Verse 1: The Primordial Essence
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Nojoch Ciclo ti’ Sukbenilo'ob
(The Great Cycle of Creation)
Before the dawn, when darkness held its sway,
And silence ruled the void without a name,
The Primordials stirred within the deep,
Their essence pure, their power yet untamed.
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The First Pulse shook the void and gave first breath,
To a deep and ancient melody unheard.
Like harvest seeds are taken by the wind,
So too did the first elements give stir.
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First came the Sun, whose fire lit the void,
The ever-burning light that chased the dark.
It blazed through space, and all things knew its warmth.
The Sun was life, and life did spring from light.
The Sun was called by many names through time:
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As Ra, it rose to rule the skies above.
As Amaterasu, it broke the dawn,
And as Apollo, it brought forth the arts.
But still, the Sun remained its single flame—
One light, one force, though many tongues gave name.
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A Prayer to the Sun
O Eternal Fire, whose light is woven through the stars,
We lift our voices in praise of Your life-giving might.
You kindle dawn and sustain the world in Your glow,
Shine evermore upon us, O Sun, and purify our spirits.
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From Ra’s first light, the cosmos took its form,
A spark that tore the shroud of night asunder,
And with that flame, the stars began to burn,
Marking the birth of time, of space, of wonder.
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When first the sun does rise o'er mountain's peak,
The faithful stand to greet its golden light.
With arms outstretched, they offer fruits and grain,
A sign of thanks for warmth and life bestowed.
Three words they speak—‘O Flame, sustain us well,’
And from the east, they seek the day’s first breath.
The morning wind shall carry forth their plea,
And in its whisper, Ra shall know their praise.
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The Sea rose next, the depths where life began,
Where waters whispered secrets to the stars.
The tides that swelled with moon and storm alike,
And in its depths, the cradle of the world.
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Atabèy, the mother of the waves,
Was one with Tlaloc, bringer of the rains,
And Neptune, ruler of the ocean’s deep.
Though called by many names, the Sea was whole,
Its voice the same beneath each shifting tide.
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And the Sea spoke with tidal voice:
"I AM THE DEEP WHERE LIFE AND DEATH UNITE,
THE FORCE THAT DRIVES THE TIDES AND FILLS THE SKY.
IN RAIN I BLESS, IN STORM I CLAIM MY DUE.
CALL ME AS YOU WILL, BUT KNOW MY WATERS FLOW
IN ONE ETERNAL COURSE, FOREVER BOUND."
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Atabèy, whose waters cradle life,
From her vast depths the oceans and the rains,
Did flow, embracing Earth with fertile hands,
And from her womb, all living things arose.
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When first the oceans rose from earth’s embrace,
And tides did crash against the newborn shores,
Atabèy, mother of the endless deep,
Looked down upon her children in the waves.
Her waters nourished life in every form,
From seashell’s curl to dolphin’s graceful leap.
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But time did pass, and men came to the sea,
Their boats like specks upon her rolling breast.
At first they asked in prayer for gentle winds,
And fish to fill their nets with silver scales.
Yet soon, their hunger grew beyond their need,
And greed did fuel the taking of her gifts.
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Atabèy watched in silence from the depths,
Her patience thin as waters in the drought.
She saw them cast their nets in reckless haste,
And plunder all her creatures for their gain.
The coral reefs lay broken, stripped of life,
The dolphins fled, the waves grew still and cold.
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In anger vast, she stirred the ocean’s soul,
A tempest formed beneath her heavy hand.
Her voice, a rumble deep beneath the waves,
Proclaimed her wrath, her sorrow, and her might:
“NO LONGER SHALL YOU TAKE WITHOUT RESPECT,
FOR I AM SHE WHO HOLDS THE WORLD IN SWAY.
THE WAVES YOU ONCE DID SAIL WILL RISE IN STORM,
AND ALL YOU BUILT SHALL CRUMBLE IN THE TIDE.”
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With that, she sent a flood upon the land,
A wall of water tall as mountain’s peak.
The villages did fall beneath its weight,
The ships were shattered, dashed upon the rocks.
And men, who once believed the sea was kind,
Now saw the force of nature’s mother scorned.
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Yet in the storm, one child she spied alone,
A boy adrift upon a broken plank.
His cries were soft, yet reached her deepest ear,
His eyes, though filled with fear, still bright with hope.
Atabèy, seeing innocence in him,
Felt mercy stir within her ancient heart.
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She calmed the waves and took him in her arms,
And raised him high above the drowning sea.
With gentle hand, she placed him on the shore,
Where land was safe and free from ocean’s wrath.
“GO FORTH,”
she said, her voice a mother’s care,
“AND LEAD YOUR PEOPLE WITH RESPECT FOR ME.
REMEMBER WELL THE COST OF GREED UNCHECKED,
FOR I AM KIND, YET FURY LIVES IN ME.”
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The child grew strong, a leader wise and just,
Who taught his kin to honor sea and sky.
And though the flood had washed their lives away,
They built anew, with reverence and grace.
The tides did rise, but never more in rage,
For mercy stayed the hand of ocean’s queen.
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And thus, the sea and man did live as one,
In balance born of wrath and gentle care.
For Atabèy, the mother of the deep,
Could crush the world, yet chose to let it thrive.
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And Atabèy, mother of the deep, declared:
“TO TAKE FROM THE WATERS IS TO TAKE FROM LIFE ITSELF.
HONOR THE SEA, AS YOU HONOR YOUR MOTHERS AND FATHERS,
FOR THE BOUNTY OF THE WAVES IS NOT ENDLESS,
AND IN RESPECT, THE BALANCE OF ALL THINGS IS KEPT.
TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU NEED, AND GIVE THANKS WITH EVERY BREATH,
FOR IN GREED, YOU INVITE THE STORM AND FLOOD.”