The Maya Hero Twins are the central figures of a narrative included within the colonial Quiché document called Popol Vuh, and constituting the oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in Quiché, the Twins have also been identified in the art of the Classic Mayas (200-900 A.D.). The Twin motif recurs in many native American mythologies; the Mayan Twins in particular could be considered as mythical ancestors to the Mayan ruling lineages.
The Twins in Word and Image
The sources on the Twins are both written (Popol Vuh, early Spanish historians), and iconographic. Classic Maya iconography clearly demonstrates that the earlier Twin narratives must have diverged considerably from the 16th-century Popol Vuh myth; to what extent, is a matter of dispute.
Popol Vuh
Many versions of the Twin Myth must have circulated among the Mayas, but the only one that survives in a written form is the Classical K'iche' version in the Popol Vuh. According to this version, the Hero Twins were Xbalanque and Hunahpu (Modern K'iche': Xb‘alanke and Junajpu ) who were ballplayers like their father and uncle, Hun Hunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu .
Summoned to Xibalba, by the Lords of the Underworld, the father and uncle were defeated by one of the Lords' tests and sacrificed and Hun Hunahpu's skull was suspended in a trophy tree. When Xquic , daughter of one of the lords of Xibalba, approached this tree, the skull spat into her hand and thereby made her pregnant with the Hero Twins. The Twins grew up to avenge their father, and after many trials, finally defeated the lords of the Underworld in the ballgame. The Popol Vuh features other episodes involving the Twins as well (see below), including the liquidation of a pretentious avian deity, Vucub-Caquix, and of his two demonical sons. The Twins also removed their half-brothers from the scene, the Howler Monkey Gods who were the patrons of artists and scribes. The Twins' final transformation into sun and moon establishes a metaphor for unassailable rule over earth and sky.
Kekchi (Q'eqchi') Traditions
It has been noted that in the upperworld scenes of the Popol Vuh, Hunahpu has the dominant role, whereas in the underworld, Xbalanque takes the initiative. Bartolomé de las Casas described Xbalanque as having entered the underworld as a war leader. His description refers to the Kekchi town of Coban. Xbalanque is also the name given to the male protagonist in earlier variants of the Kekchi myth of Sun and Moon, where he is hunting for deer (a metaphor for making captives), and capturing the daughter of the Earth Deity. In these cases, Hunahpu has no role to play.
Iconography
Another main source for Hero Twin mythology is much earlier, and consists of representations found on Maya ceramics until about 900 A.D. Clearly recognizable are the figures of Hunahpu, Xbalanque, and the howler monkey scribes and sculptors. Hunahpu is distinguished by black spots on his skin, which are probably those of a corpse, thus marking him out as one who descended into the underworld. Xbalanque - the 'War Twin' - is distinguished by jaguar patches on his skin and by whiskers or a beard.
Certain iconographic scenes are suggestive of episodes in the Popol Vuh. The Twins' shooting of a steeply descending bird (the 'Principal Bird Deity') with blowguns has been taken to represent the defeat of Vucub-Caquix. Another identification involves a hypothetical extension of the Popol Vuh narrative: The principal Maya maize god rising from the carapace of a turtle and held by the Hero Twins is believed by many (though without conclusive evidence) to visualize the resurrection of the Twins' father, Hun-Hunahpu. The fact remains that the Twins are often depicted together with the main maize god. These three semi-divinities were felt to belong together. Therefore, it is probably no coincidence that in the Popol Vuh, the Twins are symbolically represented by two maize stalks.
Names and Calendrical Functions
The name "Xbalanque" (pronounced ) has been variously translated as 'Jaguar Sun' ( x-balam-que ), 'Hidden Sun' ( x-balan-que ), and 'Jaguar Deer' ( x-balam-quieh ). The initial sound may stem from yax (precious), since in Classical Maya, a hieroglyphic element of this meaning precedes the pictogram of the hero (although it has also been suggested to be the female prefix ix- ). For the combination of prefix and pictogram, a reading as Yax Balam has been proposed. The name "Hunahpu" (pronounced ) is usually understood as Hun-ahpub 'One-Blowgunner', the blowgun characterizing the youthful hero as a hunter of birds.
