Popol Vuh: Part II

PART II: Chapter 1

Now we shall also tell the name of the father of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. We shall not tell his origin and we shall not tell the history of the birth of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. We shall tell only half of it, only a part of the history of his father.

Here is the story. Here are the names of Hun-Hunahpú [and Vucub-Hunahpú], as they are called. Their parents were Xpiyacoc and Xmucané. During the night 1 Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú were born of Xpiyacoc and Xmucané. 2

Well now, Hun-Hunahpú had begotten two sons; the first was called Hunbatz and the second Hunchouén. 3

The mother of the two sons was called Xbaquiyalo. 4 Thus was the wife of Hun-Hunahpú called. As for the other son, Vucub-Hunahpú, he had no wife; he was single.

By nature these two sons were very wise, and great was their wisdom; on earth they were soothsayers of good disposition and good habits. All the arts were taught to Hunbatz and Hunchouén, the sons of Hun-Hunahpú. They were flautists, singers, shooters with blowguns, painters, sculptors, jewelers, silversmiths; these were Hunbatz and Hunchouén. 5

Well, Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú did nothing but play dice and ball A day long; and when the four got together to play ball, one pair played against the other pair.

And Voc, 6 the messenger of Huracán, of Chipi-Caculhá, of Raxa-Caculhá came there to watch them, but Voc did not stay far from the earth nor far from Xibalba, 7 and in an instant he went up to heaven to the side of Huracán.

They were still here on earth when the mother of Hunbatz and Hunchouén died.

And having gone to play ball on the road to Xibalba, they were overheard by Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé, the lords of Xibalba. 8

"What are they doing on earth? Who are they who are making the earth shake, and making so much noise? Go and call them! Let them come here to play ball. Here we will overpower them! We are no longer respected by them. They no longer have consideration, or fear of our rank, and they even fight above our heads," said all the lords of Xibalba.

All of them held a council. Those called Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé were the supreme judges. All the lords had been assigned their duties. Each one was given his own authority by Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé.

They were, then, Xiquiripat and Cuchumaquic 9 lords of these names. They were the two who caused the shedding of blood of the men.

Others were called Ahalpuh and Ahalganá, 10 also lords. And their work was to make men swell and make pus gush forth from their legs 11 and stain their faces yellow, what is called Chuganal. 12 Such was the work of Ahalpuh and Ahalganá.

Others were Lord Chamiabac and Lord Chamiaholom, 13 constables of Xibalba whose staffs were of bone. Their work was to make men waste away until they were nothing but skin and bone and they died, and they carried them With their stomach and bones stretched out. This was the work of Chamiabac and Chamiaholom, as they were called.

Others were called Lord Ahalmez and Lord Ahaltocob; 14 their work was to bring disaster upon men, as they were going home, or in front of it, and they would be found wounded, stretched out, face up, on the ground, dead. This was the work of Ahalmez and Ahaltocob, as they were called.

Immediately after them were other lords named Xic and Patán 15 whose work it was to cause men to die on the road, which is called sudden death, making blood to rush to their mouths until they died vomiting blood. The work of each one of these lords was to seize upon them, squeeze their throats and chests, so that the men died on the road, making the blood rush to their throats when they were walking. This was the work of Xic and Patán.

And having gathered in council, they discussed how to torment and wound Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú. What the Lords of Xibalba coveted were the playing implements of Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú-their leather pads 16 and rings 17 and gloves 18 and crown 19 and masks 20 which were the playing gear of Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú.

Now we shall tell of their journey to Xibalba and how they left behind them the sons of Hun-Hunahpú, Hunbatz, and [Hun] Chouén, 21 whose mother had died.

Then we shall tell how Hunbatz and Hunchouén were overcome by Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

Footnotes

40:1 p. 207 Chi agabal, that is to say, before there was sun, or moon, or before man had been created.

40:2 Hun-Hunahpú, 1 Hunahpú; Vucub-Hunahpú, 7 Hunahpú, are two days of the Quiché calendar. As is known, the ancient Indians of the Maya area designated the days by putting a number before each day, thus forming a series of thirteen days which are repeated without interruption until a cycle of 260 days is formed, which the Maya called tzolkín, the Quiché, cholquih, and the Mexicans, tonalpohualli. It was the custom to give an individual the name of the day upon which he was born.

The Quiché calendar is made up of twenty days. Each day is preceded by a number, a coefficient of from 1 to 13, and this is repeated indefinitely so that a name of a day and the number which accompanies it may not be repeated until 260 is reached, or 13 times 20. This period of 260 days constitutes the ritual year, or cholquih. The names of the days and their meaning in English are as follows:

1. Imox, name of a fish
2. Ic, moon, wind, spirit
3. Acbal, night
4. Cat, net with which to carry corn, or a lizard
5. Can, serpent
6. Camey, death
7. Queh, deer
8. Canel, wealth, car of yellow corn
9. Toh, rain, storm
10. Tzi, dog
11. Batz, monkey
12. E, ei, teeth, brush
13. Ah, cane, or tender corn
14. Balam, jaguar
15. Tziquin, bird
16. Ahmac, owl p. 208
17. Noh, strong, resin
18. Tihax, edge, obsidian
19. Caoc, lightning and thunder
20. Hunahpú, hunter, chief, or lord

With these twenty days the Quiché formed the following eighteen months:

1. Tequexepual, time to plant the cornfields
2. Tziba pop, painted mat
3. Zac, white like certain flowers
4. Ch'ab, muddy ground
5. Nabey mam, first old man
6. Ucab mam, second old man (both this and the preceding are months of ill-omen)
7. Nabey liquin ca, soft and slippery soil
8. Ucab liquin ca, second month of soft and slippery soil
9. Nabey pach, first time of hatching
10. Ucab pach, second time of hatching
11. Tzizil lakam, the sprouts show
12. Tziquin kih, season of birds
13. Cakam, red clouds
14. Botam, tangled mats
15. Nabey zih, first month of white flowers
16. Ucab zih, second month of white flowers
17. Rox zih, third month of white flowers
18. Chee, trees, Pariché, in the Cakchiquel calendar

Brinton (The Native Calendar of Central America and Mexico) took these and other facts from various Indian calendars which date back to the seventeenth century and from the Geografía by Francisco Gavarrete.

40:3 Brasseur de Bourbourg incorrectly translates this passage as follows: Or, ces Hunhun-Ahpu étaient deux; ils avaient engendré deux fils légitimes, et le nom du premier né [était] Hunbatz et Hunchouén le nom du second. As is seen farther on, Hunbatz and Hunchouén were only the sons of Hun-Hunahpú and Xbaquiyalo, his wife. Hun-Batz, 1 monkey, is the eleventh day of the Quiché calendar; Hun-Chouén, also, 1 Chuén, 1 monkey, is the eleventh day of the Maya calendar. Note that, with the exception of the indication that the names of the parents of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué will be given, these heroes are not mentioned again until their birth is announced in Chapter s of Part II. There the other half of the history is told, but in this part the reader is left intentionally in the dark.

40:4 p. 209 Xbaquiyalo, "of the fastened bones," according to Ximénez. It might also be "of the uneven bones."

40:5 A chuen, in Maya, means "artisan." Diccionario de Motul.

40:6 To the place where they played ball, pa hom in the original. Voc or Vac, the hawk, came to watch them. In speaking of the Maya of Yucatán, Bishop Landa, says that "they played ball, and also with beans they played a game-like dice."

40:7 Chi-Xibalba. In ancient times, says Father Coto, this name Xibalbay meant the devil, or the dead, or visions which appeared to the Indians. It has the same meanings in Yucatán. Xibalba was the devil, and xibil is to disappear like a vision or a phantom, according to the Diccionario de Motul. The Maya performed a dance which they called Xibalba ocot, or "dance of the demon." The Quiché believed that Xibalba was the underground region inhabited by the enemies of man.

40:8 Hun-Camé, 1 dead; Vucub-Camé, 7 dead; are days of the calendar. The Quiché hierarchy had frequently the numbers one to seven.

40:9 Xiquiripat, "flying pannier," according to Ximénez. Cuchumaquic, "gathered blood," according to the same translator.

40:10 Ahalpuh, "he who makes pus." Name of a disease among the Cakchiquel. Ahalganá, "he who causes dropsy," according to Ximénez.

40:11 Chi pe puh chiri r'acan.

40:12 Literally, "in the yellow color of his body" (Ximénez); a kind of ictericia.

40:13 Chamiabac, he who carries a staff of bone. Chamiaholom, he who carries a staff with a skull. Both are symbols of emaciation and death. Ahchamí, the man of the staff, symbol of authority, or of the big stick which the guardians of public order were accustomed to carry.

40:14 Ahalmez, "he who makes filth" (Ximénez); "he who works in filth" (Brasseur de Bourbourg). Ahaltocob, "he who causes misery" (Ximénez); "he who works or produces misery" (Brasseur de Bourbourg). it might be he who causes wounds, the assassin. The verb toc means "to punch or stab," to wound, to behead. Tocopé has the same meaning.

40:15 Xic, hawk; Patán, leather band which the Indians wear around their foreheads and from which the load they carry on their backs hangs. It is known today by the Mexican name mecapal. Many of these names are found in the Vocabulario de las lenguas Quiché y Kakchiquel which classifies them as "names of demons," explaining that they are derived from Ahau, "lord"; Ahalpuh, Calel Ahau, Ahal Tocol, Ahal Xic, Ahal Canyá. The last is evidently the Ahalganá of the Popol Vuh. Father Pantaleón de Guzmán says that, among other deities, the Cakchiquel worshiped Ahal Puh, Ahal Tecob, p. 210 Ahal Xic and Ahal Canyá--all of these in reality are also names of diseases; and in addition they worshiped Tatan bak and Tatan holom, father of bones and father of skulls, gods of death. These last names, as will be seen later, are not very different from Chamiabac and Chamiaholom. Ahal Puh seems to be the same god of death as that of the Maya of Yucatán, who knew him under the name of Ah Puch or Hunhau, and who had his kingdom in Mitnal or the Maya inferno.

40:16 Tzuun, leather leggings, according to Ximénez. They were the leathers with which they covered their legs and thus protected them against blows by the hall.

40:17 Baté, rings, collar for the neck (Vocabulario Quiché-Cakchiquel).

40:18 Pachgab, gloves.

40:19 Yachvach, crown, or adornment which they wore on the head.

40:20 Vachzot, rim of the face, according to Ximénez, "mask." All of these objects were necessities for their strenuous ball game, and as decorations for the ball players.

40:21 Like this in the original, by Hun-Chouén.

Next: II. Chapter 2

THE messengers of Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé arrived immediately.

"Go, Ahpop Achih!" 1 they were told. "Go and call Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú. Say to them, 'Come with us. The lords say that you must come.' They must come here to play ball with us so that they shall make us happy, for really they amaze us. So, then, they must come," said the lords. "And have them bring their playing gear, their rings, their gloves, and have them bring their rubber balls, too," said the lords. "Tell them to come quickly," they told the messengers.

And these messengers were owls: Chabi-Tucur, Huracán-Tucur, Caquix-Tucur and Holom-Tucur. 2 These were the names of the messengers of Xibalba.

Chabi-Tucur was swift as an arrow; Huracán-Tucur had only one leg; Caquix-Tucur had a red back, and Holom-Tucur had only a head, no legs, but he had wings.

The four messengers had the rank of Ahpop-Achih. Leaving Xibalba, they arrived quickly, bringing their message to the court where Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú were playing ball, at the ball-court which was called Nim-Xob-Carchah. 3 The owl messengers went directly to the ball-court and delivered their message exactly as it was given to them by Hun-Camé, Vucub-Camé, Ahalpuh, Ahalganá, Chamiabac, Chamiaholom, Xiquiripat, Cuchumaquic, Ahalmez, Ahaltocob, Xic, and Patán, as the lords were called who sent the message by the owls.

"Did the Lords Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé really say that we must go with you?"

"They certainly said so, and 'Let them bring all their playing gear,' the lords said."

"Very well," said the youths. "Wait for us, we are only going to say good-bye to our mother."

And having gone straight home, they said to their mother, for their father was dead: "We are going, our mother, but our going is only for a while. 4 The messengers of the lord have come to take us. 'They must come,' they said, according to the messengers.

"We shall leave our ball here in pledge," 5 they added. They went immediately to hang it in the space under the rooftree. "We will return to play," they said.

And going to Hunbatz and Hunchouén they said to them: "Keep on playing the flute and singing, painting, and carving; warm our house and warm the heart of your grandmother."

When they took leave of their mother, Xmucané was moved and burst into tears. "Do not worry, we are going, but we have not died yet," said Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú as they left.

Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú went immediately and the messengers took them on the road. Thus they were descending the road to Xibalba, by some very steep stairs. They went down until they came to the bank of a river which flowed rapidly between the ravines called Nuziván cul and Cuziván, 6 and crossed it. Then they crossed the river which flows among thorny calabash trees. 7 There were very many calabash trees, but they passed through them without hurting themselves.

Then they came to the bank of a river of blood and crossed it without drinking its waters; they only went to the river bank and so they were not overcome. They went on until they came to where four roads joined, and there at the crossroads they were overcome.

One of the four roads was red, another black, another white, and another yellow. And the black road said to them: "I am the one you must take because I am the way of the Lord." So said the road.

And from here on they were already overcome. They were taken over the road to Xibalba and when they arrived at the council room of the Lords of Xibalba, they had already lost the match.

