And it came to pass that king Lamoni
caused that his servants should stand forth and testify to all the things which
they had seen concerning the matter. And when they had all testified to the
things which they had seen, and he had learned of the faithfulness of Ammon in
preserving his flocks, and also of his great power in contending against those who
sought to slay him, he was astonished exceedingly, and said: Surely, this is
more than a man. Behold, is not this the Great Spirit who doth send such great
punishments upon this people, because of their murders? (Alma 18:1-2)
Lamoni’s wonder is also completely normal;
however, his response includes several seemingly odd speculations. Lamoni had
seen Ammon in person, first as a helpless captive. He knew Ammon was a
man. Why, then, would he immediately deduce that Ammon was “more than a man,”
even “the Great Spirit”?
The line between human and divine in ancient
Mesoamerican was less firmly drawn than in the modern Western world. Many
Mesoamerican religious stories deal with exploits of individuals who are “more
than men.” The hero twins of the Popol Vuh are certainly depicted as men, but
they just as certainly have supernatural powers. [1] The Mixtec deity male 9
Wind is sown in the Codex Vindobonensis as a being in the heavens who descends
and acts upon the earth. [2] The myriad legends surrounding the Aztec god
Quetzalcoatl suggest that he had both a heavenly aspect and one in which he
operates on earth as “more than a man.” [3] These “more than men” may be best
understood as demi-gods, or deities that live and function on earth but who
retain other-worldly powers. [4] It is in this lift that we should see King
Lamoni’s speculation about Ammon—as one of the demi-gods familiar to him from
Mesoamerican mythology.
Perplexingly, Lamoni characterizes “the
Great Spirit” as sending “great punishments upon this people, because of their
murders.” How did Lamoni see Ammon as punishing anyone? Rather, he was
defending Lamoni’s honor and flocks. Even more puzzlingly, why would Lamoni
connect Ammon’s heroic defense with murders committed by his (Lamanite) people?
As I read this passage, Lamoni is speculating fairly wildly at this point.
Demi-gods did not act logically, but rather for their own purposes and mysterious
motives. Like Greek deities, Mesoamerican demi-gods’ presence among human beings
was ambiguous at best. They were not always beneficial—indeed, were often
malevolent. In Mesoamerica, a demi-god’s appearance would be, at the very
least, risky even it were not immediately dangerous. Ammon’s prowess confirmed
that he was dangerous. There was no guarantee that he would not just be as
dangerous to Lamoni’s people as to Lamoni’s enemies.
But what would prompt a demi-god to
come among them? Lamoni makes a connection between his political expedient of
executing the servants and Ammon’s appearance. If the first event caused the
second, then Ammon was probably angry. He had saved the current set of servants
from being executed by his swift and bloody action at the waters of Sebus.
Lamoni would certainly have known that his executed servants had not truly been
at fault and obviously had a guilty conscience as a result. In fact, Lamoni
tells the servants standing before him that Ammon had “come down at this time
to preserve your lives, that I might not slay you as I did your brethren” (v.
4). (Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary
on the Book of Mormon, 6 vols. [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007], 4:281-82)
Notes
for the Above:
[1] Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition
of the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings,
translated by Dennis Tedlock (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1985), 140-48,
provides some examples. The entire mythological section is applicable.
[2] Jill Leslie Furst Codex
Vindobonensis Mexicanus I: A Commentary (Albany: Institute for Mesoamerican
Studies, State University of New York at Albany, 1978), 106-8, plate 123.
[3] Brant A. Gardner, “Quetzalcoatl’s
Fathers: A Critical Examination of Source Materials”; Alfredo López Austín, Hombre
Díos (Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónima de México, 1972), 75-101.
[4] Lynn V. Foster, Handbook to Life
in the Ancient Maya World (2002; rpt. in paperback, New York: Oxford
University Press, 2005), 159.
