Popol Vuh
Literary antecedent
Notes:
Shortly after the Spanish Conquest, the Popol Vuh was transcribed by a Quiche¢ Indian. This individual had also learned to speak and write the Spanish language. The true identity of this individual and the exact fate of the original document are unknown.
Due to the events that occurred when many sacred texts were destroyed by the Spanish soldiers and missionaries, it is commonly believed the original Popol Vuh and other sacred manuscipts have been hidden and protected since the time of European contact.
This sacred manuscript is considered as the bible of the Mayan people. It is also known as Popol Buj, the Book of the Council, the Sacred Book, the Book of the Community and the National Book of the Quiche¢. The Popol Vuh contains the origin and creation stories as well as a wealth of the ancient oral traditions of the Mayan people.
One Story of the Hero Twins
This includes the stories of the demigods, Hunahpu and Xbalanque. The Hero Twins were renowned ballplayers and continually practiced their sport. The noise of the great bouncing rubber ball annoyed the gods of the underworld, Xibalba. The gods ordered the twins to come and play in an underworld ballcourt. The underworld gods had previously killed the father of the Hero Twins and they planned to kill the sons as well. The twins anticipated this trickery and made their plans to outsmart the gods of the underworld.
The Hero Twins deliberately lost the first match and were trapped into the House of Darkness for the night. They were required to pay the wager of a floral tribute. This would be most difficult considering they were locked into the darkness for the night. The Hero Twins convinced an ant colony to retreive the flowers for them from a garden in the underworld. In the morning, the gods of Xibalba found themselves outwitted when the Hero Twins presented them with flowers stolen from their own garden.
After the another game, the twins were told to sleep in the House of Bats. A bat decapitated Hunahpu and the gods of the Xibalba wanted to use his head as the ball during the next game. Xbalanque made a temporary head for his brother from a pumpkin. He then organized a plan with a rabbit to get Hunahpu' s head back. During the game, the rabbit impersonated the ball and bounced away. This confused the gods and gave Xbalanque the chance to return his brother's head to his body.
The twins had defeated the underworld gods again. They allowed themselves to be sacrificed. Through their supernatural powers, Hunahpu and Xbalanque were reborn. In this diminsion, they became part of the Maya "overworld" and became recognized as the sun and the moon.