respected amongst his people, and he behaves kindly and modestly, while the malicious and prideful queen mother cannot win her battle with destiny (Niane 22). Thus, Sundiata’s heroism lies in his willingness to follow the plan God has created for him.
Hunahpu and Xbalanque: Two Aspects of a Single Force
In Popol Vuh, the heroic quest of two central characters, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, is to maintain the duality of the world’s nature. The twins represent the complementary forces, a single entity divided into two sides, like day and night or life and death. Mayan culture is based on the belief that the essential concept of the physical world has dual nature. Seven Macaw, one of the antagonists of Popol Vuh, claims that he is both sun and moon, and such a statement severely offends Hurricane, the Heart of Sky (Popol Vuh 14). Sun and moon, as all other elements of mythical quality, represent a single entity, but they can only exist in their duality. That is why Hurricane sends Hunahpu and Xbalanque to confront Seven Macaw, which becomes the first step in their heroic quest to protect the very duality they represent (Popol Vuh 14). The twins are heroes because they maintain the essence of Mayan culture while Seven Macaw attempts to deconstruct it.
Other enemies of Hunahpu and Xbalanque, Zipacna and Earthquake, are Seven Macaw’s sons, and they represent a distorted image of the world’s duality. The former claims to be the creator of mountains, and the latter claims to be their destroyer (Popol Vuh 15). However, the purpose of the duality is to serve the world, maintaining its internal powers as complementary forces that work together, each serving its own purpose. Zipacna and Earthquake may seem like a dual force at first sight, but they do not complement each other: one destroys what the other creates. They both, as well as their father, are doomed to meet their downfall when they confront Hunahpu and Xbalanque, the heralds of the world order.
Conclusion
Overall, Sundiata’s willingness to embrace his destiny makes him more potent than those who try to interfere with it, and Hunahpu and Xbalanque protect the world balance, dealing with anyone who undermines it. The three characters are the respective heroes of Mali’s and Mayan cultures as they represent the core values of each people. Sundiata’s heroic quest is associated with following his destiny and staying true to it, and not a single power can change that. Hunahpu and Xbalanque, in turn, are complementary forces that support each other, which is why their enemies cannot stand against them and succeed in the deconstruction and distortion of the world balance.
Works Cited
Niane, Djibril Tamsir. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. Pearson, 2006.
Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life. Translated by Dennis Tedlock, eBookit.com, 2013.