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MayanFolktale

The Celestial Bird of the Ceiba Tree: A Mayan Folktale from Guatemala and Mexico

October 30, 2025

Long ago, when the world was still young and the boundaries between the realms of gods and mortals were thin, there stood a ceiba tree so vast that its roots pierced the underworld, its trunk rose through the human world, and its crown reached into the heavens. The Maya called it Yaxche, the sacred ceiba, the tree of life that held

An illustration of tiny Aluxes guarding a Mayan cornfield near a jungle, Yucatec Maya folktale scene.

Mexican Folktales

The Aluxes: The Little Forest Guardians of the Yucatec Maya

In the lush jungles of the Yucatán Peninsula, where the wind hums through ancient trees and the roots of the ceiba stretch deep into sacred soil, the Maya people have long spoken of mysterious beings who dwell unseen among the leaves and stones. They are called Aluxes, tiny spirits of the