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Writer's pictureJacob Longhurst

The Story Behind the Book: The Legend of the Worry Doll

Updated: May 19, 2023

Worry dolls are part of Guatemalan culture. The history of Worry Dolls is derived from a Mayan legend. According to Antigüeña Spanish Academy:

“The Mayan legend tells (according to the Mayan sacred book the Popol Vuh) that when their gods met to form the Mayan world, their attempt to create humanity was fruitless. "The first men were formed of stone, but they were so hard that they could not move"; "In the second attempt they tried it with mud, but with the first rain the men fell apart." The Mayan story goes on to say that their gods agreed: "May they be made of corn!" And so it was that Ixmucané emerged, the goddess of that grain of corn. She was in charge of creating Mayan men and women.


Post-Mayan culture folklore says that after a while, the Corn Goddess Ixmucané transformed to reincarnate into doll rocks to protect the corn men and women that she helped create. That is why it is said that little dolls have the power to solve problems and concerns.”


https://www.spanishacademyantiguena.com/blog/2021/05/09/guatemalan-worry-dolls/

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