Well, the first ones who were seated there were only figures of wood, arranged by the men of Xibalba. These they greeted first:

"How are you, Hun-Camé?" they said to the wooden man. "How are you, Vucub-Camé?" they said to the other wooden man. But they did not answer. instantly the Lords of Xibalba burst into laughter and all the other lords began to laugh loudly, because they already took for granted the downfall and defeat of Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú. And they continued to laugh.

Then Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé spoke: "Very well," they said. "You have come. Tomorrow you shall prepare the mask, 8 your rings, and your gloves," they said.

"Come and sit down on our bench," they said. But the bench which they offered them was of hot stone, and when they sat down they were burned. They began to squirm around on the bench, and if they had not stood up they would have burned their seats.

The Lords of Xibalba burst out laughing again; they were dying of laughter; they writhed from pain in their stomach, in their blood, and in their bones, caused by their laughter, all the Lords of Xibalba laughed.

"Go now to that house," they said. "There you will get your sticks of fat pine 9 and your cigar 10 and there you shall sleep."

Immediately they arrived at the House of Gloom. 11 There was only darkness within the house. Meanwhile the Lords of Xibalba discussed what they should do.

"Let us sacrifice them tomorrow, let them die quickly, quickly, so that we can have their playing gear to use in play," said the Lords of Xibalba to each other.

Well, their fat-pine sticks were round and were called zaquitoc, which is the pine of Xibalba. 12 Their fat-pine sticks were pointed and filed and were as bright as bone; the pine of Xibalba was very hard.

Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú entered the House of Gloom. There they were given their fat-pine sticks, a single lighted stick which Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé sent them, together with a lighted cigar for each of them which the lords had sent. They went to give them to Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú.

They found them crouching in the darkness when the porters arrived with the fat-pine sticks and the cigars. As they entered, the pine sticks lighted the place brightly.

"Each of you light your pine sticks and your cigars; come and bring them back at dawn, you must not burn them up, but you must return them whole; this is what the lords told us to say." So they said. And so they were defeated. They burned up the pine sticks, and they also finished the cigars which had been given to them.

There were many punishments in Xibalba; the punishments were of many kinds.

The first was the House of Gloom, Quequma-ha, in which there was only darkness.

The second was Xuxulim-ha, the house where everybody shivered, in which it was very cold. A cold, unbearable wind blew within.

The third was the House of Jaguars, Balami-ha, it was called, in which there were nothing but jaguars which stalked about, jumped around, roared, and made fun. The jaguars were shut up in the house.

Zotzi-há, the House of Bats, the fourth place of punishment was called. Within this house there were nothing but bats which squeaked and cried and flew around and around. The bats were shut in and could not get out.

The fifth was called Chayim-há, the House of Knives, 13 in which there were only sharp, pointed knives, silent or grating against each other in the house.

There were many places of torture in Xibalba, 14 but Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú did not enter them. We only mention the names of these houses of punishment.

When Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú came before Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé, they said: "Where are my cigars? Where are my sticks of fat pine which I gave you last night?"

"They are all gone, Sir."

"Well. Today shall be the end of your days. Now you shall die. You shall be destroyed, we will break you into pieces and here your faces will stay hidden. You shall be sacrificed," said Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé.

They sacrificed them immediately and buried them in the Pucbal-Chah, as it was called. 15 Before burying them, 16 they cut off the head of Hun-Hunahpú and buried the older brother together with the younger brother.

"Take the head and put it in that tree which is Planted on the road," said Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé. And having put the head in the tree, instantly the tree, which had never borne fruit before the head of Hun-Hunahpú was placed among its branches, was covered with fruit. And this calabash tree, it is said, is the one which we now call the head of Hun-Hunahpú.

Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé looked in amazement at the fruit on the tree. The round fruit was everywhere; but they did not recognize the head of Hun-Hunahpú; it was exactly like the other fruit of the calabash tree. So it seemed to all of the people of Xibalba when they came to look at it.

According to their judgment, the tree was miraculous, because of what had instantly occurred when they put Hun-Hunahpú's head among its branches. And the Lords of Xibalba said:

"Let no one come to pick this fruit. 17 Let no one come and sit under this tree!" they said, and so the Lords of Xibalba resolved to keep everybody away.

The head of Hun-Hunahpú did not appear again 18 because it had become one and the same as the fruit of the gourd tree. Nevertheless, a girl heard the wonderful story. Now we shall tell about her arrival.

Footnotes

48:1 p. 210 Title of some of the Quiché lords and chiefs.

48:2 Chabi-Tucur, swift owl; Huracán-Tucur, owl with one leg, or gigantic owl; Caquix-Tucur, macaw owl; Holom-Tucur, head of an owl, or owl distinguished by the head. Tucur is the Quiché name for owl. A town of Verapaz, San Miguel Tucurú, is also so named. This night bird is known in Guatemala by the name of tucurú and also as tecolote, from the Náhuatl tecolotl. Dr. Otto Stoll (Die Maya Sprachen der Pokom-Gruppe) suggests that the name which the Mexicans gave to Verapaz was Tecolotlán, or place of owls or tecolotes, i. e., the land of the tucur, and that the Spanish missionaries, through an error, wrote it Teçolotlán, which later was changed to Tezulutlán. The name Verapaz was given to that province after its peaceful conquest by the Dominican friars. In fact, Ixtlilxóchitl says that the Tolteca emigrated to the south to Guatemala and Tecolotlán, and Sahagún (Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, Vol. III, Book XI, Chap. II, p. 163) notes that the quetzal lives "In the province called Tecolotlán, which is toward Honduras, or near."

48:3 The great Carchah, an important center of population in Verapaz, the region in which the Quiché seem to have placed the mythological deeds of the Popol Vuh. The Cakchiquel Manuscript says that they and the Quiché went to populate Subinal, in the middle of Chacachil, to the middle of Nimxor, to the middle of Moinal, to the middle of Carchah (nicah Carchah). p. 211 Some of these places still retain their ancient names today and may easily be identified in the Verapaz region. According to the Cakchiquel document, Nim Xor and Carchah were two different places.

48:4 Which is to say, "that they go, but they will return."

48:5 X-chi canah cu caná va ca quic. Here is a play on words; canah is to "stay," and caná "pledges" "hostage," or "captive."

48:6 Nu zivan cul, "my ravine," or "the narrow ravine." Cu zivan, narrow, close ravine." Zivan is "ravine," but the underground caves in Verapaz and the Petén are also called Zivan. The topographical data included in this chapter as well as similar indications found in other passages in Part II show that the ancient Quiché had very definite ideas about the location of the kingdom of Xibalba, where lived some cruel, despotic chiefs to whom they were subject in mythological time. in the present chapter, the large town of Carchah, which still stands a few miles from Cobán, capital of the department of Alta Verapaz, is named as the crossroads of the way to Xibalba. Leaving Carchah, the road leads down "by some very steep steps" until it comes to the ravines or caves, between which a swift river flows; which is to say, descending the mountains of the interior to the lowlands of the Petén, to the territory of the Itzá. At the end of Part II it is said that the people of Xibalba were the Ah-Tza, the Ah-Tucur, the evil ones, the owls. Nevertheless, these words may also be read as "those of Itzá [Petén]" and "those of Tucur," or Tecolotlán, the land of the owls (Verapaz).They are the two regions of northern Guatemala, very well known in the ancient Middle American world, over which the Quiché could not extend their conquests. These names confirm the topographical references in the text. Some of the tribes, which in relatively recent times came to establish themselves in the mountains of the interior of Guatemala, without doubt believed that the northern territory was inhabited by their old enemies, the same who, in former times, had taken the lives of their forefathers. These inhabitants of the north were the Maya of the Old Empire, one branch of which, the Itzá, was the last to surrender to the Spaniards in the later years of the seventeenth century. Other scattered data in the Popol Vuh reveal that Xibalba was a very deep, underground place, an abyss from which one had to climb up in order to come to the earth; but the same Quiché document explains that the Lords of Xibalba were not gods, nor were they immortals, that they were false of heart, hypocrites, envious, and tyrants. That they were not invincible is shown in the course of the narrative.

48:7 Chupan halhal ha zimah. The Quiché word Zimah corresponds to the tree and fruit which the Mexican Indians call Xicalli, and in Guatemala is p. 212 called jícaro. It is a tree of the Bignonia family, Crescentia cujete. The round or oval shaped fruit of this tree has a hard rind from which the Indians make vases called jícaras and guacales.

48:8 Chuvec ch'y qaza u vach, in the original. In the text transcribed by Brasseur de Bourbourg it is ch'y qaza a vach. The change of a single vowel makes the sentence incomprehensible. Schuller ("Das Popol Vuh und das Ballspiel der K'icé Indianer von Guatemala") believed that it had been garbled by the French translator.

48:9 Chah in Quiché, ocotl in the Mexican language. A resinous pine which the Indians use for lighting.

48:10 Ziq, tobacco; zikar, to smoke.

48:11 Qequma-ha. Brasseur de Bourbourg compares this House of Gloom with the dark house which Votán constructed in Huehuetlán, in the province of Soconusco, according to Bishop Núñez de la Vega.

48:12 Are curi qui chah xa coloquic cha zaquitoc u bi ri chah u chah Xibalba. Zaquitoc, literally, is "white knife." Brasseur de Bourbourg translates it blanc silex. Seler is of the opinion that zaquitoc was the knife used in human sacrifice to open the breasts of the victims. The description in the text clearly identifies the hard, bright flint point which both the ancient Maya and Quiché used, as a short, sharp weapon, as knives, lance points, and so on. The author plays here with the words cha, flint and obsidian, and chah, fat-pine sticks, etc. The purpose of this confusion and the true explanation of this entire paragraph is evidently to remember that the guests of Xibalba were threatened with the sacrificial knife.

48:13 Chay, obsidian, glassy substance, black volcanic stone, the "stone of lightning" of the peasants; from it the Indians selected small sharp pieces which they used as knives, razors, and arrow points.

48:14 Quii nabec u tihobal Xibalba. Ximénez thus interprets this sentence, and this is its logical meaning.

48:15 Ta x-e puz cut, x-e muc cut chi Pucbal-Chah u bi. Ximénez (Historia de la Provincia de San Vicente de Chiapa y Guatemala) translates this name as "the place where the ashes are dumped." Brasseur de Bourbourg translates it "the ash-pan." It seems evident that there is an error in transcription here and that the name of this place must have been Puzbal-Chah, that is, the place of sacrifice of the ball game. Puzbal is "place of sacrifice," according to Basseta, and chah is the game of ball. Raynaud also gives this last interpretation.

48:16 X-e muc vi, a phrase in the original, which is missing in the text which Brasseur de Bourbourg publishes.

48:17 Ma qo ma chupuvic ri u vach. Brasseur de Bourbourg does not translate p. 213 this sentence, although it is present in the original, as well as in the text which he publishes.

48:18 Ma cu calah chiri u holom Hunhun-Ahpu.

II. Chapter 3

THIS is the story of a maiden, the daughter of a lord named Cuchumaquic.

A maiden, then, daughter of a lord heard this story. The name of the father was Cuchumaquic and that of the maiden was Xquic. 1 When she heard the story of the fruit of the tree which her father told, she was amazed to hear it.

"Why can I not go to see this tree which they tell about?" the girl exclaimed. "Surely the fruit of which I hear tell must be very good." Finally she went alone and arrived at the foot of the tree which was planted in Pucbal-Chah.

"Ah!" she exclaimed. "What fruit is this which this tree bears? Is it not wonderful to see how it is covered with fruit? Must I die, shall I be lost, if I pick one of this fruit?" said the maiden.

Then the skull which was among the branches of the tree spoke up and said: "What is it you wish? Those round objects which cover the branches of the trees are nothing but skulls." So spoke the head of Hun-Hunahpú turning to the maiden. "Do you, perchance, want them?" it added.

"Yes, I want them," the maiden answered.

"Very well," said the skull. "Stretch your right hand up here."

"Very well," said the maiden, and with her right hand reached toward the skull.

In that instant the skull let a few drops of spittle fall directly into the maiden's palm. She looked quickly and intently at the palm of her hand, but the spittle of the skull was not there.

"In my saliva and spittle I have given you my descendants," said the voice in the tree. "Now my head has nothing on it any more, it is nothing but a skull without flesh. So are the heads of the great princes, the flesh is all which gives them a handsome appearance. And when they die, men are frightened by their bones. So, too, is the nature of the sons, which are like saliva and spittle, they may be sons of a lord, of a wise man, or of an orator. 2 They do not lose their substance when they go, but they bequeath it; the image of the lord, of the wise man, or of the orator does not. disappear, nor is it lost, but he leaves it to the daughters and to the sons which he begets. I have done the same with you. Go up, then, to the surface of the earth, that you may not die. Believe in my words that it will be so," said the head of Hun-Hunahpú and of Vucub-Hunahpú. 3

And all that they did together was by order of Huracán, Chipi-Caculhá, and Raxa-Caculhá.

After all of the above talking, the maiden returned directly to her home, having immediately conceived the sons in her belly by virtue of the spittle only. And thus Hunahpú and Xbalanqué were begotten.

And so the girl returned home, and after six months had passed, her father, who was called Cuchumaquic, noticed her condition. At once the maiden's secret was discovered by her father when he observed that she was pregnant. 4

Then the lords, Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé, held council with Cuchumaquic.

"My daughter is pregnant, 5 Sirs; she has been disgraced," 6 exclaimed Cuchumaquic when he appeared before the lords.

