Musings, Rants and Ideas

The Hero Twins and the Ballgame at Xibalba

This story is a translation from the creation myth of the Quiché Maya, called the Popol Vuh. This story is but one of many in this text, and this book is all that remains of a rich literature that was collected and burned by the church during the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

I read this at a Solstice celebration in Dallas in December 2000, accompanied by Geoff Ricketts on harp.

This is a story of darkness and light, and bravery and trickery, and magic and games. This is the story of twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, and how they went to the Underworld and triumphed over the terrible trials set before them by the Lords of Death.

Hunahpu and Xbalanque were twins, and sons of twins, and grandsons of the old ones Dark and Night. They were great knowers and thinkers, and had skills of magic because their grandparents were gods, and their mother was the daughter of one of the Lords of the Underworld. They were tricksters both, and had changed their mean and jealous stepbrothers into monkeys, but that is another story.

Hunahpu and Xbalanque loved to play a ball game, a little like soccer, and a little like football, and loud and rowdy and rough. Their fathers One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu, had played this game before them and had made so much noise that they had disturbed the Lords of the Underworld, the place called Xibalba.

The Lords of the Underworld, called One Death and Seven Death, and their Council of mean and nasty Nobles, had called the fathers to Xibalba and by trickery had put them to death. Now the boys Hunahpu and Xbalanque were playing and being loud and rowdy and rough again. One Death and Seven Death again were disturbed by this noise, and sent their messengers, the owls, to summon the boys to come down to Xibalba and play ball against the Council Nobles.

The owls came, and watched the boys playing ball. They told Grandmother Night that the boys must come to Xibalba in seven days to play against the Nobles of the Underworld; the Lords Seven Death and One Death had so decreed. This was how she had lost her sons, and Grandmother Night was crying as the owls left her. She could not tell them herself, so she used a messenger.

She found a crawly-bug, a louse, and picked it up. "Tell them I received a summons," she told the louse. "Tell them they must go to Xibalba in seven days." The louse went crawling off, making his way as best he could.

On the way he met a toad. "Where are you going, little crawly-bug? Why are you in such a hurry?" The louse told him "Night sends me - I have an important message for the Twins in my belly."

The toad tells the louse "I see you are not very fast. If I swallowed you I could move faster. You could ride." "Very well," said the louse, and the toad swallowed him, and hopped along the road.

On the way he met a snake. "Where are you going, little toad? Why are you in such a hurry?" The toad told him "Night sends me - I have an important message for the Twins in my belly."

The snake tells the toad "I see you are not very fast. If I swallowed you I could move faster. You could ride." "Very well," said the toad, and the snake swallowed him, and slithered along the road.

On the way he met a falcon. "Where are you going, snake? Why are you in such a hurry?" The snake told him "Night sends me - I have an important message for the Twins in my belly."

The falcon tells the toad "I see you are not very fast. If I swallowed you I could move faster. You could ride." "Very well," said the snake, and the falcon swallowed him, and flew to the ball court. He called to the twins in his falcon voice.

The twins saw him and stopped playing. They did not understand him at first, and grabbed their blowguns, and shot at him. The dart landed square in the falcon's eye, and he fell to the ground.

"What do you want?" they asked the falcon.

"I have a message from your grandmother Night, but you have shot me. Heal my eye and I will give you the message." They used their magic and a pinch of the black rubber from their ball and healed his eye, leaving a black mark around the falcon's eye. "Now tell us!"

The falcon vomited the snake. "Is that it?" the twins asked. Then the snake vomited the toad. "Is that it?" the twins asked. Then the toad vomited, but the louse got stuck in his teeth. "This is a trick!" And the twins kicked the toad in the rear and broke his back legs. He croaked and spit and they saw in his teeth the louse. They pulled out his teeth and picked out the louse. "This has to be it. What is the message, crawly-bug?"

