MAYAN MYTHOLOGY – PART 4 Written by Angie Kounadi Translated by Danae Tani (Διαόλου Κάλτσα) Dear Mythologists, happy new year! Today we will talk about the downfall of Xibalba and how two young brothers defeated the Death Lords thanks to their cunning .... Before we begin, however, lets say a few things about the so-called team “Mesoamerican Ballgame” (“Juego de pelota” in Spanish, “Pitz” in Mayan language or “Ōllamaliztli” in modern Nahuatl). The specific game and its variations was widely spread among all the tribes which resided in the areas of Ancient Mexico and Central America. It was mostly played by 2-4 players, who struck a rubber (!) ball, made of latex sap of a lowland tree, the scientific name of which is “Casstilla elastica”. The Maya had discovered that by mixing latex with sap from the vine Ipomoea Purpurea (Morning Glory) they could turn the slippery polymers in raw latex into a resilient rubber. The size varied between 25 to 30 cm and 1,5 to 2,7 kilos. They players also wore protective gear on the head, loins, arms and legs. The players struck the ball with their thighs; in some variations, however, it was permitted to strike the ball with their knees or elbows. The team who had the ball in its possession the longest period of time, won. In another variation, the team who sent the ball through a stone hoop most times, won. This game was very important in the Mesoamerican cultures; there us evidence than many times the team who lost the game was sacrificed, in order to please the gods... Having said the abovementioned, the terms “game” and “players” correspond to “Mesoamerican Ballgame” and “Ballgame players”.... Lets go then! In the Quiche Maya tradition, the One and Seven Hunahpu was the first generation of the Hero Twins. Those boys were passionate players. They were so good but also so noisy when they played, that they bothered the Death Lords. The Rulers of Xibalba then sent messengers to invite the Twins to a game. They told them to bring their ball and their gear. However, the suspicious brothers hid them under the rafters of their mothers house. The brothers then set off to Xibalba, the kingdom of the Death Lords. They managed to safely pass a river filled with javelins, then a river full of blood and finally a river of pus. When they arrived at the hall of the Death Lords, they greeted them by their name. However those were not the Death Lords, but wooden mannequins. This was another test, and they brothers failed. “It is alright, young men”, said the Death Lords. “Do sit.” The twins sat straight to a bench which in fact was nothing but a very hot stone and they leaped up immediately. Another failed test. For those and many other failed tests, they were sacrificed and their bodies were buried under the ballcourt of Xibalba. However One Hunahpus severed head was put on a tree fork. There, a maiden called “Lady Blood” came near the tree and One Hunahpu talked to her. And when she came even nearer to the tree and raised her hand, he spat her. One Hunahpus spit created children to Lady Bloods womb and she gave birth to the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque. And this is how the Hero Twins realised that they were destined to become great players: They tried to make a garden, but each time they tried to clear out the undergrowth, the animals of the forest put them in their place again. The twins tried to capture the animals to no avail, until they managed to capture a rat. They held its tail over the fire (and this is why rats have no hair on this part of their body) and would have killed him, but the rat protested saying to them: “You are not made to be gardeners”, the rat said. “There is something which you will be better at, and I will tell you about this thing if you give me some food for exchange”. And the rat said to them that their father and their uncle were great players and that they were destined to become great too. “The only thing you need is gear”, said the rat. “And I happen to know where your father and uncle hid theirs”. But the rat didnt want to be captured by the Twins grandmother. So the brothers set it free inside the walls and asked their grandmother to give them food and water. The water jug needed to be filled with water, because the twins had emptied it in secret. So their grandmother went to the well and the boys released a mosquito which pierced the jug. As a result, the jug emptied each time the Twins grandmother filled it. While she was away, the rat stroke the rafter which held the hear and rubber ball in place and they fell on the ground.... The Twins played happily just as their father and uncle had before them. Their happy voices were heard even to Xibalba. The Death Lords were offended; these Twins were as insolent as the previous ones. So they sent messengers to invite them to a game at Xibalba. The grandmothers heart broke, as she thought that she would lose her grandchildren as she had lost her sons before them... But this generation succeeded where the first generation had failed. These Twins already knew that the Death Lords expected them to greet them by name. So one Twin pulled a hair off his chin and it was transformed into a mosquito. The mosquito flew and bit the first Death Lord. However there was no reaction because he wasnt real, but a wooden mannequin. Then the