"Very well," they said. "Command her to tell the truth, 7 and if she refuses to speak, punish her; let her be taken far from here and sacrifice her."

"Very well, Honorable Lords," he answered. Then he questioned his daughter:

"Whose are the children that you carry, my daughter?" 8 And she answered, "I have no child, my father, for I have not yet known a youth." 9

'Very well," he replied. "You are really a whore. Take her and sacrifice her, Ahpop Achih; bring me her heart in a gourd and return this very day before the lords," he said to the two owls.

The four messengers took the gourd and set out carrying the young girl in their arms and also taking the knife of flint with which to sacrifice her. 10

And she said to them: "It cannot be that you will kill me, oh, messengers, because what I bear in my belly is no disgrace, but was begotten when I went to marvel at the head of Hun-Hunahpú which was in Pucbal-Chah. So, then, you must not sacrifice me, oh, messengers!" said the young girl, turning to them.

"And what shall we put in place of your heart? Your father told us: 'Bring the heart, return before the lords, do your duty, all working together, bring it in the gourd quickly, 11 and put the heart in the bottom of the gourd.' Perchance, did he not speak to us so? What shall we put in the gourd? We wish too, that you should not die," said the messengers.

"Very well, but my heart does not belong to them. Neither is your home here, nor must you let them force you to kill men. 12 Later, in truth, the real criminals will be at your mercy and I will overcome Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé. So, then, the blood and only the blood shall be theirs and shall be given to them. 13 Neither shall my heart be burned before them. 14 Gather the product of this tree," said the maiden.

The red sap gushing forth from the tree fell in the gourd and with it they made a ball which glistened and took the shape of a heart. The tree gave forth sap similar to blood, with the appearance of real blood. Then the blood, or that is to say the sap of the red tree, clotted, and formed a very bright coating inside the gourd, like clotted blood; meanwhile the tree glowed at the work of the maiden. It was called the "red tree of cochineal," 15 but [since then] it has taken the name of Blood Tree because its sap is called Blood. 16

"There on earth you shall be beloved and you shall have all that belongs to you," said the maiden to the owls.

"Very well, girl. We shall go there, we go up to serve you; you, continue on your way, while we go to present the sap, instead of your heart, to the lords," said the messengers.

When they arrived in the presence of the lords, all were waiting.

"You have finished?" asked Hun-Camé.

"All is finished, my lords. Here in the bottom of the gourd is the heart."

"Very well. Let us see," exclaimed Hun-Camé. And grasping it with his fingers he raised it, the shell broke and the blood flowed bright red in color.

"Stir up the fire and put it on the coals," said Hun-Camé.

As soon as they threw it on the fire, the men of Xibalba began to sniff and drawing near to it, they found the fragrance of the heart very sweet.

And as they sat deep in thought, the owls, the maiden's servants, left, and flew like a flock of birds from the abyss toward earth and the four became her servants.

In this manner the Lords of Xibalba were defeated. All were tricked by the maiden.

Footnotes

53:1 p. 213 Cuchumaquic, gathered blood; Xquic, little blood, or blood of a woman.

53:2 Naol, Ahuchan, "orator" title of one of the officials who served in the court and who were called Lolmay, Atzihuinac, Galel, and Ahuchan. They were the agents, accountants, and treasurers, according to the text of the Petición de los principales de Santiago Atitlán al Rey Felipe II, insert in Ternaux Compans, Recueil de pièces relatives à la conquête du Mexique (Paris, 1838), 415. Naoh ah uchan, "he who knows," master of discourse, according to Father Pantaleón de Guzmán.

53:3 There was only the head of Hun-Hunahpú. As will be noted, this passage reminds one of the Mexican myth of the birth of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war, who was begotten by a little ball of feathers which fell on his mother, Coatlicue, who in turn placed it on her breast and "from which she became pregnant," according to Sahagún (Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, Book III, Chap. I).

53:4 Ta x-il ri r'al, literally, "when he saw the son."

53:5 Qo chi r'al, literally, "she is with child."

53:6 Xa u hoxbal, literally, "is nothing more than a prostitute."

53:7 Ch'a qoto u chi ri, literally, "search her mouth."

53:8 Apa ahchoc e ri av'al qo ch' a pam, at nu meal?

53:9 Ma-habi achih v'etaam u vach. "I have not known the face of a man."

53:10 The Zaquitoc, the flint knife used to open the breast of the victim sacrificed to the Indian gods.

53:11 Ch'anim ch'y cama uloc pa zel.

53:12 Ma cu xa ch'y chih vinac chi camic.

53:13 Xa quic xa holomax rech ch'uxoc are chicut chuvach. Ximénez translates this difficult passage thus: "Only the blood and skull shall be theirs." The sentence contains the possessive pronoun, singular, following the custom of the Quiché writer to consider as only one person the group of two, in this case Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé. The word holomax is not found in the Tesoro by Ximénez, nor in the other Quiché and Cakchiquel vocabularies which I have consulted; but it is very similar to the Maya word yolomal, which is a compound of o'om, "blood" in the ancient Maya of Yucatán. Yo omal uinic, "blood of man," the Diccionario de Motul. It is possible, therefore, that holomax may be derivative of the Maya o'om, yolomal, a synonym for p. 214 "blood," and for that reason the author, who was very fond of using synonyms, employs it here to give emphasis to the language.

53:14 Although it had not been mentioned before, Xquic knew very well that the lords wanted her heart in order to burn it. This was an ancient custom of the Maya. Father Landa says that in the month Mac "they threw the hearts of birds into the fire to burn them, and if they had no large animals, such as jaguars, pumas, or alligators, they made hearts with incense (pom or copal); and if there were animals and they killed them, they brought their hearts for that fire."

53:15 Chuh Cakché. The tree which the Mexicans called ezquahuitl, "tree of blood," and which the Europeans also know by the name "blood," Sangre de Dragón, Croton sanguifluus, a tropical plant, the sap of which has the color and density of blood. Vasquez de Espinosa describes it as follows: "There is another tree in this province of Chiapa and of Guatemala which is called dragon. They are tall like almonds, the leaf is white and the stem is of the same color, and if a knife is stuck into the tree anywhere it weeps blood which looks as natural as though it were human." Compendio y Descripcíon de las Indias Occidentales, Part I, Book V. In the Relación of his expedition to the Petén, Father Agustín Cano, cited by Ximénez (Historia de la Provincia de San Vicente de Chiapa y Guatemala, III, 17), says that to the north of Cahabón in Verapaz, "there are certain large trees which, when they are pierced, bleed like the dragon, and in the language of Cahabón they are called Pilix, and in chol Cancanté."

53:16 Rumal quic holomax ch'u chaxic. Here the words which we have examined in a previous note are repeated, but in a slightly different sense. Quic is blood, the sap and resin of a tree, especially of the India rubber, or elastic rubber, which the ancient Maya and Quiché sometimes used as incense for their gods. The ball with which they played was also called quic. The name of the heroine of this episode was likewise Xquic, that of the feminine blood, or that of elastic rubber. Brasseur de Bourbourg (1869) calls it "la vierge Xquic, celle de la gomme élastique."

II. Chapter 4

Well, then, Hunbatz and Hunchouén were with their mother 1 when the woman called Xquic arrived.

When the woman Xquic came before the mother of Hunbatz and Hunchouén, 2 she carried her sons in her belly and it was not long before Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, as they were called, were to be born.

When the woman came to the old lady, she said to her: "I have come, mother; I am your daughter-in-law and your daughter, mother." She said this when she entered the grandmother's house.

"Where did you come from? Where are my sons? Did they, perchance, not die in Xibalba? Do you not see these two who remain, their descendants and blood, and are called Hunbatz and Hunchouén. Go from here! Get out!" the old lady screamed at the girl.

"Nevertheless, it is true that I am your daughter-in-law; I have been for a long time. I belong to Hun-Hunahpú. They live in what I carry, Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú are not dead; they will return to show themselves clearly, my mother-in-law. And you shall soon see their image in what I bring to you," she said to the old woman.

Then Hunbatz and Hunchouén became angry. They did nothing but play the flute and sing, paint, and sculpture all day long and were the consolation of the old woman.

Then the old woman said:

"I do not wish you to be my daughter-in-law, because what you bear in your womb is fruit of your disgrace. Furthermore, you are an impostor; my sons of whom you speak are already dead."

Presently the grandmother added: "This, that I tell you is the truth; but well, it is all right, you are my daughter-in-law, according to what I have heard. Go, then, bring the food for those who must be fed. Go and gather a large net [full of corn] and return at once, since you are my daughter-in-law, according to what I hear," she said to the girl.

"Very well," the girl replied, and she went at once to the cornfield 3 which Hunbatz and Hunchouén had planted. They had opened the road and the girl took it and so came to the cornfield; but she found only one stalk of corn; there were not two or three, and when she saw that there was only one stalk with an ear on it, the girl became very anxious.

"Ah, sinner that I am, unfortunate me! Where must I go to get a net full of corn 4 as she told me to do?" she exclaimed. Immediately she began to beg Chahal 5 for the food which she had to get and must take back.

"Xtoh, Xcanil, Xcacau, 6 you who cook the corn; and you, Chahal, guardian of the food of Hunbatz and Hunchouén!" said the girl. And then she seized the beards, the red silk of the ears of corn and pulled them off without picking the ear. Then she arranged the silk in the net like ears of corn and the large net was completely filled.

The girl returned immediately; the animals of the field went along carrying the net, and when they arrived, they went to put the load in a corner of the house, as though she might have carried it. The old woman came and when she saw the corn in the large net she exclaimed:

"Where have you brought all this corn from? Did you, perchance, take all the corn in our field and bring it all in? I shall go at once to see," said the old woman, and she set out on the road to the cornfield. But the one stalk of corn was still standing there, and she saw too where the net had been at the foot of the stalk. 7 The old woman quickly returned to her house and said to the girl:

"This is proof enough that you are really my daughter-in-law. I shall now see your little ones, those whom you carry and who also are to be soothsayers," 8 she said to the girl.

Footnotes

56:1 p. 214 The grandmother of these boys, who also acted as a mother to them.

56:2 In transcribing the Quiché text, Brasseur de Bourbourg omitted several words at this point, thinking, perhaps, that it was unnecessary to repeat them. The complete text is as follows: Arecut e qo ri u chuch Hunbatz, Hunchouén, ta x-ul ri ixoc Xquic u bi. Ta x-ul cut ri ixoc Xquic ruq ri u chuch Hunbatz, Hunchouén.

56:3 p. 215 Milpa, field planted with corn; the same name is also given to a stalk of corn.

56:4 Echá, food, nourishment, particularly corn.

56:5 Guardian of the cornfields.

56:6 Brasseur de Bourbourg interprets these names as follows: Xtoh, goddess of rain; Xcanil, goddess of gram (from ganel, stalk of yellow corn); and Xcacau, goddess of cacao.

56:7 U qolibal cat chuxe. Neither Brasseur de Bourbourg nor Ximénez translated chuxe, "at the foot of"

56:8 E nauinac chic, sages, magicians, or soothsayers in Quiché.

II. Chapter 5

Now we shall tell of the birth of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. Here, then, we shall tell about their birth.

When the day of their birth arrived, the girl named Xquic gave birth; but the grandmother did not see them when they were born. Instantly the two boys called Hunahpú and Xbalanqué were born. There in the wood they were born.

Then they came to the house, but they could not sleep.

"Go throw them out! "said the old woman, "because truly they cry very much." Then they went and put them on an ant-hill. There they slept peacefully. Then they took them from the ant-hill and laid them on thistles.

Now, what Hunbatz and Hunchouén wished was that they [Hunahpú and Xbalanqué] would die there on the ant-hill, or on the thistles. They wished this because of the hatred and envy 1 Hunbatz and Hunchouén felt for them.

At first they refused to receive their younger brothers in the house; they would not recognize them and so they were brought up in the fields.

Hunbatz and Hunchouén were great musicians and singers; they had grown up in the midst of trials and want and they had had much trouble, but they became very wise. They were flautists, singers, painters, and carvers; all of this they knew how to do.

They had heard about their birth and knew also that they were the successors of their parents, those who went to Xibalba and died there. Hunbatz and Hunchouén were diviners, and in their hearts they knew everything concerning the birth of their two younger brothers. Nevertheless, because they were envious, they did not show their wisdom, and their hearts were filled with bad will for them, although Hunahpú and Xbalanqué had not offended them in any way.

These two [last] did nothing all day long but shoot their blowguns; they were not loved by their grandmother, nor by Hunbatz, nor by Hunchouén; they were given nothing to eat; only when the meal was ended and Hunbatz and Hunchouén had already eaten, then the younger brothers came to eat. But they did not become angry, nor did they become vexed, but suffered silently, because they knew their rank, and they understood everything clearly. 2 They brought their birds when they came, and Hunbatz and Hunchouén ate them without giving anything to either of the two, Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

The only thing that Hunbatz and Hunchouén did was to play the flute and sing.

And once when Hunahpú and Xbalanqué came without bringing any bird at all, they went into the house and their grandmother became furious.

"Why did you bring no birds?" she said to Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

And they answered: "What happened, grandmother, is that our birds were caught in the tree and we could not climb up to get them, dear grandmother. If our elder brothers so wish, let them come with us to bring the birds down," they said.

"Very well," the older brothers answered, "we shall go with you at dawn."