"This is the message: Your grandmother Night is crying. The Lords of Xibalba summon you to play, as your fathers were summoned and died. You are to bring your ballplaying gear and will have a match with the Nobles of the Underworld. So summon the Lords One Death and Seven Death. Your grandmother cries for you to come home at once!" The boys made plans and schemes to avenge their fathers' deaths, and ran home immediately. Their grandmother begged them to stay, but they told her they had to go, it was destiny.

"Dear Grandmother, we give you a sign of our word. We will return, and this is the sign. We will each plant an ear of corn in the middle of the house. The corn grows for the season, and then dries out. When that happens you will think that we have died, but you must have faith. The dried and dead seed still lives, and you must plant it and have faith, and you will see as it sprouts that we still live on. This is a sign of our word. You must remember us and that we live on."

They started their journey down the Black Road to Xibalba. They knew of their fathers' trip here before, and how they had not returned. These twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, however, had made plans within plans and schemes within schemes.

They came to the first traps, a river of blood and a river of pus. They did not step in or touch these rivers, but jumped over them.

Hunahpu plucked a hair from his shin and turned it into a mosquito. They sent him ahead, telling him to bite the Lords and tell who was alive and who was just a statue. As a reward he could suck a drop of blood from everyone who lived for helping them. The Hero Twins (for that is how they are known now) then hid in the bushes outside the gate and watched through the mists.

The Mosquito landed on the first figure, and it was made of wood, just looking like a person. He buzzed to the next figure seated at the Council. It also was made of wood.

Mosquito buzzed to the next one, Lord One Death. It bit him hard. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. His brother Seven Death said "What is it One Death?" "Something bit me, Seven Death!"

Mosquito buzzed to the next one, named Dark Corner. It bit him hard. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. His brother Blood Gatherer said "What is it Dark Corner?" "Something bit me, Blood Gatherer!"

Mosquito buzzed to the next one, named Pus Master. It bit him hard. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. His brother Jaundice said "What is it Pus Master?" "Something bit me, Jaundice!"

Mosquito buzzed to the next one, named Bone Scepter. It bit him hard. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. His brother Skull said "What is it Bone Scepter?" "Something bit me, Skull!"

Mosquito buzzed to the next one, named Wing. It bit him hard. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. His brother Packstrap said "What is it Wing?" "Something bit me, Packstrap!"

Mosquito buzzed to the next one, named Bloody Teeth. It bit him hard. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. His brother Claws said "What is it Bloody Teeth?" "Something bit me, Claws!"

So Mosquito had made the Lords reveal themselves, and each had shown his face and named himself and the one next to him. This is how the Mosquito earned the right to suck a drop of blood.

Hunahpu and Xbalanque now knocked on the big gate, and came in to the council. It was dark and misty and smelled really bad. This was another test, one that their fathers had failed, knowing which of the shadowy figures was real and which was a wooden statue, and knowing the names of the Lords.

A voice from the owl commanded them "Bid the Lords Good Day!"

The twins said "These two aren't Lords, but wooden statues!" And then the looked right at the Lords in turn and said to each:

"Good Morning, Lord One Death." "Good Morning, Lord Seven Death."

And then to the Council:

"Good Morning, Dark Corner." "Good Morning, Blood Gatherer." "Good Morning, Pus Master." "Good Morning, Jaundice." "Good Morning, Bone Scepter." "Good Morning, Skull." "Good Morning, Wing." "Good Morning, Packstrap." "Good Morning, Bloody Teeth." "Good Morning, Claws."

And so they passed the first test.

The Lords and the Council were surprised and buzzed with whispers. How had these tricksters known their names? The hero Twins just smiled.

"Have a seat here on this stone bench, boys," Lord One Death said. "Have a seat." This was a trick their fathers had fallen for, the bench was a stone slab for cooking tortillas, and was hot from the fire under it.

"Do our butts look like tortillas?" Hunahpu asked. "That is a tortilla griddle like my grandmother uses. We will stand."

