A soundscape of the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham by Gboyega Odubanjo. Edited by Lucia Scazzocchio. With support from the Alternative School of Economics.

Two Stops Short Of Barking - An Audio Piece By Gboyega Odubanjo

9. The Corn People (Maya - Central America)
This story from the Maya people explains how humans were created out of corn after several attempts using different materials and how the creator gods Tepeu and Gucumatz made sure that humans did not have the constant access to supernatural vision.

Gucamatz (The Maker and Tapeau (The Feathered spirt) imagine the world, plants and animas into being. As supreme beings they need to be worshiped so they try to get the animals to praise them but that doesn’t work. They then create clay people but they just crack and break. They make wooden people but when they are asked to worship it’s wooden and without feeling so they drown them and they turn into monkeys. Then the animals bring them corn to make people out of. This works! These people praise them but they also have extra vision and can see and know as much as the gods which is problematic as this should be reserved for supreme beings. They swiftly have their third eye removed so they can praise the gods appropriately. 


Ancient Maya culture once stretched from central Mexico to Honduras and included parts of what is now Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador. More than 40 cities were founded on the Yucátan Peninsula in Mexico and in this area where they have now become tourist attractions.  Most of what we know about Maya religion, myth and history comes from a sacred book called The Popol Vuh (Book of Community) which is the most important book of the K’iche Maya of the Guatamalan highlands. It is presented in three parts. The first talks about the creation of the world and its first inhabitants, the second narrates the story of the Hero Twins, a couple of semi-gods; and the third part is the story of the Quiché noble family dynasties.
In Maya mythology, Tepeu (The Maker)  and Gucumatz (The Feathered Spirit also known as Kukulkan, and as the Aztec's Quetzalcoatl) are referred to as the Creators, the Makers, and the Forefathers. They were two of the first beings to exist although there were around 150 other gods.

Creation stories from around the world, dramatised for radio. An immersive audio adventure back to the beginning time…
Why are we here, how did we get here and who are we anyway? These profound questions have given rise to creation stories, shared across cultures and societies to help us humans make sense of the world and there are many commonalities between these stories. In the Beginning brings ten of these ancestral tales to life. 

These stories transport us through the cosmos, into dreamtime, down a golden chain and through nature’s arc where we meet animals, gods and spirits -  the makers, shapers and creators. 


More information http://www.inthebeginning.world

Credits
Researched, written and directed by Lucia Scazzocchio & Hawa Kahn 
Presented by Chizzy Akudolu, narrated by Nicole Davis
Cast: Chizzy Akudolu, Rosie-Marie Christian, Darren Hart, Arnie Hewitt, Hawa Khan, Paul Marlon, Katherine Mosely, James Price, Narinder Samra. 
Children: Quinceo Parkes, Omara Parkes, Della Parkes, Sierra Kaitell, Gabriel Goba
Casting Director: Hawa Khan 
Audio production and sound design: Lucia Scazzocchio
Additional research: Leona Fensome
Original music: Gail Tasker
Cover Art: Delphine
A Sonomatopoeia / Social Broadcasts production. Supported by the Audio Content Fund.

The Corn People

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