In Maya calendrics, Hunahpu is much more important than Xbalanque. The head of Hunahpu is used as a variant sign for the 20th day, which in these cases may actually have been read as '(Hun)ahpu', rather than 'Ahau' (Lord or King). The 20th day is also the concluding day of all vigesimal periods, including the katun and baktun. The head of Xbalanque is used as a variant for the number nine ( balan being similar to bolon 'nine').
Twin Myth Summary
The following is a detailed summary of the Popol Vuh Twin Myth, on from the death of the heroes' father and uncle.
Early Life of the Heroes
Hunahpu and his brother were conceived when their mother Xquic spoke with the decapitated head of their father Hun Hunahpu. The skull spat upon the maiden's hand, which caused the twins to be conceived in her womb. Xquic sought out Hun Hunahpu's mother, who begrudgingly took her as a ward after setting up a number of trials to prove her identity.
Even after birth, Hunahpu and Xbalanque were not well treated by their grandmother or their older half-brothers, One Howler Monkey and One Artisan. Immediately after their births, their grandmother demanded they be removed from the house for their crying, and their elder brothers obliged by placing them on an anthill and among the brambles. Their intent was to kill their younger half-brothers out of jealousy and spite, for the older pair had long been revered as fine artisans and thinkers, and feared the newcomers would steal from the attention they received.
The attempts to kill the young twins after birth were a failure, and the boys grew up without any obvious spite for their ill-natured older siblings. During their younger years, the twins were made to labor, going to hunt birds which they brought back for meals. The elder brothers were given their food to eat first, in spite of the fact they spent the day singing and playing while the younger twins were working.
Hunahpu and Xbalanque demonstrated their wit at a young age in dealing with their older half brothers. One day the pair returned from the field without any birds to eat, and were questioned by their older siblings. The younger boys claimed that they had indeed shot several birds but that they had gotten caught high in a tree and were unable to retrieve them. The older brothers were brought to the tree and climbed up to get the birds, when the tree suddenly began to grow even taller, and the older brothers were caught. This is also the first instance in which the twins demonstrate supernatural powers, or perhaps simply the blessings of the greater gods; the feats of power are often only indirectly attributed to the pair.
Hunahpu further humiliated his older brethren by instructing them to remove their pants and tie them about their waists in an attempt to climb down. The pants became tails, and the brothers were transformed into monkeys. When their grandmother was informed that the older boys had not been harmed, she demanded they be allowed to return. When they did come back to the home, their grandmother was unable to contain her laughter at their appearance, and the disfigured brothers ran away in shame.
Defeat of Seven Macaw and his family
At a point in their lives not specified in the Popol Vuh, the twins were approached by the god Huracan regarding an arrogant god named Seven Macaw (Vucub Caquix). Seven Macaw had built up a following of worshipers among some of the inhabitants of the Earth, making false claims to be either the sun or the moon. Seven Macaw was also extremely vain, adorning himself with metal ornaments in his wings and a set of false teeth made of gemstones.
In a first attempt to dispatch the vain god, the twins attempted to sneak upon him as he was eating his meal in a tree, and shot at his jaw with a blowgun. Seven Macaw was knocked from his tree but only wounded, and as Hunahpu attempted to escape, his arm was grabbed by the god and torn off.
In spite of their initial failure, the twins again demonstrated their clever nature in formulating a plan for Seven Macaw's defeat. Invoking a pair of gods disguised as grandparents, the twins instructed the invoked gods to approach Seven Macaw and negotiate for the return of Hunahpu's arm. In doing so, the "grandparents" indicated they were but a poor family, making a living as doctors and dentists and attempting
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