Fables and Other Mayan Tales
of Atitlan

Ann Comtois

Long before mass media and even the written word, oral tradition served—and at the lake still does serve—a number of purposes. The stories of the Maya, like the Arthurian legends, the tales of Troy and the Bible, passed from generation to generation, were the cornerstone of education, religion, morality, sociopolitical reality, cultural uniformity and not least, entertainment.

The Maya, like every culture, has its roots in an oral tradition, a loose system of legend and lore that provides “the expressions of spirituality inherited from one’s elders.” In short, the “truth” of a nation.

Author Richard Morgan preserves the essence of Maya culture with Fables, an entertaining, informative and thought-provoking anthology of Mayan myth and mystery.

Richard Morgan is CEO of both Adventures in Education, Inc., and Aventuras en Educación, SA, affiliate companies whose study programs stress a flexible, dynamic approach to learning at Los Encuentros Posada y Centro Cultural in Panajachel.
In Spanish and English

A story book, Fables is written in straightforward English, but includes a Spanish translation. These features and the universality of its content have led to it being used as a language-learning tool in a pilot program here in Guatemala.

The structure of Morgan´s work cleverly recreates this oral tradition by having a fictitious Polish gypsy interview indigenous people from the towns of Lake Atitlan.

Stories such as “The Bruja and the Hunter Warrior “and “The Lazy Farmer and the Zopilote” convey imagery and messages that often work on multiple levels. Others delve into tales of buried gold and love lost.

An entertaining and educational collection of stories, Fables & Other Mayan Tales of Atitlan can be a useful tool for students learning Spanish or English. This book and his Lake Atitlan Resource Guide, are available at Posada Encuentros and Bus Stop Book Store in Panajachel.

See Richard Morgan's Web sites about Educational Adventure at Lake Atitlan and the Posada los Encuentros.