The two younger brothers then discussed the way to overcome Hunbatz and Hunchouén. 3 "We shall only change their nature, their appearance; and so let our word be fulfilled, 4 for all the suffering that they have caused us. They wanted us to die, that we might be lost, we, their younger brothers. In their hearts 5 they really believe that we have come to be their servants. For these reasons we shall overcome them and teach them a lesson." Thus they spoke.

Then they went toward the foot of the tree called Canté. 6 They were accompanied by their two elder brothers and they were shooting their blowguns. It was not possible to count the birds which sang in the tree, and their elder brothers marveled to see so many birds. There were birds, but not one fell at the foot of the tree.

"Our birds do not fall to the ground. Go and fetch them down," they said to their elder brothers.

"Very well," the latter answered. And then they climbed the tree; but the tree became larger and the trunk swelled. Then Hunbatz and Hunchouén wanted to come down but they could not come down from the top of the tree.

Then they called from the treetop. "What has happened to us, our brothers? Unfortunate we. This tree frightens us only to look at it. Oh, our brothers!" they called from the treetop. And Hunahpú and Xbalanqué answered: "Loosen your breechclouts; 7 tie them below your stomach, leaving the long ends hanging and pull these from behind, and in this way you can walk easily." Thus said the younger brothers.

"Very well," they answered, pulling the ends of their belts back, but instantly these were changed into tails and they took on the appearance of monkeys. Then they hopped over the branches of the trees, among the great woods and little woods, and they buried themselves in the forest, making faces and swinging in the branches of the trees.

In this way Hunbatz and Hunchouén were overcome by Hunahpú and Xbalanqué; and only because of their magic could they have done it.

Then they returned to their home, and when they arrived they spoke to their grandmother and their mother, and said to them: "What could it be, grandmother, that has happened to our elder brothers, that suddenly their faces turned into the faces of animals?" So they said.

"If you have done any harm to your elder brothers, you have hurt me and have filled me with sadness. Do not do such a thing to your brothers, oh, my children," said the old woman to Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

And they replied to their grandmother:

"Do not grieve, our grandmother. You shall see our brother's faces again; they shall return, but it will be a difficult trial for you, grandmother. Be careful that you do not laugh at them. And now, let us cast our lot," they said.

Immediately they began to play their flutes, playing the song of Hunahpú-Qoy. 8 Then they sang, playing the flute and drum, picking up their flutes and their drum. Afterward they sat down close to their grandmother and continued playing and calling back [their brothers] with music and song, intoning the song, called Hunahpú-Qoy.

At last, Hunbatz and Hunchouén came and began to dance; but when the old woman saw their ugly faces, she began to laugh, unable to control her laughter, and they went away at once and she did not see their faces again.

"Now you see, grandmother! They have gone to the forest. What have you done, grandmother of ours? We may make this trial but four times and only three are left. Let us call them [back again] with flute and with song, but you, try to control your laughter. Let the trial begin!" said Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

Immediately they began again to play. Hunbatz and Hunchouén returned dancing, and came as far as the center of the court of the house 9 grimacing and provoking their grandmother to laughter, until finally she broke into loud laughter. They were really very amusing with their monkey faces, their broad bottoms, their narrow tails, and the hole of their stomach. 10 all of which made the old woman laugh.

Again the [elder brothers] went back to the woods. And Hunahpú and Xbalanqué said: "And now what shall we do, grandmother? We shall try once again, this third time."

They played the flute again, and the monkeys returned dancing. The grandmother contained her laughter. Then they went up over the kitchen; their eyes gave off a red light; they drew away and scrubbed their noses and frightened each other with the faces they made.

And as the grandmother saw all of this, she burst into violent laughter; and they did not see the faces [of the elder brothers] again because of the old woman's laughter.

"Only once more shall we call them, grandmother, so that they shall come for the fourth time," said the boys. They began again, then, to play the flute, but [their brothers] did not return the fourth time, instead they fled into the forest as quickly as they could.

The boys said to their grandmother: "We have done everything possible, dear grandmother; they came once, then we tried to call them again. But do not grieve, here we are, your grandchildren; you must look to us, oh, our mother! Oh, our grandmother! to remind you of our elder brothers, those who were called and have the names of Hunbatz and Hunchouén," said Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

They were invoked by the musicians and singers, and by the old people. The painters and craftsmen also invoked them in days gone by. 11 But they were changed into animals and became monkeys because they became arrogant and abused their brothers.

In this way they were disgraced; this was their loss, in this way Hunbatz and Hunchouén were overcome and became animals. They had always lived in their home; they were musicians and singers and also did great things when they lived with their grandmother and with their mother.

Footnotes

63:1 p. 215 X-c'ah rumal qui chaquimal, qui gag vachibal puch cumal Hunbatz, Hunchouén.

63:2 Xere qu'etaam ri qui qoheic, queheri zac ca qu'ilo.

63:3 X-caminac cut qui naoh qui cabichal chirech qui chaquic Hunbatz, Hunchouén. This passage was not understood by Brasseur de Bourbourg. Of the translators of the Popol Vuh, only Ximénez has interpreted it correctly as: "And the two having talked to each other, about the overthrowal of Hun-batz and Hun-chouen."

63:4 Ca tzih ta ch'uxoc, literally, "that our word and command be fulfilled."

63:5 Chi qui qux, literally, "in their hearts."

63:6 Canté, yellow wood, Gliricidia sepium. A tree from the roots of which the Maya obtained a substance which yielded a yellow color, according to the Diccionario de Motul. In Yucatán it is known by the name Zac-yab, and in Central America as Madre de cacao. Standley, Flora of Yucatan.

63:7 Ch'y quira y vex. Unfasten your trousers, or breechclout; probably a simple loin cloth similar to the maxtatl of the Mexican Indians and the ex of the Maya is meant here.

63:8 The monkey of Hunahpú.

63:9 X-e ul chic u nicahal u va ha, literally, "they came to the edge of the house."

63:10 U chi qui qux, literally, "the mouth of their stomachs."

63:11 The painters and carvers of Yucatán invoked Hunchevén and Hunahau, who were the younger sons of Ixchel and Itzammá (a god and goddess whom the Maya of the peninsula venerated), according to Bishop Las Casas ("De los libros y de las tradiciones religiosas que había en Guatemala," Apologética Historia de las Indias, Chap. CCXXXV). Those younger sons--the chronicler says--were not gods but divine men. Their names are evidently p. 216 those of the days of the Maya calendar, 1 Chuén and 1 Ahau. The reader will easily notice the similarity between the Quiché youths and the Maya demigods. Bishop Las Casas writes in this connection: "All the trained workmen like the painters, the workers in feathers, the carvers, silversmiths, and others like them, worshiped and made sacrifice to those younger sons called Hunchevén and Hunahau, so that they would grant them the talent and skill needed to do a finished, perfect piece of work.

II. Chapter 6

Then they [Hunahpú] and [Xbalanqué] began to work, in order to be well thought of by their grandmother and their mother. The first thing they made was the cornfield. "We are going to plant the cornfield, grandmother and mother," they said. "Do not grieve; here we are, your grandchildren, we who shall take the place of our brothers," said Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

At once they took their axes, their picks, and their wooden hoes and went, each carrying his blowgun on his shoulder. As they left the house they asked their grandmother to bring them their midday meal.

"At midday, come and bring our food, grandmother," they said.

"Very well, my grandsons," the old woman replied.

Soon they came to the field. And as they plunged the pick into the earth, it worked the earth; it did the work alone.

In the same way they put the ax in the trunks of the trees and in the branches, and instantly they fell and all the trees and vines were lying on the ground. The trees fell quickly, with only one stroke of the ax.

The pick also dug a great deal. One could not count the thistles and brambles which had been felled with one blow of the pick. Neither was it possible to tell what it had dug and broken up, in all the large and small woods.

And having taught an animal, called Xmucur, 1 they had it climb to the top of a large tree and Hunahpú and Xbalanqué said to it: "Watch for our grandmother to come with our food, and as soon as she comes, begin at once to sing, and we shall seize the pick and the ax."

"Very well," Xmucur answered.

And they began to shoot with their blowguns; certainly they did none of the work of clearing and cultivating. A little later, the dove sang, and they ran quickly, grabbing the pick and ax. And one of them covered his head and also deliberately covered his hands With earth 2 and in the same way smeared his face to look like a real laborer, and the other purposely threw splinters of wood over his head as though he really had been cutting the trees.

Thus their grandmother saw them. They ate at once, but they had not really done the work of tilling the soil, and without deserving it they were given their midday meal. After a while, they went home.

"We are really tired, grandmother," they said upon arriving, stretching their legs and arms before her, but without reason.

They returned the following day, and upon arriving at the field, they found that all the trees and vines were standing again and that the brambles and thistles had become entangled again.

"Who has played this trick on us;" they said. "No doubt all the small and large animals did it, the puma, the jaguar, the deer, the rabbit, the mountain-cat, the coyote, the wild boar, the coati, the small birds, the large birds; they, it was, who did it; in a single night, they did it."

They began again to prepare the field and to prepare the soil and cut the trees. They talked over what they would have to do with the trees which they had cut, and the weeds which they had pulled up.

"Now we shall watch over our cornfield; perhaps we can surprise those who come to do all of this damage," they said, talking it over together. And later they returned home.

"What do you think of it, grandmother? They have made fun of us. Our field, which we had worked, has been turned into a field of stubble and a thick woods. Thus we found it, when we got there, a little while ago, grandmother," they said to her and to their mother. "But we shall return there and watch over it, because it is not right that they do such things to us," they said.

Then they dressed and returned at once to their field of cut trees, and there they hid themselves, stealthily, in the darkness.

Then all the animals gathered again; one of each kind came with the other small and large animals. It was just midnight when they came, all talking as they came, saying in their own language: "Rise up, trees! Rise up, vines!" 3

So they spoke when they came and gathered under the trees, under the vines, and they came closer until they appeared before the eyes [of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué].

The puma and the jaguar were the first, and [Hunahpú and Xbalanqué] wanted to seize them, but [the animals] did not let them. Then the deer and the rabbit came close. and the only parts of them which they could seize were their tails, 4 only these, they pulled out. The tall of the deer remained in their hands, and for this reason the deer and the rabbit have short tails.

Neither the mountain-cat, the coyote, the wild boar, nor the coati fell into their hands. All the animals passed before Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, who were furious because they could not catch them.

But, finally, another animal came hopping along, and this one which was the rat, [which] they seized instantly, and wrapped him in a cloth. Then when they had caught him, they squeezed his head and tried to choke him, and they burned his tall in the fire, and for that reason the rat's tail has no hair. So, too, the boys, Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, tried to poke at his eyes.

The rat said: "I must not die at your hands. And neither is it your business to plant the cornfield."

"What are you telling us now?" the boys asked the rat.

"Loosen me a little, for I have something which I wish to tell you, and I shall tell you immediately, but first give me something to eat," said the rat.

"We will give you food afterward, but first speak," they answered.

"Very well. Do you know, then, that the property of your parents Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú, as they were called, those who died in Xibalba, or rather the gear with which they played ball, has remained 5 and is hanging from the roof of the house: the ring, the gloves, and the ball? Nevertheless, your grandmother does not want to show them to you for it was on account of these things that your parents died."

"Are you sure of that?" said the boys to the rat. And they were very happy when they heard about the rubber ball. And as the rat had now talked, they showed the rat what his food would be.

"This shall be your food: corn, chili-seeds, beans, pataxte, cacao; 6 all this belongs to you, and should there be anything stored away or forgotten, it shall be yours also. Eat it," Hunahpú and Xbalanqué said to the rat.

"Wonderful, boys," he said; "but what shall I tell your grandmother if she sees me?"

"Do not worry, because we are here and shall know what to say to our grandmother. Let us go! We shall go quickly to the comer of the house, go at once to where the things hang; we shall be looking at the garret of the house and paying attention to our food," they said to the rat.

And having arranged it thus, during the night after talking together, Hunahpú and Xbalanqué arrived at midday. When they arrived, they brought the rat with them, but they did not show it; one of them went directly into the house, and the other went to the corner and there let the rat climb up quickly.

Immediately they asked their grandmother for food. "Prepare our food, 7 we wish a chili-sauce, 8 grandmother," they said. And at once the food was prepared for them and a plate of broth was put before them.

But this was only to deceive their grandmother and their mother. And having dried up the water which was in the water jar, they said, "We are really dying of thirst; go and bring us a drink," they said to their grandmother.

"Good," she said and went. Then they began to eat, but they were not really hungry; it was only a trick. They saw then by means of their plate of chile 9 how the rat went rapidly toward the ball which was suspended from the roof of the house. On seeing this in their chile-sauce, they sent to the river a certain xan, an animal called xan which is like a mosquito, to puncture the side of their grandmother's water jar, and although she tried to stop the water which ran out, she could not close the hole made in the jar.

"What is the matter with our grandmother? Our mouths are dry, with thirst, 10 we are dying of thirst," they said to their mother and they sent her out, 11 Immediately the rat went to cut [the cord which held] the ball and it fell from the garret of the house together with the ring and the gloves and the leather pads. The boys seized them and ran quickly to hide them on the road which led to the ball-court.

After this they went to the river to join their grandmother and their mother, who were busily trying to stop the hole in the water jar. And arriving With their blowgun, they said when they came to the river: "What are you doing? We got tired [of waiting] and we came," they said.

"Look at the hole in my jar which I cannot stop, said the grandmother. Instantly they stopped it, and together they returned, the two walking before their grandmother.

And in this way the ball was found.

