Read Online Latin American Folktales by John Bierhorst - Free Book Online
Authors: John Bierhorst
Tags: Fiction
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every green herb that is here. Dwell in all the earth!”
For the briefest of moments did they assume the mat and throne of God the Only Spirit. And then the lord frowns and says, “Adam! O Adam, mark this well. You will get your food on earth with sweat.”
And it is said that he expelled them. “When I say it and require it, then your life will finish here, for truly you are earth, and again you shall be earth.”
As people on earth were scattered and sown, they multiplied. And many were the sins. Because of these, indeed a second time God grew angry. He flooded the world.
The mere eight people who were left, the children of Noah, were the ones who reproduced. Truly they found favor. But does our lord have a mind to frown? Indeed he is provoked!
But ah! Four thousand and three years went by, and God was compassionate: he sent his precious son, the savior.
Through Santa María he came to take his precious incarnation. Through his precious death he came to save us, and he gave us everlasting life.
Lords and princes, rejoice, be glad. Hear this: dawn appeared and the true sun came out. It was Jesucristo, who came and laid his radiance upon us. A blaze of light appeared from heaven.
At that time angels befriended us men on earth. And so it was not without cause that María Magdalena was the first to see him at the sepulcher.
How glad you were, Lady Magdalena, that our lord, the true God, the true man, Jesucristo, spoke first to you where the sepulcher was! Alleluia.
When the apostles San Pedro and San Juan heard that he was revived, they were excited and came running to the sepulcher in the garden. Because of it their hearts were glad.
Forty days passed, and our lord gave orders to the apostles that in all the world the gospel would resound. Then he ascended to the sky.
Mexico (Nahua) / Francisco Plácido
FOLKTALES
A TWENTIETH-CENTURY WAKE
The dead to the grave and the living to their business.
proverb / Texas
Stories are told at wakes in order to pass the time, or, more to the point, to prevent people from falling asleep. Although it is widely accepted that the soul of the deceased has set off for the afterworld by the time the wake begins, another, more sobering tradition has it that the soul is prepared to slip inside of anyone in the room who drowses off. For the mere sake of sociability, if not for the deeper reason, food, drink, games, and stories help to keep the wake in progress.
There are old reports of wakes being held in church in front of the main altar. The more usual setting is the home of the deceased, where the body is laid out in a room cleared of furniture or with the chairs placed along the walls. This would ordinarily be the room that contains a small altar, with the coffin placed on a bench or table with the head toward the altar. Prayers are recited in this room, while storytelling takes place in an adjoining room, perhaps the kitchen, or out in the yard around a fire.
The fast-paced twentieth century did not enrich the custom, and it has even fallen into disuse in areas like New Mexico that have entered the era of the funeral parlor. Times have changed in Oaxaca, where card-playing increasingly has replaced storytelling at wakes. And everywhere the old practices must confront modern sensibilities that frown on any form of diversion in time of crisis. Nevertheless, old-style wakes have been abundantly reported, at least for the early and middle years of the century. In areas where the custom survives people known to be good storytellers continue to be notified when the occasion arises, in order to ensure their attendance.
The usual pattern is for the wake to begin at the first nightfall after death has occurred, with burial the following morning. Then, frequently, the wake continues for another eight days and nights. Between the first and ninth nights of the nine-day cycle, or novena, participation is reduced, and fewer candles are kept burning. In parts of Guatemala storytelling is
For the briefest of moments did they assume the mat and throne of God the Only Spirit. And then the lord frowns and says, “Adam! O Adam, mark this well. You will get your food on earth with sweat.”
And it is said that he expelled them. “When I say it and require it, then your life will finish here, for truly you are earth, and again you shall be earth.”
As people on earth were scattered and sown, they multiplied. And many were the sins. Because of these, indeed a second time God grew angry. He flooded the world.
The mere eight people who were left, the children of Noah, were the ones who reproduced. Truly they found favor. But does our lord have a mind to frown? Indeed he is provoked!
But ah! Four thousand and three years went by, and God was compassionate: he sent his precious son, the savior.
Through Santa María he came to take his precious incarnation. Through his precious death he came to save us, and he gave us everlasting life.
Lords and princes, rejoice, be glad. Hear this: dawn appeared and the true sun came out. It was Jesucristo, who came and laid his radiance upon us. A blaze of light appeared from heaven.
At that time angels befriended us men on earth. And so it was not without cause that María Magdalena was the first to see him at the sepulcher.
How glad you were, Lady Magdalena, that our lord, the true God, the true man, Jesucristo, spoke first to you where the sepulcher was! Alleluia.
When the apostles San Pedro and San Juan heard that he was revived, they were excited and came running to the sepulcher in the garden. Because of it their hearts were glad.
Forty days passed, and our lord gave orders to the apostles that in all the world the gospel would resound. Then he ascended to the sky.
Mexico (Nahua) / Francisco Plácido
FOLKTALES
A TWENTIETH-CENTURY WAKE
The dead to the grave and the living to their business.
proverb / Texas
Stories are told at wakes in order to pass the time, or, more to the point, to prevent people from falling asleep. Although it is widely accepted that the soul of the deceased has set off for the afterworld by the time the wake begins, another, more sobering tradition has it that the soul is prepared to slip inside of anyone in the room who drowses off. For the mere sake of sociability, if not for the deeper reason, food, drink, games, and stories help to keep the wake in progress.
There are old reports of wakes being held in church in front of the main altar. The more usual setting is the home of the deceased, where the body is laid out in a room cleared of furniture or with the chairs placed along the walls. This would ordinarily be the room that contains a small altar, with the coffin placed on a bench or table with the head toward the altar. Prayers are recited in this room, while storytelling takes place in an adjoining room, perhaps the kitchen, or out in the yard around a fire.
The fast-paced twentieth century did not enrich the custom, and it has even fallen into disuse in areas like New Mexico that have entered the era of the funeral parlor. Times have changed in Oaxaca, where card-playing increasingly has replaced storytelling at wakes. And everywhere the old practices must confront modern sensibilities that frown on any form of diversion in time of crisis. Nevertheless, old-style wakes have been abundantly reported, at least for the early and middle years of the century. In areas where the custom survives people known to be good storytellers continue to be notified when the occasion arises, in order to ensure their attendance.
The usual pattern is for the wake to begin at the first nightfall after death has occurred, with burial the following morning. Then, frequently, the wake continues for another eight days and nights. Between the first and ninth nights of the nine-day cycle, or novena, participation is reduced, and fewer candles are kept burning. In parts of Guatemala storytelling is
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