In the Aztec and Mayan culture, the gods meant everything to them. The tales they made about the gods explained the life of the gods and what they did to create everything surrounding the Aztec and Mayans. They made tales explaining the creation of trees, mountains, the sun and the moon, and how they became how they are today. Both the Aztec and the Mayans believed in a vital force that made living things separate from nonliving mater. In Mayan mythology they expressed the idea through the concept of “ik” meaning wind, breath, and life. In Aztec mytholgy they expressed it through “tona” meaning vital energy, or heat.