This made Lord One Death very angry, at not having his trick on the boys. His brother Lord Seven Death said "Then tomorrow at daylight we'll see how you play ball, till then to your quarters - we're done."

The twins were taken to a prison called Dark House, where the owl, messenger of One Death brought them a torch and two smoking cigars, and told them to guard them well. "When morning comes, they must not be done, but the torch and the cigars still be complete;" the owl told them. "This is a test the that others failed."

Xbalanque had an idea, and put out the torch. He attached tail feathers of the scarlet macaw in the place of the flames, and with this magic it looked like the torch was still aflame. Hunahpu put out the cigars and asked two fireflies stay on the ends of the cigars, looking like an ember, blinking on and off like the twins were smoking. The Council guards peeked into the Dark House every hour, and saw the flames, and saw the cigars still burning.

In the morning Xbalanque gave the macaw back his tail feathers and Hunahpu thanked the fireflies for their help by promising when they died they would become stars in the sky. The torch and the cigars were returned to Lords One Death and Seven Death.

The Lords and the Council of Nobles of Xibalba were very disturbed and annoyed by these boys. Who begot these boys, and who bore them? These boys were not normal, not human at all. And smarter than those last two who failed the tests before.

The Lords and the Council did not know that these boys were the sons of One Hunahpu and the daughter of chief noble Blood Gatherer. They did not know that their grandparents were the old gods Dark and Night. They did not know that these boys were great knowers and thinkers, and had been taught all kinds of tricks.

"Then we will play ball!" said Lord One Death. He had made a special ball, all of obsidian knives. He had ground up bones and covered the knives to make it round, and it looked like a skull. He cast magic spells upon the ball and made it his secret. The ball was called White Dagger. "Let us go to the ball court!"

When they got to the ball court, the Hero Twins took out their pads, and kilts and sandals. They also took out the rubber ball their fathers had left in the rafters of their grandmother's house.

Lord One Death said, "No, use this ball instead."

"That is not a ball but a skull, Lord. We will use our ball," said Hunahpu.

"No this ball is merely decorated to look like a skull, boys. You must use this ball."

"Very well, we will use your ball," said Xbalanque.

Lord One Death smiled a ghastly smile that looked like the grin of a corpse. "Play ball!"

The ball flew through the air and Hunahpu blocked it with his shoulder pad. The ground bone fell away, and the obsidian knives of White Dagger clattered all over the ball court. The boys scrambled to avoid the knives until they spent their magic, and shattered on the stone floor of the court.

"Cheaters! You don't want to see us play, just to try and kill us. We will go home!" Hunahpu said.

"No, no, that was just our joke," said One Death. "We can play with your ball."

Xbalanque was suspicious now, and said "What will we play for? What is the prize?"

"Just four bowls of flowers - one of red petals, one of white petals, one of yellow petals, and one of whole blossoms."

The boys agreed and played their best. The match was even, and at the last minute the Lords of the Underworld won a single winning point. The Hero Twins asked for a recount, but the Lords overruled them.

"You have overnight to deliver our prize." Lord Seven Death told them. They were sent to another house for the night, the House of Knives. This house was full of razor-sharp knives that stabbed and whacked at them once they entered. Xbalanque stopped them with his magic, and told them that if they let the Twins live through the night, the flesh of all creatures would belong to the knife. At this bargain, the knives relaxed, and let the boys spend the night in safety.

"But how will we pay the prize?" Xbalanque asked his brother. Hunahpu spied an ant on the table, and spoke to him in a whisper. "It is done, my brother. We will have the flowers."

And the ant and all his brothers went to the garden of the Lords One and Seven Death. They cut the flowers right under the noses of the guards, and carried them back to Razor House. In the morning, the boys had their bowls of flowers.

Lord One Death was again angry and confounded by these magical twins, and had the mouths of the guards slit on each side. Today all the guards can say is "Poor Will, Poor Will." With their gaping mouths.