Footnotes

69:1 p. 216 The turtledove, mucuy in Maya.

69:2 Xalog in the original; literally means "in vain" as Ximénez translates it, or "gratuitously," as Brasseur de Bourbourg renders it.

69:3 Are puch tiquil u qux agab ta x-e petic, x-e chauiheic conohel ta x-e petic. Are qui chabal ri: Yaclin che, yaclin caam.

69:4 The original is: Xa cuch u he x-qui chap vi. It seems to me that this is an error, and that it should read xa cu u he, etc., and I have so translated it.

69:5 In his transcription from the Quiché text, Brasseur de Bourbourg omitted the words ri qu'etzabal x-e quel canoc, which I have translated as it is here. Etzan is "to play" and etzabal is the playing gear.

69:6 These were practically the daily foods of the ancient Quiché. Of cacao beans (cacau in Maya and in Quiché), they made a very nourishing drink, and in the same way they used a kind of cacao, Theobroma bicolor, which the Quiché called pec and which is commonly known by the Mexican name of pataxte.

69:7 Xa ch'y cutu ca ti, literally, "grind our food." The food of the Quiché Indians consisted principally of tortillas, i. e., cakes of corn, which were cooked and ground on the stone which they called caam, the metatl of Mexico.

69:8 Cutum-ic, in Quiché; chilmulli, in Náhuatl, chile-sauce.

69:9 Chupam cutum ic, within the chilmol. The liquid red sauce served as a mirror and reflected the rat's movements on the roof, without its appearing as though the boys were watching them.

69:10 Oh hizabah chi ya.

69:11 To fetch the water.

II. Chapter 7
The boys returned happily to the ball-court to play; they were playing alone a long time and cleared the court where their parents had played.

And the Lords of Xibalba, hearing them, said: "Who are they who play again over our heads and disturb us with the noise they make? Perchance Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú did not die, those who wished to exalt themselves before us? Go at once and call them!"

So said Hun-Camé, Vucub-Camé, and all the lords. And sending the messengers to call them, they said to them: "Go and tell them when you get there: 'Let them come,' the lords have said; we wish to play ball with them here, within seven days we wish to play; tell them so when you arrive," thus said the lords. This was the command which they gave to the messengers. And they came then by the wide road which the boys had made that led directly to their house; by it the messengers arrived directly before [the boys'] grandmother. They were eating when the messengers from Xibalba arrived.

"Tell them to come, without fail, the lords commanded," said the messengers of Xibalba. And the messengers of Xibalba indicated the day: "Within seven days they will await them," they said to Xmucané.

"It is well, messengers; they will go," the old woman answered. And the messengers set out on their return.

Then the old woman's heart was filled with anxiety. "Who shall I send to call my grandchildren? 1 Was it not in this same way that the messengers of Xibalba came before, when they came to take the [boys'] parents?" said the grandmother, entering her house, alone and grieving.

And immediately a louse fell into her lap. She seized it and put it in the palm of her hand, and the louse wriggled and began to walk.

"My child, would you like that I sent you away to call my grandchildren from the ball-court?" she said to the louse. "'Messengers have come to your grandmother,' tell them; 'come within seven days, tell them to come, said the messengers of Xibalba; thus your grandmother told me to say,'" thus she told the louse.

At once the louse swaggered off. Sitting on the road was a boy called Tamazul, 2 or the toad.

"Where are you going?" the toad said to the louse.

"I am carrying a message in my stomach. I go to find the boys," said the louse to Tamazul.

"Very well, but I see that you do not go quickly," said the toad to the louse. "Do you not want me to swallow you? You shall see how I run, and so we shall arrive quickly."

"Very well," the louse said to the toad. Immediately the toad swallowed him. And the toad walked a long time, but without hurrying. Soon he met a large snake, called Zaquicaz. 3

"Where are you going, young Tamazul?" said Zaquicaz to the toad.

"I go as a messenger; I carry a message in my stomach," said the toad to the snake. See that you do not walk quickly. Would I not arrive sooner?" the snake said to the toad. "Come here," he said. At once Zaquicaz swallowed the toad. And from then on this was the food of snakes, who still today swallow toads.

The snake went quickly and having met Vac, 4 which is a very large bird, the hawk, [the latter] instantly swallowed the snake. Shortly afterward it arrived at the ball-court. From that time, this has been the food of hawks, who devour snakes in the fields.

And upon arrival, the hawk perched upon the cornice of the ball-court where Hunahpú and Xbalanqué were amusing themselves playing ball. Upon arriving, the hawk began to cry: "Vac-có! Vac-có!" it said cawing. ["Here is the hawk! Here is the hawk!"]

"Who is screaming? Bring our blowguns!" the boys exclaimed. And shooting at the hawk, they aimed a pellet at the pupil of the eye 5 and [the hawk] spiraled to the ground. They ran to seize it and asked: "What do you come to do here?" they asked the hawk.

"I bring a message in my stomach. First cure my eye and afterward I shall tell you," the hawk answered.

"Very well," they said, and taking a bit of the rubber of the ball with which they were playing, they put it in the hawk's eye. Lotzquic 6 they called it, and instantly the hawk's eye was perfectly healed.

"Speak, then," they said to the hawk. And immediately it vomited a large snake.

"Speak, thou," they said to the snake.

"Good," the [snake] said and vomited the toad.

"Where is the message that you bring?" they asked the toad.

"Herein my stomach is the message," answered the toad.

[paragraph continues] And immediately he tried, but could not vomit; his mouth only filled with spittle but he did not vomit. The boys wanted to hit him then.

"You are a liar, "they said, kicking him in the rump, and the bone of the haunches gave way. He tried again, but his mouth only filled with spittle. Then the boys opened the toad's mouth and once open, they looked inside of it. The louse was stuck to the toad's teeth: it had stayed in its mouth and had not been swallowed, but only pretended to be swallowed. 7 Thus the toad was tricked, and the kind of food to give it is not known. It cannot run; and it became the food of the snakes.

"Speak," they said to the louse, and then it gave its message. "Your grandmother has said, boys: 'Go call them; the messengers of Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé have come to tell them to go to Xibalba, saying: "They must come here within seven days to play ball with us, and they must also bring their playing gear, the ball, the rings, the gloves, the leather pads, in order that they may amuse themselves here," said the lords. They have really come,' said your grandmother. That is why I have come. For truly your grandmother said this and she cries and grieves, for this reason I have come."

"Is it true?" the boys asked themselves when they heard this. And running quickly they arrived at their grandmother's side; they went only to take their leave of her.

"We are going, grandmother, we came only to say goodbye. But here will be the sign which we shall leave of our fate: each of us shall plant a reed, in the middle of the house we shall plant it; if it dries, this shall be the sign of our death. 'They are dead!' you shall say, if it begins to dry up. But if it sprouts again: 'They are living!' you shall say, oh, our grandmother. And you, mother, do not weep, for here we leave the sign of our fate," thus they said.

And before going, Hunahpú planted one [reed] and Xbalanqué planted another; they planted them in the house and not in the field, nor did they plant them in moist soil, but in dry soil; in the middle of their house, they left them planted.

Footnotes

74:1 p. 216 Naqui x-chi v'u chah qui taquic ri viy? in the original.

74:2 Tamazul u bi, ri xpek. The author here uses the Náhuatl word Tamazul to designate this particular toad, thus showing the old Toltec influence still remaining in the minds of the Indians of Guatemala.

74:3 p. 217 Literally, white armadillo. A very large snake which makes a great deal of noise when it crawls away. Santa Mania, Diccionario Cakchiquel.

74:4 A hawk which eats snakes. Vocabulario de los P. P. Franciscanos.

74:5 There is a play on words in the original here: qui cu tacal u bac uub chu bac u vach, they aimed the pellet (bac) of the blowgun at the ball (bac) of the eye.

74:6 Lotz, sorrel; lotzquic, rubber, or juice of the sorrel. An herb which the Mexicans call xocoyolli, and which seems to be oxalis, according to our classification of natural history, says Brasseur de Bourbourg. He adds that the natives of Central America assured him that they still used it to remove cataracts from their eyes. Garcilaso de la Vega, the Inca, speaks in the same way of a similar plant used by the Indians of Peru. According to the Vocabulario de los P. P. Franciscanos, lotz is also the sapuyulo, or stone of the zapote which sometimes is covered with a white or amber-colored gum.

74:7 Xa quehe xa bic.

II. Chapter 8

Then they went, each one carrying his blowgun, and went down in the direction of Xibalba. They descended the steps quickly and passed between several streams and ravines. They passed among some birds and these birds were called Molay. 1

They also passed over a river of corruption, and over a river of blood, where they would be destroyed, so the people of Xibalba thought; but they did not touch it with their feet, instead they crossed it on their blowguns.

They went on from there, and came to a crossway of four roads. They knew very well which were the roads to Xibalba; the black road, the white road, the red road, and the green road. So, then, they sent an animal called Xan. 2 It was to go to gather information which they wanted. "Sting them, one by one; first sting the one seated in the first place and then sting all of them, since this is the part you must play: to suck the blood of the men on the roads," they said to the mosquito.

"Very well," answered the mosquito. And immediately it flew on to the dark road and went directly toward the wooden men which were seated first and covered with ornaments. It stung the first, but this one said nothing; then it stung the next one, it stung the second, who was seated, but this one said nothing, either.

After that it stung the third; the third of those seated was Hun-Camé. "Ah!" he exclaimed when it stung him. "What is this, Hun-Camé? What is it that has stung you? Do you not know who has stung you? "said the fourth one of the lords, who were seated. 3

"What is the matter, Vucub-Camé? What has stung you?" said the fifth.

"Ah! Ah!" then said Xiquiripat. And Vucub-Camé asked him, "What has stung you?" and when they stung the sixth who was seated [he cried], "Ah!"

"What is this, Cuchumaquic?" asked Xiquiripat. "What is it that has stung you?" And the seventh one seated said "Ah" when he was stung.

"What is the matter, Ahalpuh?" said Cuchumaquic. "What has stung you?" And when it stung him, the eighth of those seated said, "Ah!"

"What is the matter, Ahalcaná?" said Ahalpuh. "What has stung you?" And when he was stung the ninth of those seated said "Ah!"

"What is this, Chamiabac? "said Ahalcaná. "What has stung you?" And when the tenth of those seated was stung, he said "Ah!"

"What is the matter, Chamiaholom?" said Chamiabac. "What has stung you?" And when the eleventh of those seated was stung he said, "Ah!"

"What happened?" said Chamiaholom. "What has stung you?" And when the twelfth of those seated was stung, he said "Alas!"

"What is this, Patán?" they said. "What has stung you?" And the thirteenth of those seated said "Alas!" when he was stung.

"What is the matter, Quicxic?" said Patán. "What has stung you?" And the fourteenth of those seated when he was stung said "Alas!"

"What has stung you, Quicrixcac?" said Quicré.

In this way they told their names, as they all said them one to the other. 4 So they made themselves known 5 by telling their names, calling each chief, one by one. And in this manner each of those seated in his comer told his name.

Not a single one of the names was missed. All told their names when Hunahpú puffed out a hair of his leg, which was what had stung them. It was really not a mosquito which stung them which went for Hunahpú and Xbalanqué to hear the names of all of them.

They [the youths] continued on their way and arrived where the Lords of Xibalba were.

"Greet the lord, the one who is seated,' said one in order to deceive them.

"That is not a lord. it is nothing more than a wooden figure," they said, and went on. Immediately they began to greet them:

"Hail, Hun-Camé! Hail, Vucub-Camé! Hail, Xiquiripat! Hail, Cuchumaquic! Hail, Ahalpuh! Hail, Ahalcaná! Hail, Chamiabac! Hail, Chamiaholom! Hail, Quicxic! Hail, Patán! Hail, Quicré! Hail, Quicrixcac!" they said coming before them. And looking in their faces, they spoke the name of all, without missing the name of a single one of them.

But what the lords wished was that they should not discover their names.

"Sit here," they said, hoping that they would sit in the seat [which they indicated].

"That is not a seat for us; it is only a hot stone," said Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, and they [the Lords of Xibalba] could not overcome them.

"Very well, go to that house," the lords said. And they [the youths] went on and entered the House of Gloom. And neither there were they overcome.

Footnotes

78:1 p. 217 Molay and its derivatives in Maya mean "together," "flock," "herd," derived from mol, "to gather." The text possibly refers here to the large flocks of birds which are still to be found in the tropical woods and fields of Guatemala.

78:2 Mosquito. The same ally of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué who made a hole in the water jar of Xmucané.

78:3 Brasseur de Bourbourg corrected the text of this passage, which in the original manuscript reads as follows: ¿Naqui Hun-Camé, naquila mi-x-i tiouic? ¿Xah i na qu'i chila mi x-i tionic? x-cha chic u cah culel.

78:4 In the list of the Lords of Xibalba given here, some names appear which differ from those in Chapter 1 of this Part II, while others are omitted altogether. It is true that between one and another of these episodes a generation in time has elapsed and these changes are natural. Or is this still another version of these histories? The following are the new names: Quicxic (bloody wing), Quicrixcac (bloody claw), Quicré (teeth covered with blood). In the composition of all of these names, the word quic (blood) very appropriately appears.

78:5 X qui cut u vach, literally, "they showed their faces."

II. Chapter 9

This was the first test of Xibalba. The Lords of Xibalba thought that [the boys'] entrance there would be the beginning of their downfall. After a while [the boys] entered the House of Gloom; immediately lighted sticks of fat pine were given them and the messengers of Hun-Camé also took a cigar to each one.

