I really enjoyed the collection of stories based on Guatemalan folklore by the 1967 Nobel Laureate, Miguel Angel Asturias. The stories were compelling and engaging because of the poetic language and the imagery it creates in the readers’ minds. They were very unique in terms of structure too, since he would usually start the legend with one set of thoughts/ideas that would continually transform throughout the story, as we are introduced to new settings and new characters all along.
My favourite story was “Legend of the Crystal Mask”. Ambiastro has fled to the “most inaccessible of mountains” to escape the “men with worm-white skin” (Spanish colonialists). He has an obsession with carving sculptures of gods, warriors and priests out of rocks, that guard his cave. He toils and toils for days at end, without stopping, his face and hands replete with injuries and cuts, but none of this matters. He is devoted to sculpting. But in a twist in the end, his creations turn against their creator. The stools “kick him in the shins”, the work tables and work benches “hurled themselves about like enraged animals”, the shelves “lashed out at his shoulders, as if to kill him”. It parallels the science-fiction narratives common today where human creations such as robots/artificial intelligence turn against the human species. I wonder how prevalent this folklore is in Guatemala? How do they feel about today’s ever-growing technologies? I really liked this one excerpt from the story, “The one who adds creatures of artifice to creation must know that these creatures are rebellious. See, they have buried him, yet they remain!”
The short story, “Legend of the Singing Tablets”, reminded me of last week’s reading, “Popular Faces of Culture”, where one of the major themes was resistance, either masked or upfront. The indigenous culture, as portrayed in this story, is uninfluenced/untouched by the Spanish Conquest. The story is based on the lunar cycle, followed by the indigenous population. Despite the Spanish imposition of their own calendar and methods of life, the natives are able to keep their culture and traditions alive.
Overall, I loved the works of Asturias. They are definitely unlike anything I have read before!
Thank you for your retell of Legend of the Crystal Mask, which helped me better understand the story. I’m confused: if “the men with worm-white skin” are Spanish colonialists, Ambiastro(I don’t know if this name has some specific meanings) should be the indigenous people, then what does his creations represent? Why did these things finally kill Ambiastro? And why was the mask so special?