The Lords and the Council set more trials before the boys, each successive night. First they were confined to Cold House. This place was drafty, and full of ice and hail. The Hero Twins used their magic to shut out the cold and seal up the cracks where the drafts came in. Xbalanque kept some of the ice in their bag with the ball gear. The next morning they boys came out, stretching their arms as if they had had a good night's sleep.

The next night they put them in Jaguar House, full of jaguars snarling and spitting and hungry. The boys scattered bones outside the door, and the jaguars fought over the bones. The guards came the next morning and saw the bones, and thought the boys were dead. They called Lord One Death and when he arrived, the boys came out again, yawning and stretching, and said "Good Morning, Lord Death." The news of these magical twins was spreading through Xibalba, and crowds were all around. Lord One Death was embarrassed and humiliated by these boys and their tricks.

The next night they were kept in Fire House, where the floor and walls and ceiling were all on fire. Xbalanque remembered the ice in their bag, and kept them from burning all night. They were just kept toasty warm all night. Lord One Death was enraged. The Xibalbans were amazed. "Another ball game tomorrow!" One Death ordered. "Winner take all!"

The next night they were kept in Bat House. These were not bats of the world we know, but horrible leather-winged monsters with great claws and sharp teeth. These bats of the Underworld were called Snatch-Bats. The Hero Twins made themselves skinny and long, and hid inside their blowguns. As the night grew long, the brothers could hear the incessant screeching and squeaking of the horrible Snatch-Bats, swooping and flying all over the house.

Xbalanque said to his brother "How much longer till dawn?" Hunahpu stuck his head out of the blowgun to see, and a Snatch-Bat snatched off his head and flew out the window. Xbalanque called to his brother, but got no answer. The Snatch-Bat took the head to Lord One Death, who was happy at last. He had defeated these awful trickster boys. He called the other Snatch-Bats to reward them.

When he heard the screeching and squeaking stop, Xbalanque came out of his blowgun. He found the body of his brother, still breathing, but with no head. He held his brother, and thought long and hard. He summoned the animals, and talked to them all. He asked them to bring him whatever they ate for food, since they had no other tools or belongings. He had no ideas, but had to think of something. They brought him all sorts of things, seeds, rotten wood, leaves. The Possum came rolling a gourd, as big as Xbalanque's head. It was almost dawn, and to this day we say that the streaks of light are brought by the Possum.

Xbalanque called on one of his great-uncles, the Hurricane, to help him. They carved the gourd to look exactly like Hunahpu's head. With magic, it could talk and smile and appear alive. He told the head on Hunahpu's body to walk around and make threats and boasts while Xbalanque made all the plays in the ball game.

Xbalanque also talked to the Rabbit, and gave him instructions to hide in the bushes during the game. The next morning, the Lords and the Council were amazed to see them both walk out of the Bat House. Lord One Death was beside himself with rage at another trick. All of Xibalba had gathered at the ball court to watch the game. Lord One Death had one more trick. As Hunahpu with his gourd head walked around boasting and threatening, Xbalanque took his position. With another smile like a corpse, Lord One Death dropped the real head of Hunahpu into the court instead of the ball.

Xbalanque bounced the head off his pads and bounced it into the oaks where the rabbit was hidden. The rabbit took off running across the court and everyone laughed and watched it. Hunahpu and Xbalanque ran to the oaks and tore off the gourd head and placed the real head of hunahpu back on his body. They then kicked the gourd, which looked just like Hunahpu's head, back onto the court just as the Xibalbans looked back to see them. They played the ball game, and punted the gourd-head-ball back and forth. Hunahpu delivered one great block, and the ball flew up high in the air when the Lord One Death kicked it, it splattered into mush and seeds.

The Hero Twins then won the game and defeated the Lords of the Underworld. They were heroes in Xibalba and heroes when they returned to their grandmother, just in time for the new corn.