"'These are their pine sticks,' said the lord; 'they must return them at dawn, tomorrow, together with the cigars, and you must bring them back whole,' said the lord." So said the messengers when they arrived.

"Very well," [the boys] replied. But they really did not [light] the sticks of pine, instead they put a red-colored thing in place of them, or some feathers from the tail of the macaw, which to the night watches 1 looked like lighted pine sticks. And as for the cigars, they attached fireflies to their end. 2

All night [everybody] thought they were defeated. "They are lost," said the night watchmen. But the pine sticks had not been burned and looked the same, and the cigars had not been lighted and looked the same as before.

They went to tell the lords.

"How is this? Whence have they come? Who conceived them? Who gave birth to them? This really troubles us, because it is not well what they do. Their faces are strange, and strange is their conduct." they said to each other.

Soon all the lords summoned [the boys].

"Eh! Let us play ball, boys!" they said. At the same time they were questioned by Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé:

"Where did you come from? Tell us, boys!" said the Lords of Xibalba.

"Who knows whence we came! We do not know," they said, and nothing more.

"Very well. Let us play ball, boys," said the Lords of Xibalba.

"Good," they replied. 3

"We shall use our ball," said the Lords of Xibalba. 4

"By no means, shall you use [your ball], but ours," the boys answered.

"Not that one, but ours we shall use," insisted the Lords of Xibalba.

"Very well," said the boys.

"Let us play for a worm, the chil," 5 said the Lords of Xibalba.

"No, but instead, the head of the puma shall speak," 6 said the boys.

"Not that," said those of Xibalba.

"Very well," said Hunahpú.

Then the Lords of Xibalba seized the ball; they threw it directly at the ring of Hunahpú. Immediately, while those of Xibalba grasped the handle of the knife of flint, 7 the ball rebounded and bounced all around the floor of the ball-court.

"What is this?" exclaimed Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. "You wish to kill us? Perchance you did not send to call us? And your own messengers did not come? In truth, unfortunate are we! We shall leave at once," the boys said to them.

This was exactly what those of Xibalba wanted to have happen to the boys, that they would die immediately, right there in the ball-court and thus they would be overcome. But it did not happen thus, and it was the Lords of Xibalba who were defeated by the boys.

"Do not leave, boys, let us go on playing ball, but we shall use your ball," they said to the boys.

"Very well," the boys answered and then they drove their ball 8 through [the ring of Xibalba], and with this the game ended.

And offended by their defeat, the men of Xibalba immediately said: "What shall we do in order to overcome them?" And turning to the boys they said to them: "Go gather and bring us, early tomorrow morning, 9 four gourds of flowers." So said the men of Xibalba to the boys.

"Very well. And what kind of flowers?" they asked the men of Xibalba.

"A branch of red chiptlín, a branch of white chiptlín, a branch of yellow chiptlín, and a branch of carinimac," said the men of Xibalba. 10

"Very well," replied the boys.

Thus the talk ended; equally strong and vigorous were the words of the boys. And their hearts were calm when they gave themselves up to be overcome.

The Lords of Xibalba were happy, thinking that they had already defeated them.

"This has turned out well for us. First they must cut them [the flowers]," 11 said the Lords of Xibalba. "Where shall they go to get the flowers?" they said to themselves.

"Surely you will give us our flowers tomorrow early; 12 go, then, to cut them," 13 the Lords of Xibalba said to Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

"Very well," they replied. "At dawn 14 we shall play ball again," they said upon leaving.

And immediately the boys entered the House of Knives, the second place of torture in Xibalba. And what the lords wanted was that they would be cut to pieces by the knives, and would be quickly killed; that is what they Wished in their hearts.

But the [boys] did not die. They spoke at once to the knives 15 and said to them:

"Yours shall be the flesh of all the animals," they said to the knives. And they did not move again, but all the knives were quiet.

Thus they passed the night in the House of Knives, and calling all the ants, they said to them: "Come, Cutting Ants, 16 come, zompopos, 17 and all of you go at once, go and bring all the kinds of flowers that we must cut for the lords."

"Very well," they said, and all the ants went to bring the flowers from the gardens of Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé.

Previously [the lords] had warned the guards of the flowers of Xibalba: "Take care of our flowers, do not let them be taken by the boys who shall come to cut them. But how could [the boys] see and cut the flowers? 18 Not at all. Watch, then, all night!"

"Very well," they answered. But the guards of the garden heard nothing. Needlessly they shouted up into the branches of the trees in the garden. There they were all night, repeating their same shouts and songs.

"Ixpurpuvec! Ixpurpuvec!" one shouted.

"Puhuyú! Puhuyú!" the other answered. 19

Puhuyú was the name of the two who watched the garden of Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé. 20 But they did not notice the ants who were robbing them of what they were guarding, turning around and moving here and there, cutting the flowers, climbing the trees to cut the flowers, and gathering them from the ground at the foot of the trees.

Meanwhile the guards went on crying, and they did not feel the teeth which were cutting their tails and their wings.

And thus the ants carried, between their teeth, the flowers which they took down, and gathering them from the ground, they went on carrying them with their teeth.

Quickly they filled the four gourds with flowers, which were moist [with dew] when it dawned. 21 Immediately the messengers arrived to get them. "'Tell them to come,' the lord has said, 'and bring here instantly what they have cut,'" they said to the boys.

"Very well," the [boys] answered. And carrying the flowers in the four gourds, they went, and when they arrived before the lord [of Xibalba] and the other lords, it was lovely to see the flowers they had brought. And in this way the Lords of Xibalba were overcome.

The boys had only sent the ants [to cut the flowers], and in a night the ants cut them and put them in the gourds.

Instantly the Lords of Xibalba paled and their faces became livid because of the flowers. They sent at once for the guardians of the flowers. "Why did you permit them to steal our flowers? These which we see here are our flowers," they said to the guardians.

"We noticed nothing, my lord. Our tails also suffered," they answered. And then the [lords] tore at their mouths as a punishment for having let that which was under their care be stolen.

Thus were Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé defeated by Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. And this was the beginning of their deeds. From that time the mouth of the owl is divided, cleft as it is today.

Immediately they went down to play ball, and also they played several tie-matches. Then they finished playing and agreed to play again the following day at dawn. So said the Lords of Xibalba.

"It is well," said the boys upon finishing.

Footnotes

84:1 p. 217 Varanel, the "night guards."

84:2 Caca chicop, insect of fire, glowworms. As in English, the firefly.

84:3 p. 218 In order to understand better the passages of the Popol Vuh in which the ball game is spoken of, it is well to read Sahagún's description of it (Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, Vol. II, Book VIII, Chap X, p. 297), which follows: ". . . At other times the lord played ball for his pastime, and for this balls of ulli were kept; these balls were about the size of some large balls for bowling [and] they were solid, of a certain resin or gum which they called ulli, which is very light and bounces like an inflated ball; and he also brought with him good ball players who played before him and other principal men played on the opposite [team] and they won gold and chalchiguites and beads of gold, and turquoise, and slaves, and rich mantles, and maxtles, and cornfields and houses, etc. [feathers, cacao, cloaks of feather]. . . . the ballcourt was called tlaxtli or tlachtli and consisted of two walls, twenty or thirty feet apart, and were up to forty or fifty feet in length; the walls and the floor were whitewashed, and were about eight and a half feet high, and in the middle of the court was a line which was used in the game. In the middle of the walls, in the center of the court, were two stones, like millstones hollowed out, opposite each other, and each one had a hole wide enough to contain the ball for each one of them. And the one who put the ball in it won the game; they did not play with their hands, but instead struck the ball with their buttocks; for playing, they wore gloves on their hands and a belt of leather on their buttocks, with which to strike the ball."

84:4 Brasseur de Bourbourg intentionally changes the order of this part of the dialogue. The order has been re-established here according to the original Quiché, to which both Ximénez and I adhere, as may be seen in the former's first version (1857).

84:5 Chil, a caterpillar which, according to Ximénez in his Tesoro, clings. This may be the centipede, according to the Vocabulario Maya-Quiché-Cakchiquel que se habla en la laguna de Atitlán.

84:6 This passage is very vague, and Brasseur de Bourbourg even says that it is unintelligible. There is an evident play of words concerned in it. The original says: He bala xa hu chil, x-e cha Xibalba. Ma bala, xa holom coh cha chic, x-e cha qaholab. Bala is an indefinite word used to give emphasis to the account, and is sometimes also an adverb of place. It seems, nevertheless, that here it is repeated in the text to appear like balam, as though wishing to say: "The head of the jaguar [balam] does not rule here, but the head of the puma [coh]." These seem to be terms of the ancient ball game. Surmounting the side of the imposing ball-court of Chichén-Itzá is the Temple of the jaguars, so called because of the figures of these animals which are engraved on its walls. Undoubtedly the jaguar had some connection with the ball game.

84:7 p. 219 Catepuch ta x-qu il Xibalba ri zaqui tog, ta x-el chupam ri quic. The lords of Xibalba, without losing time, wanted to kill their guests with the sacrificial knife and only were deterred from this intention by the just complaint which may be read in the following paragraph.

84:8 Are cu x-oc ri quic. Playing with their own ball, the youths had no difficulty in driving it through the ring of their opponents and thus winning the game.

84:9 Xa cacha ca cah cah zel cotzih. Cah is the numeral "four" and also the adverb "early."

84:10 Caca-muchih. Muchih or muchit is the name of a certain plant called chipilín, says Ximénez. It is a plant of the leguminous family, Crotalaria longirostrata. It has not been possible to identify the plant which the text calls Carinimac.

84:11 Nabe mi x-e ca chaco.

84:12 Quitzih ta agab ch'y ya ri ca cotzih. Here agab, agabá means at dawn, or daybreak, when night is over, and only by following this interpretation does this part of the story agree with that which appears farther on.

84:13 Ca chacom puch. Until now, the meaning of the verb chacón from chacá and chaqué, "to cut bunches of flowers," has escaped translators of the Popol Vuh.

84:14 Agabá the same as in the previous paragraph.

84:15 Ta x-e cha chire cha. Brasseur de Bourbourg observes here that the Quiché delighted in these plays on words. In this entire chapter the author uses the word cha, which means to talk, to say, lance, knife, glass, etc. The same may be said of the word cah used, as has been said in a previous note, as an adjective, a verb, and an adverb.

84:16 Chai-zanic, cutting ants.

84:17 Chequen-zanic, red or black ants which travel by night and cut the tender leaves and flowers. In Guatemala they are commonly known as zompopos, a Mexican word.

84:18 ¿Ana-vi x-pe vi r'ilo ca chacón cumal? Again the verb chacón, in the sense of cutting branches or flowers.

84:19 Purpuvec and puhuy are the names which the Quiché and Cakchiquel still give to the red or barn owl. They are words which imitate the call of these birds. "Puhuy, Pupuek, a night bird which travels when the moon is up, at night," says the Vocabulario de los P. P. Franciscanos. The birds of which the text speaks here seem to be rather the bird commonly called the churn owl. This word imitates the choppy call of those birds which are to be heard at a distance in the night. Puhuy is the Maya name of one of these night p. 220 birds. The Vocabulario de las lenguas Quiché y Cakchiquel defines these words as follows: Xpurpugüek, cuerpo-ruin; Puhuyú, chotacabra. Both names apply to the same bird, a member of the Caprimulgidae family.

84:20 Ri Puhuyú u bi e caib chi chahal ticon, u ticon Hun-Camé, Vucub-Camé.

84:21 Tiquitoh chicut ta x-zaquiric.

II. Chapter 10

Afterward they entered the House of Cold. It is impossible to describe how cold it was. The house was full of hail; it was the mansion of cold. Soon, however, the cold was ended because with [a fire of] old logs the boys made the cold disappear.

That is why they did not die; they were still alive when it dawned. Surely what the Lords of Xibalba wanted was that they would die; but it was not thus, and when it dawned, they were still full of health, and they went out again, when the messengers came to get them.

"How is this? They are not dead yet?" said the Lords of Xibalba. They were amazed to see the deeds of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

Presently the boys [entered] the House of Jaguars. The house was full of jaguars. "Do not bite us! Here is what belongs to you," 1 [the boys] said to the jaguars. And quickly they threw some bones to the animals, which pounced upon the bones.

"Now surely they are finished. Now already they have eaten their own entrails. At last they have given themselves up. Now their bones have been broken, "so said the guards, all happy because of this.

But they [the boys] did not die. As usual, well and healthy, they came out of the House of Jaguars.

"What kind of people are they? Where did they come from?" said all the Lords of Xibalba.

Presently they [the boys] entered into the midst of fire in the House of Fire, inside which there was only fire; but they were not burned. Only the coals and the wood burned. And, as usual, they were well when it dawned. But what they [the Lords of Xibalba] wished was that [the boys] would die rapidly, where they had been. Nevertheless, it did not happen thus, which disheartened the Lords of Xibalba.

Then they put them into the House of Bats. There was nothing but bats inside this house, the house of Camazotz, 2 a large animal, whose weapons for killing were like a dry point, 3 and instantly those who came into their presence perished. 4

They [the boys] were in there, then, but they slept inside their blowguns. And they were not bitten by those who were in the house. Nevertheless, one of them had to give up because of another Camazotz that came from the sky, and made him come into sight.

The bats were assembled in council all night, and flew about: "Quilitz, quilitz," they said: So they were saying all night. They stopped for a little while, however, and they did not move and were pressed against the end of one of the blowguns.

