110 pages • 3 hours read
Silvia Moreno-GarciaGods of Jade and Shadow
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 6-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary
Casiopea and Hun-Kamé board a boat to Veracruz, where Hun-Kamé explains how he became trapped in Casiopea’s grandfather’s chest. As a god, Hun-Kamé came to the aid of mortals who performed rituals and called upon him in prayer. Fifty years ago, when Cirilo begged for help and offered his blood in sacrifice, Hun-Kamé went to him, but it was a trap, and his brother imprisoned him.
Hun-Kamé explains that “the prayers and offerings of mortals feed gods” and give them power (60). Gods generally cannot stray too far from where they were formed, but Hun-Kamé is different because he was born from an asteroid that struck the Earth, and thus he can exist in many lands.
Casiopea asks if Hun-Kamé had her people build observatories to gaze at the sky because it is his home. When he asks why anyone would bother staring at the sky, Casiopea says it’s all she wanted to do sometimes because “it made me think one day I’d be free” (61). Hun-Kamé doesn’t understand Casiopea’s thoughts, and Casiopea can’t fathom Hun-Kamé’s origins and existence. Despite this lack of understanding, they are able to cooperate. Casiopea does not realize when their ship sets sail because she is caught up in her conversation with Hun-Kamé; she has never felt so at ease with someone.
Chapter 7 Summary
Back in Cirilo’s bedchamber, Cirilo begrudgingly tells Martín how he became involved with Vucub-Kamé. Fifty years ago, he was a poor man with no prospects. When a beautiful woman approached him, telling him he had been born at the appropriate time to trap a god, he scoffed at her until he met Vucub-Kamé. In exchange for wealth and a prominent place in society, Cirilo acted as bait and used the chest to trap Hun-Kamé. For the first ten years afterward, he kept a strict watch on the chest, but after a while, he started to wonder if the experience had even been real. When Martín asks why Cirilo never opened the chest, Cirilo responds that “it’s best not to know certain things” (69).
Cirilo tells Martín that his family needs him. When Martín protests, Cirilo explains that Vucub-Kamé will be far harsher than Cirilo if displeased. Unless Martín wants to become a beggar while Casiopea enjoys a lavish life, he needs to obey Vucub-Kamé in all matters “so that we may not be cursed” (70). Martín finally understands the gravity of the situation and asks Cirilo for advice in dealing with the god.
Chapters 6-7 Analysis
Chapter 6 builds upon the existence of gods within the world of Gods of Jade and Shadow. Hun-Kamé tells Casiopea he was born of an asteroid, making him more powerful than other gods and allowing him more freedom of movement. Hun-Kamé surmises that he is more powerful than the gods of modern religions, such as Christianity, which suggests that older gods with their roots in the earth have greater power than those in heaven. Mayan civilization is much older than Christianity, which was brought to Mexico by colonizers, and Moreno-Garcia subtly changes the power dynamic between colonial and Indigenous religions. Since a god’s existence is dependent upon people believing in them, Hun-Kamé’s longer existence means there is a greater chance that someone still recalls him, and that recollection gives him power. It is unclear how much of his ability to maintain his existence derives from his worshippers’ belief and how much comes from his bond with Casiopea.
The conversation between Cirilo and Martín in Chapter 7 shows how mortals can be as arrogant and greedy as gods, as well as the differences between Cirilo, Martín, and Casiopea. Cirilo’s desire for wealth and status drove him to help Vucub-Kamé. Like a god, he wished for his name to give him power and reasoned that if people knew who he was, then he would have influence over his community. The greatest difference between Cirilo and Vucub-Kamé is the area over which they have domain and the amount of pain they can inflict. Cirilo is like Vucub-Kamé in on a much smaller scale. Cirilo and Martín’s scheme foreshadows the downfall that a hunger for power brings. Both recoil at the idea of being second to anyone, especially Martín. They hide their feelings of inadequacy by focusing on their dislike of Casiopea. In truth, they realize she is better than them, but they are unwilling to admit it to anyone but themselves and erect barriers of privilege to hide their flaws.
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