Maya Deities - Maya Mythology, Ixtab, Q'Uq'umatz, Chaac, Ixchel, Itzamna, Kinich Ahau, Ah Kin, Bacab, God K, Maya Hero Twins, Maya Maize God (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 27. Chapters: Maya mythology, Ixtab, Q'uq'umatz, Chaac, Ixchel, Itzamna, Kinich Ahau, Ah Kin, Bacab, God K, Maya Hero Twins, Maya maize god, Kukulkan, Maya Death Gods, Maya moon goddess, Goddess I, God L, Vucub Caquix, Howler Monkey Gods, Maya jaguar gods, Hun Hunahpu, Mam. Excerpt: The Maya Hero Twins are the central figures of a narrative included within the colonial Quiche document called Popol Vuh, and constituting the oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in Quiche, the Twins have also been identified in the art of the Classic Mayas (200-900 AD). 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 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. 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 and sacrificed. Two sons were engendered, however, by the seed of the dead father. The pregnant mother fled from Xibalba. The sons - or '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 liqu...