Then Xbalanqué said to Hunahpú: "Look you, has it begun already to get light?"

"Maybe so. I am going to see," [Hunahpú] answered.

And as he wished very much to look out of the mouth of the blowgun, and wished to see if it had dawned, instantly [paragraph continues] Camazotz cut off his head and the body of Hunahpú was decapitated.

Xbalanqué asked again: "Has it not yet dawned?" But Hunahpú did not move. "Where have you gone, Hunahpú? What have you done?" But he did not move, and remained silent.

Then Xbalanqué felt concerned and exclaimed: "Unfortunate are we. We are completely undone."

They went immediately to hang the head [of Hunahpú] in the ball-court by special order of Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé, and all the people of Xibalba rejoiced for what had happened to the head of Hunahpú.

Footnotes

87:1 p. 220 Qo yvech ch'uxic, literally, "yours shall be what is here." Ximénez translates this passage thus: "This must be your food!" reading yvecha instead of the possessive yvech, "yours."

87:2 Death Bat. The vampire bat god of the Maya códices appears with the sacrificial knife in one hand and his victim in the other.

87:3 Chaqui tzam, "dry point"; it may be understood here as referring to the burnt staff, hardened in the fire.

87:4 Huzu ch'utzinic ch'opon chi qui vach, in the original. Chupan in Brasseur de Bourbourg through an error in copying.

II. Chapter 11

Immediately he [Xbalanqué] called all the animals, the coati, the wild boar, all the animals small and large, during the night, and at dawn he asked them what their food was.

"What does each of you eat? For I have called you so that you may choose your food," said Xbalanqué to them.

"Very well," they answered. And immediately each went to take his [own food] and they all went together. Some went to take rotten things; others went to take grasses; others went to get stones. Others went to gather earth. Varied was the food of the [small] animals and of the large animals.

Behind them the turtle was lingering, 1 it came waddling along to take its food. And reaching at the end [of Hunahpú's body] it assumed the form of the head of Hunahpú, and instantly the eyes were fashioned.

Many soothsayers came, then, from heaven. The Heart of Heaven, Huracán, came to soar over the House of Bats.

It was not easy to finish making the face, but it turned out very well; the hair had a handsome appearance and [the head] could also speak.

But as it was about to dawn and the horizon reddened: "Make it dark again, old one!" the buzzard was told. 2

"Very well, said the old one, 3 and instantly the old one darkened [the sky]. "Now the buzzard has darkened it," the people say nowadays.

And so, during the cool of dawn, the [Hunahpú] began his existence.

"Will it be good?" they said. "Will it turn out to look like Hunahpú?"

"It is very good," they answered. And really it seemed that the skull had changed itself back into a real head.

Then they [the two boys] talked among themselves and agreed: "Do not play ball; only pretend to play; I shall do everything alone," said Xbalanqué. 4

At once he gave his orders to a rabbit: "Go and take your place over the ball-court; stay there within the oak grove," 5 the rabbit was told by Xbalanqué; "when the ball comes to you, run out immediately, and I shall do the rest," the rabbit was told, when they gave him these instructions during the night.

Presently day broke and the two boys were well and healthy. Then they went down to play ball. The head of Hunahpú was suspended over the ball-court.

"We have triumphed! [said the Lords of Xibalba].You worked your own destruction, 6 you have delivered yourselves," they said. In this way they annoyed Hunahpú.

"Hit his head with the ball," 7 they said. But they did not bother him with it; 8 he paid no attention to it. 9

Then the Lords of Xibalba threw out the ball. Xbalanqué went out to get it; the ball was going straight to the ring, but it stopped, bounced, and passed quickly over the ball-court and with a jump went toward the oak grove.

Instantly the rabbit ran out and went hopping; and the Lords of Xibalba ran after it. They went, making noise and shouting after the rabbit. It ended by all of the Lords of Xibalba going.

At once Xbalanqué took possession of the head of Hunahpú; and taking the turtle he went to suspend it over the ball-court. And that head was actually the head of Hunahpú and the two boys were very happy.

Those of Xibalba ran, then, to find the ball and having found it between the oaks, called them, saying:

"Come here. Here is the ball. We found it," they said, and they brought it.

When the Lords of Xibalba returned, they exclaimed, "What is this we see?"

Then they began to play again. Both of them tied.

Presently Xbalanqué threw a stone at the turtle, which came to the ground and fell in the ball-court, breaking into a thousand pieces like seeds, before the lords.

"Who of you shall go to find it? Where is the one who shall go to bring it?" said the Lords of Xibalba.

And so were the Lords of Xibalba overcome by Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. These two suffered great hardships, but they did not die despite all that was done to them.

Footnotes

90:1 p. 220 Ri tiz coc, literally, "the turtle squeezed or compressed" (inside its shell).

90:2 This passage is very difficult to understand in Brasseur de Bourbourg's transcription. The text may be read as follows: Are cut ta chi r'ah zaquiric chi cactarin u xecah, "¡Ca zaquinu chic, ama!," x-u chax ri vuch, since farther on, one reads x-u chax umul, which is said to the rabbit. When transcribing the primitive text, Ximénez wrote chux and not chax, but in his literal translation it is "was said to the buzzard."

It seems to me that those who in this place have translated the verb xaquin as "to open the legs" have also erred. Xaquin in Quiché means to darken, to stain, to soil with soot or coal. Ximénez Wisely translates it here as "darken."

Note, also, that following Ximénez, I have translated vuch as "buzzard" (vulture), and not as a fox bitch or tacuatzin as do Brasseur de Bourbourg and others. "Vulture" in Quiché is cuch or kuch, that the Spanish clerics sometimes wrote guch, which has the same sound of vuch or uuch. The meaning in this passage corresponds more nearly to "vulture" or "buzzard," a bird of black plumage. The picture of the buzzard spreading its wings in order to darken the sky and to hide the secret fashioning of the artificial head of Hunahpú belongs to the most genuine expression of aboriginal American mythology.

90:3 "ve," x-cha ri mama. The Quiché call the male buzzard mama cuch, "old buzzard." p. 221 The identity of the creature mentioned here, however, is of no importance. The ancient Indians made use of objects and beings in nature with which to represent imaginary ideas and immaterial things, by means of the similarity of their names. In the present case they were trying, without doubt, to represent the idea of the darkness which immediately precedes the dawn, which they called vuch. Father Thomas Coto thus explains the significance of the word vuch: "It signifies that darkening of the sky when it is about to dawn." In order to represent this idea, the Indians traced the figure of the animal whose name sounded like the word they were trying to suggest.

90:4 The text here should read: Mana qui c'at chaahic, xaqui ch'a yecuh avib. Xa in hun qui qui banouic, x-cha xbalanqué chire.

90:5 Chupam pixc. Ximénez translates "in the tomato patch," taking pixc for pix. Brasseur de Bourbourg translates entre les glands de la corniche. Villacorta and Rodas say, "Inside the hole of the roof." Schultze Jena says "cornice." Pixc, in Quiché and Cakchiquel, is the evergreen oak and its fruit, the acorn, gland in French.

90:6 Mi-x-y bano qui yan, in the original.

90:7 Ch'a caca ri holom chi quic. Brasseur de Bourbourg interprets this sentence fancifully, according to his whim. Cac means "to stone," "to hit."

90:8 In the original: Ma cu chi qui ca caxou chic.

90:9 Chi yecoub quib, literally, to "pretend" or "dissimulate."

II. Chapter 12

Here is the account of the death of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. Now we shall tell of the way they died.

Having been forewarned of all the suffering which the [Lords of Xibalba] wished to impose upon them, they did not die of the tortures of Xibalba, nor were they overcome by all the fierce animals which were in Xibalba.

Afterward they sent for two soothsayers who were like prophets; they were called Xulú and Pacam 1 and were diviners, and they said unto them:

"You shall be questioned by the Lords of Xibalba about our deaths, for which they are planning and preparing because of the fact that we have not died, nor have they been able to overcome us, nor have we perished under their torments, nor have the animals attacked us. We have the presentiment in our hearts that they shall kill us by burning us. All the people of Xibalba have assembled, but the truth is, that we shall not die. Here, then, you have our instructions as to what you must say:

"If they should come to consult you about our death and that we may be sacrificed, what shall you say then, Xulú and Pacam? If they ask you: 'Will it not be good to throw their bones into the ravine?' 'No, it would not be well,' tell them, 'because they would be brought to life again, afterward!' If they ask you: 'Would it not be good to hang them from the trees?' you shall answer: 'By no means would it be well, because then you shall see their faces again.' And when for the third time they ask you: 'Would it be good to throw their bones into the river?' If you were asked all the above by them, you should answer: 'It would be well if they were to die that way; then it would be well to crush their bones on a grinding stone, as corn meal is ground; let each one be ground [separately]; throw them into the river immediately, there where the spring gushes forth, in order that they may be carried away among all the small and large hills.' Thus you shall answer them when the plan which we have advised you is put into practice," said Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. And when they [the boys] took leave of them, they already knew about their approaching death.

They made then, a great bonfire, a kind of oven; the men of Xibalba made it and filled it with thick branches.

Shortly afterward the messengers arrived who had to accompany [the boys], the messengers of Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé.

"'Tell them to come. Go and get the boys; go there so that they may know we are going to burn them.' This the lords said, oh, boys!" the messengers exclaimed.

"It is well," they answered. And setting out quickly, they arrived near the bonfire. There [the Lords of Xibalba] wanted to force the boys to play a mocking game with them.

"Let us drink our chicha and fly four times, each one [over the bonfire] boys!" was said to them by Hun-Camé.

"Do not try to deceive us,"[the boys] answered. "Perchance, we do not know about our death, oh lords! and that this is what awaits us here? "And embracing each other, face to face, they both stretched out their arms, bent toward the ground and jumped into the bonfire, and thus the two died together.

All those of Xibalba were filled with joy, shouting and whistling they exclaimed: "Now we have overcome them. At last they have given themselves up."

Immediately they called Xulú and Pacam, to whom they [the boys] had given their instructions, and asked them what they must do with their bones, as they [the boys] had foretold. Those of Xibalba then ground their bones and went to cast them into the river. But the bones did not go very far, for settling themselves down at once on the bottom of the river, they were changed back into handsome boys. And when again they showed themselves they really had their same old faces. 2

Footnotes

94:1 p. 221 Xulú, little devils who appear near the rivers, according to Father Barela. Ahxulú is the same as ahquib, "soothsayer." Pacam, "distinguished."

94:2 That is, those of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

II. Chapter 13

On the fifth day they appeared again and were seen in the water by the people. Both had the appearance of fishmen; 1 when those of Xibalba saw them, after having hunted them all over the river.

And the following day, two poor men presented themselves with very old-looking faces and of miserable appearance, [and] ragged clothes, whose countenances did not commend them. So they were seen by all those of Xibalba.

And what they did was very little. They only performed the dance of the puhuy [owl or chum-owl], the dance of the cux [weasel], and the dance of the iboy [armadillo], and they also danced the xtzul [centipede] and the chitic [that walks on stilts]. 2

Furthermore, they worked many miracles. They burned houses as though they really were burning and instantly they were as they had been before. 3 Many of those of Xibalba watched them in wonder.

Presently they cut themselves into bits; they killed each other; the first one whom they had killed stretched out as though he were dead, and instantly the other brought him back to life. Those of Xibalba looked on in amazement at all they did, and they performed it, as the beginning of their triumph over those of Xibalba.

Presently word of their dances came to the ears of the lords Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé. Upon hearing it they exclaimed: "Who are these two orphans? Do they really give you so much pleasure?"

"Surely their dances are very beautiful, and all that they do," answered he who had brought the news to the lords.

Happy to hear this, the [lords] then sent their messengers to call [the boys] with flattery. "'Tell them to come here, tell them to come so that we may see what they do; that we may admire them and regard them with wonder,' this the lords said. 'So you shall say unto them,'" this was told to the messengers.

They arrived at once before the dancers and gave them the message of the lords.

"We do not wish to, the [boys] answered," because, frankly, we are ashamed. How could we not but be ashamed to appear in the house of the lords with our ugly countenances, our eyes which are so big, and our poor appearance? Do you not see that we are nothing more than some [poor] dancers? What shall we tell our companions in poverty who have come with us and wish to see our dances and be entertained by them? How could we do our dances before the lords? 4 For that reason, then, we do not want to go, oh, messengers," said Hunahpú and Xbalanqué.

Finally, with downcast faces and with reluctance and sorrow they went; but for a while they did not wish to walk, and the messengers had to beat them in the face many times, when they led them to the house of the lords.

They arrived, then, before the lords, timid and with head bowed; they came prostrating themselves, making reverences and humiliating themselves. 5 They looked feeble, ragged, and their appearance was really that of vagabonds when they arrived They were questioned immediately about their country and their people; they also asked them about their mother and their father.

"Where do you come from?" [the lords] said.

"We do not know, Sir. We do not know the faces of our mother and father; we were small when they died," they answered, and did not say another word.

"All right. Now do [your dances] so that we may admire you. What do you want? We shall give you pay," they told them.

"We do not want anything; but really we are very much afraid," they said to the lord.

"Do not grieve, do not be afraid. Dance! And do first the part in which you kill yourselves; burn my house, do all that you know how to do. We shall marvel at you, for that is what our hearts desire. And afterwards, poor things, we shall give help for your journey," they told them.