mosquito bit a real Death Lord, who left a shout. “Whats going on?” the Death Lord next to him asked, calling him by his name. And then the mosquito bit the other Death Lords and each of them left a shout and the Death Lord sitting next called him by name and in this manner the Twins learned all the Death Lords names. So the Twins entered Xibalbas throne room and stated that they would not say a word to wooden mannequins. “Sit, then” said the Death Lords, clearly disappointed. “We shall not sit on a heated stone!” the Twins answered back. The Lords then challenged the Twins to a series of tests in the various “Houses”, sure that the Twins would fail. In the Dark House they gave them a torch and two lit cigars. They were supposed to return them the next morning in the same condition. Their father and uncle had let the torch go out and smoked the cigars. But these Twins knew better. They exchanged the torch with the shiny red feathers of a Macaw tail and put fireflies on the cigar tips to make them look lit. When they were sent to the Razor House, they were supposed to be cut down in pieces by sharp blades and razors. The Twins, however, convinced the blades that their duty was to slash animals and not heroes! And when they were sent to the Jaguar House, they drew their attention away feeding them with bones. In the Rattling House they survived by blowing and locking out the freezing cold and the Hot House burned them only slightly, giving to their skin a golden-brown colour. When they were sent to the Bat House, the Twins would make their first mistake, according to their destiny. Hunahpu decided to look through his blowgun to see in the sun had come up. While he did this, a bat cut off his head and it rolled to the Xibalba ballcourt. His brother then summoned the animals and asked each one to bring its favourite food. The coati (a kind of raccoon) brought a pumpkin which, with the help of the Gods, was transformed into a new head for Hunahpu. Meanwhile, as the tests ended, the Twins told a rabbit to hide itself outside the ballcourt. When the Death Lords started playing, they used Hunahpus head as a ball, supposing they had won. But when they kicked the ball, Xbalanque blocked Hunahpus head, sending it to the place where the rabbid was hidden. The rabbit started to hop and the Death Lords, mistaking it for the ball, rushed to catch it. The boys put Hunahpus head in its place and the pumpkin at the ballcourt. When the game started again, Xbalanque struck the pumpkin, which opened and all its seeds were scattered in the ground. The Hero Twins had defeated the Death Lords, since there was no ball for the game to be continued. The Death Lords, with all their tricks and tests, had not managed to kill the Twins. However, the boys knew that they should die in order for their adventure to end. They knew that the Death Lords, evil as they were, would kill them. So when they presented themselves again to the Death Lords and the latter challenged them to a different game, the brothers knew it was a trick. “Do you see that high stove?” the Death Lords asked. “We bet you cannot jump above it more than four times.” “We shall not fail!” the brothers said and jumped in the flames immediately. There it was that the Xibalbans made their biggest mistake: instead of throwing Hunahpu and Xbalanque off a hill or hang their bodies to rot from a tree, they ground their bones and threw them in a river. But this was the only way for the brothers to come back to life. And back they came, first as catfish and then as humans.... But now they looked completely different. They looked like beggars, of the wandering kind, the one that amused the crowds by dancing and doing magic tricks to get by. And their tricks were brilliant! They burned a house and built it new immediately; they even sacrificed one another, lying under th blade and they immediately rose up alive. The news of their performance spread and the Death Lords summoned them to perform before them. The Death Lords demanded that a dog be sacrificed and resurrected. And whilst the brothers did that, they asked the twins to do the same thing with a human. And when the brothers did that too, they asked the brothers to sacrifice each other. And Xbalanque cut his twin brother in pieces and tore his heart off. Then he started dancing and ordered Hunahpu to rise and dance with him. And when Hunahpu rose, the Death Lords were entranced in joy and admiration! “Do it now to us!” they yelled. And so the twins sacrificed One and Seven Death, the most powerful of the Death Lords, but they didnt bring them back to life. And the remaining Death Lords realised that they were defeated; from that moment, Xibalba lost all its glory. The twins took One Hunahpus head from the tree it was hanging, put it back on its body and resurrected him. He left him in an honoured place next to Xibalbas ballcourt. And then, the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, having fulfilled their heroic quest, rose up to the sky and became the Moon and the Sun.... This is the story of the clever Hero Twins and I hope you enjoyed it as I enjoyed myself when I first read it! Until next time, have fun! (Sources: Popol Vuh, Wikipedia)
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 12:00:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015