This is the end of my story, of the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque. We learned that the least creature can have an important message. We learned how the toad broke his back legs and why he has no teeth. We learned how Mosquito earned the right to a drop of blood from every living creature; we learned how the knife earned the flesh of every animal. We learned how the constellations Macaw and Fireflies came to be and how Possum brings the dawn.

Perhaps more important we learned that help can be found in unexpected places if you ask, and that knowledge is a great power and that when the seed is dry and appears to be dead, faith and hope alone can make it sprout and grow.

There are many other stories, but this is the end of this story today.

I had strong feelings about this book. This book bored me. I found gems of wisdom in this book. This book shocked me. It took me a year to read this book and I kept avoiding this book. Read this book.

It is divided into three sections, each a challenge to the reader and to society in general. The first section, titled Challenging the Procreative Privilege is a challenge to the concept that only heterosexuals are entitled to marry, have or enjoy sex, or rear children.

The second section, titled Families of Choice, challenges the religious right's use of the Bible to justify and perpetuate bigotry.

The third section, titled Relationships, Trials and Tribulations, challenges the GLBT community to define a course, examine self-definition, internal discrimination and the mimicry of dying institutions.

One of the editors, Robert Goss, has a piece called "Queering the Procreative Privilege." In this he states that traditionally Capital Q - Queer culture has existed either in the street or in the closet. He challenges us to come out as families - showing our own kind of family values.

In my own evolution, I had noticed that as a young queerling the city beckoned me from my rural roots to the bright lights and poppers of the disco. As I matured and realized wanted to pair up and move away from the 'street' of the gay ghetto, more and more of my friends in similar situations paired up, moved to the 'burbs and started families of their own.

I have become particularly pissed about a local TV station that advertises itself as 'Family Friendly' and has a series of 'Family First' programs. I wondered why my family was not included.

Living in the suburbs now for over 10 years, my neighbors acknowledge us as a family unit; our insurance agent recognizes us as a family unit, and The Other Half's music students see that we are a family unit. In our own way, we are breaking stereotypes of the predatory queer after their children and now are just the two gay guys down the block.

Is this a revolution? I can't say. Changing minds one at a time is a slow and tedious process. I always thought revolutions moved faster than that.

Another chapter, "The Book of Ruth: An Example of Procreative Strategies for Queers," by Mona West, was a joy. I felt like I was in a Bible study group, but this is one that the Right would rather you not read.

I was honestly not aware that the verse used extensively for hetero weddings "Wherever you goe, I will go; where you lead, I will follow" was actually Naomi talking to Ruth! When a childless woman was a liability, Naomi engineered a pregnancy and the community acknowledged that the baby was hers and Ruth's.

I find more and more that the local community tends to be tolerant and supportive, while the greater society in general tends to harbor prejudices and bigotry. Why is that?

The other editor, Amy Adams Squire Strongheart, tells a personal story of commitment in her chapter "The Power to Choose: We're Here, We're Queer, and we Want to get Hitched.!"

As the shit continues to fly over Hawaii's failed attempt at legalization and New Hampshire's successful one (for now), this is a hot topic for today. Whatever your views, this book makes you examine them.

Perhaps of more interest to RFD folk, though, is the chapter "Making Love for the Whole World to Feel: Four Erotic Rituals for Gay Men" by Joseph Kramer.

I won't go into details here, but 'massaging the genitals of Christ' has a part in this. It is not particularly sacrilegious, but instead is involved with self-awareness and comfort with sex and sexual touch.

As I bitched about this book and that I hated it, The Other Half said "Well, there's your review..." After working at it for a long time, I have determined that I don't hate it, but should have read a chapter here and there instead of trying gamely to drag myself through the 20 chapters, 20 writing styles, 20 agendas and 20 opinions of the individual authors.

It is worth it to read the chapter on Ruth alone. For these reasons I am returning this book to the RFD library, and recommending that it be tasted rather than savored.

--Ed Townley, aka Billy Pilgrim