Then they began to sing and dance. All the people of Xibalba arrived and gathered together in order to see them. Then they performed the dance of the cux, they danced the puhuy, and they danced the iboy.

And the lord said to them: "Cut my dog into pieces and let him be brought back to life by you," he said to them.

"Very well," they answered, and cut the dog into bits. Instantly they brought him back to life. The dog was truly full of joy when he was brought back to life, and wagged his tail when they revived him.

The Lord said to them then: "Burn my house now!" Thus he said to them. instantly they put fire to the lord's house, and although all the lords were assembled together within the house, they were not burned. Quickly it was whole again, and not for one instant was the house of Hun-Camé destroyed.

All of the lords were amazed, and in the same way the [boys'] dances gave them much pleasure.

Then they were told by the lord: "Now kill a man, sacrifice him, but do not let him die," he told them.

"Very well," they answered. And seizing a man, they quickly sacrificed him, and raising his heart on high, they held it so that all the lords could see it.

Again Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé were amazed. A moment afterward the man was brought back to life by them [the boys], and his heart was filled with joy when he was revived.

The lords were astounded. "Sacrifice yourselves now, let us see it! We really like your dances!" said the lords. "Very well, Sirs," they answered. And they proceeded to sacrifice each other. Hunahpú 6 was sacrificed by Xbalanqué; one by one his arms and his legs were sliced off, his head was cut from his body and carried away; his heart was torn from his breast and thrown onto the grass. All the Lords of Xibalba were fascinated. 7 They looked on in wonder, but really it was only the dance of one man; it was Xbalanqué.

"Get up!" he said, and instantly 8 [Hunahpú] returned to life. They [the boys] were very happy and the lords were also happy. In truth, what they did gladdened the hearts of Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé, and the latter felt as though they themselves were dancing. 9

Then their hearts were filled with desire and longing by the dances of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué; 10 and Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé gave their commands.

"Do the same with us! Sacrifice us!" they said. "Cut us into pieces, one by one!" Hun-Camé and Vucub-Camé said to Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. 11

"Very well; afterward you will come back to life again. Perchance, did you not bring us here in order that we should entertain you, the lords, and your sons, and vassals?" they said to the lords. 12

And so it happened that they first sacrificed the one, who was the chief and [Lord of Xibalba], the one called Hun-Camé, king of Xibalba.

And when Hun-Camé was dead, they overpowered Vucub-Camé, and they did not bring either of them back to life.

The people of Xibalba fled as soon as they saw that their lords were dead and sacrificed. In an instant both were sacrificed. And this they [the boys] did in order to chastize them. Quickly the principal lord was killed. And they did not bring him back to life.

And another lord humbled himself then, and presented himself before the dancers. They had not discovered him, nor had they found him. "Have mercy on me!" he said when they found him.

All the sons and vassals of Xibalba fled to a great ravine, and all of them were crowded into this narrow, deep place. There they were crowded together and hordes of ants came and found them and dislodged them from the ravine. In this way [the ants] drove them to the road, and when they arrived [the people] prostrated themselves and gave themselves up; they humbled themselves and arrived, grieving.

In this way the Lords of Xibalba were overcome. Only by a miracle and by their [own] transformation could [the boys] have done it. 13

Footnotes

99:1 p. 221 Vinac-car, literally "fish man." The author no doubt plays with these words to give the idea that the heroes of the story were sons of the water. Vinac car is really the common name of a variety of fish," a very large fish," says Barela, which is caught with barbasco [a poisonous plant]." However, the Vocabulario de las lenguas Quiché y Cakchiquel, closely following the literal meaning of the words, interprets them as "a large fish or mermaid."

99:2 In the dance of Xtzul, the dancers wear small masks, and tails of the macaw on the napes of their necks, according to Barela. Landa says that when the New Year fell on the day Muluc, the Maya of Yucatán danced a dance on very tall stilts during the corresponding fiestas.

99:3 p. 222 Vinaquir chic, literally, "they were created again."

99:4 The exact sentence in the original is as follows: Ma quehe la cu x-chi ca ban chique ri ahauab?

99:5 Here there is a repetition of the same idea expressed in a series of synonymous verbs: que mocho chic, chi qui xule la qui vach, x-qui quemelah quib, chi qui luc quib, chi quipach quib. This last word was omitted by Brasseur de Bourbourg. All these sentences have identical, meaning and are undoubtedly used to emphasize the respect which the youthful heroes, so cleverly disguised as vagabonds, wished to feign before their enemies, the Lords of Xibalba.

99:6 Xhunahpú in the original.

99:7 Que gabar cu ri ronohel rahaual Xibalba, literally, "all the Lords of Xibalba were drunk."

99:8 Libah chicut, omitted in the Brasseur de Bourbourg transcription.

99:9 This juggling, which brings to mind the deceptions of the fakirs of India, was also well known by the Maya Indians of Mexico. Sahagún, describing the customs of the Huasteca, a Mexican tribe related to the Maya of Yucatan, says that when they returned to Panutla, or Pánuco, "they took with them the old songs which they used when they danced and all the adornment which they used in the dance or areyto. They were also fond of trickery, with which they deceived the people, making them believe as true that which is false, as they made them believe that they burned the houses, when it was not so; that they made a fountain with fishes appear, and it was nothing but an optical illusion; that they killed each other, slicing their flesh into pieces, and other things which were apparent but not true. . . ."As Brasseur de Bourbourg observes, this paragraph seems to have been taken from the Popol Vuh. Cf. Sahagún, Historia general . . . de Nueva España, Book X, Chap. XXIX, par. 12.

99:10 Xhunahpú, and Xbalanqué in the original.

99:11 Hunal tah coh i puzu x-e cha cut, omitted by Brasseur de Bourbourg.

99:12 Ma pa yx qo cam oh pu quicotirizay yve, etc. The verb cam means "to die" and "to bring." Brasseur de Bourbourg translates this passage as follows: est-ce que pour vous peut exister la mort? but the complete meaning of the sentence justifies the interpretation which Ximénez gives it and which, in the main, is the same as mine.

99:13 This refers naturally to the changing of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué into two poor boys who tragically deceived the Lords of Xibalba with their magic art.

II. Chapter 14

Immediately [the boys] told their names and they extolled themselves before all the people of Xibalba.

"Hear our names. We shall also tell you the names of our fathers. We are Hunahpú and Xbalanqué; 1 those are our names. And our fathers are those whom you killed and who were called Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú. We, those whom you see here, are, then, the avengers of the torments and suffering of our fathers. 2 That is the reason why we resent all the evil you have done to them. Therefore, we shall put an end to all of you, we shall kill you, and not one of you shall escape, "they said.

Instantly all the people of Xibalba fell to their knees, crying.

"Have mercy on us, Hunahpú and Xbalanqué! It is true that we sinned against your fathers as you said, and that they are buried in Puchbal-Chah," they said.

"Very well. This is our sentence, that we are going to tell you. Hear it, all you of Xibalba:

"Since neither your great power nor your race any longer exist, and since neither do you deserve mercy, your rank shall be lowered. 3 Not for you shall be the ball game. 4 You shall spend your time making earthen pots and tubs and stones to grind corn. 5 Only the children of the thickets and desert shall speak with you. The noble sons, the civilized vassals shall not consort with you, and they will foresake your presence. 6 The sinners, the evil ones, the sad ones, the unfortunate ones, those who give themselves up to vice, these are the ones who will welcome you. No longer will you seize men suddenly [for sacrifice]; remember your rank has been lowered."

Thus they spoke to all the people of Xibalba.

In this way their destruction and their lamentations began. Their power in the olden days was not much. They only liked to do evil to men in those times. In truth, in those days, they did not have the category of gods. Furthermore, their horrible faces frightened people. They were the enemies, the owls. 7 They incited to evil, to sin and to discord.

They were also false in their hearts, black and white at the same time, 8 envious and tyrannical, 9 according to what was said of them. Furthermore, they painted and greased their faces.

In this way, then, occurred the loss of their grandeur and the decadence of their empire.

And this was what Hunahpú and Xbalanqué did. 10

Meanwhile, the grandmother was crying and lamenting before the reeds which they had left planted. The reeds sprouted, then they dried up when [the boys] were consumed in the bonfire; afterward [the reeds] sprouted again. Then the grandmother lighted the fire and burned incense before the reeds in memory of her grandchildren. And the grandmother's heart filled with joy when, for the second time, the reeds sprouted. Then they were worshiped by the grandmother, and she called them the Center of the House, Nicah [the center] they were called.

"Green reeds growing in the plains" [Cazam Ah Chatam Uleu] was their name. And they were called the Center of the House and the Center, because in the middle of the house they planted the reeds. And the reeds, which were planted, were called the plains, Green Reeds growing on the plains. They also were called Green Reeds because they had resprouted. This name was given them by Xmucané [given] to those [reeds] which Hunahpú and Xbalanqué left planted in order that they should be remembered by their grandmother.

Well, now, their fathers, those who died long ago, were Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hunahpú. They also saw the faces of their fathers there in Xibalba and their fathers talked with their descendants, that is the ones who overthrew those of Xibalba.

And here is how their fathers were honored by them. They honored Vucub-Hunahpú; they went to honor him at the place of sacrifice of the ball-court. 11 And at the same time they wanted to make Vucub-Hunahpú's face. They hunted there for his entire body, his mouth, his nose, his eyes. They found his body, but it could do very little. 12 It could not pronounce his name, this Hunahpú. 13 Neither could his mouth say it.

And here is how they extolled the memory of their fathers, whom they had left there in the place of sacrifice at the ball-court: "You shall be invoked," their sons said to them, when they fortified their heart. "You shall be the first to arise, and you shall be the first to be worshiped by the sons of the noblemen, by the civilized vassals. Your names shall not be lost. So it shall be!" they told their fathers and thus consoled themselves. "We are the avengers of your death, of the pains and sorrows which they caused you."

Thus was their leave-taking, when they had already overcome all the people of Xibalba.

Then they rose up in the midst of the light, and instantly they were lifted into the sky. One was given the sun, the other, the moon. Then the arch of heaven and the face of the earth were lighted. And they dwelt in heaven.

Then the four hundred boys whom Zipacná had killed also ascended, and so they again became the companions of [the boys] and were changed into stars in the sky.

Footnotes
103:1 p. 222 Xhunapú, Xbalanqué, in the original. The initial X denotes the diminutive p. 223 in Quiché. Here it serves to establish the relationship of father and son between Hun-Hunahpú and Xhunahpú.

103:2 Oh cu pacol re vae qui rail, qui caxcol ri ca cahau, in the original.

103:3 X-zaquin chic ch'y quic holomax. I believe I give an approximate interpretation of this expression. In another place I have explained that both quic and holomax have the meaning of "blood." Here, says Brasseur de Bourbourg, there is a mysterious play on words which escapes translation.

103:4 Mavi chahom quic yve, in the original. It is to be remembered that the ball game was reserved for the important people.

103:5 These were occupations of the common people.

103:6 Xa noh chi tzaco rib ch'y vach. This sentence is very difficult to understand and has been translated in many different ways. The verb tzaca has, among other meanings, that of fleeing, frightening away, or chasing.

103:7 Ah-Tza, "those of the war." Ah-Tucur," the owls. "As Brasseur de Bourbourg indicates, there may be a relation between these names and those of the Itzá, a Maya tribe which lived in the northern part of Guatemala, in the region called Petén-Itzá, and the settlers of Tucurú, people of Verapaz. Undoubtedly the Quiché and Cakchiquel. emigrated from the north, fleeing from the tyranny of these tribes, in order to live in freedom in a new land.

103:8 E quecail, zaquiil, with the appearance of blacks and whites, double appearance, symbol of their duplicity.

103:9 Ahmoxvach, Ahlatzab. Other synonyms which mean originators of evil, wicked, evildoers, oppressors.

103:10 Among the legends which Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas gathered in Verapaz, there is one of a god who had been born in that province and who was called Exbalanquén. "They say of him, among other tales," says the chronicler, "that he went to the inferno to make war, fought with all the people there, overcame them, and seized the king and many of his army. On his return to earth, Exbalanquén brought the king of the inferno with him, but when they were a few steps from the surface, he [the king] begged not to be taken up and giving him a kick he [Exbalanquén] said to him: 'Go back and let yours be all that is rotten and cast away and stinks.'" Las Casas adds that "in Verapaz, Exbalanquén was not received with the feasting and songs which he wished, and he therefore went to another kingdom, where he was received in a manner pleasing to him, and they say that this vanquisher of the inferno began to sacrifice men." Apologética Historia de las Indias, Chap. CXXIV, p. 330. It is too bad that this historian has not transcribed in his work the "other fables" which the people of Verapaz told, and which p. 224 possibly coincided with the legends contained in the Popol Vuh, judging from this version of the deeds of Exbalanquén or Xbalanqué.

103:11 Pucbal-Chah.

103:12 Xa cu zcaquin chic x-cha tah vi xere, in the original.

103:13 Hunahpuil in the original, probably by a lapsus calami. Brasseur de Bourbourg thought that this was a plural form and that it meant the union of the Hunahpú, but it is evident that the text refers to Vucub-Hunahpú, that is, the second of the Hunahpú. As will be seen, the two young heroes found only the head of Vucub-Hunahpú buried in the ball-court, and spoke only with it. It must be remembered that the head of Hun-Hunahpú was taken from his body and fastened in the branches of the calabash tree where it was confused with the fruit of the tree.

Posted by john at March 21, 2006 02:39 PM