Wilcox, eds. The Mesoamerican Ballgame. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, Taladoire, Eric. Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno Editores, Whittington, E. Michael, ed. Visiting The Met? Seated Ballplayer. Standing Ballplayer. Yoke-Form Vessel. Hacha in the Shape of Bound Hands. Closed Yoke. Animal Head Hacha. Head Hacha. Fish Hacha. Codex-Style Vase with Mythological Scene. Ball Player. Palma with Figure.
Turkey Palma. Hacha, Head. Frog Yoke. Miniature Ballcourt. Citation Earley, Caitlin C. Mexico, B. Mexico, — A. Mexico, 1— A.
Now after a good days work they sat back and looked at this new world and they saw a problem. For the gods, this world was useless unless there was something in it to acknowledge their awesomeness. So they decided to make creatures to worship them.
First they populated the world with animals to worship them. This whole thing seems like a bit of an overreaction to me, but that happens a lot in these stories. So the gods first try to make mankind out of mud. This works about as well as one can expect. The mud men were smooshy and slimy and kept falling apart. Most importantly to the gods, the mud men did not worship them, so bye-bye mud men.
Next they tried to make mankind out of wood and reeds. By the time the gods decided to destroy the wood men there were more of them then they realized, which is what happens when you turn your back on your creation for a bit. So the gods wiped them out in a massive flood and had all of the animals and natural elements turn on them and crush their faces in.
Finally the gods tried making mankind out of corn. The gods were pleased with the results, corn man could, walk, talk, learn and worship. Unfortunately they were a bit too smart for their own good so the gods had to dumb them down a bit. The gods were so happy with corn men they made four of them at once. As an afterthought they also made these men wives while they slept. These men were the four founding fathers of the tribes of the Maya.
They are Mayan deities that created the world. They are the parents of One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu. They are the sons of Xmucane and Xpiuacoc who are killed by the lords of the underworld and are reborn as Hunahpu and Xblanque. They are the hero twins who are the reincarnation of their father and uncle, One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu.
They are the grandsons of Xmucane and Xpiyacoc. This will include a brief abridged version of the Popol Vuh, along with other materials relevant to the myth. This is not meant to be all-inclusive, just an informative and somewhat humorous introduction to the subject. Posts Likes Following Archive. Original Text If by any chance you have not fallen asleep or died from boredom yet here is a link to an awesome english translation of the Popol Vuh. They also spoke some other gods into being for good measure Now after a good days work they sat back and looked at this new world and they saw a problem.
One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu : They are the sons of Xmucane and Xpiuacoc who are killed by the lords of the underworld and are reborn as Hunahpu and Xblanque. Hunahpu and Xblanqu e: They are the hero twins who are the reincarnation of their father and uncle, One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu.
Their speech was unrecognizable, for each cried out in a different way. We are their Framer and their Shaper. Xibalba the underworld doesn't appear until after three failed creation attempts the second and third attempts failed for the same reason as the first creation attempt. They first appear to oppose the fathers of the twins, "One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu," who, it is important to note, were "born to Xpiyacoc and Xmucane" two of the seven gods who created the world Christenson.
It should become clear that the lords of Xibalba are an opposing force to the creation god desses. Not only are they the lords of death, but they, like the lords of creation, also want recognition from humans. As explained in the online book Esotericism of the Popol Vuh 1 which uses a different translation of the Popol Vuh :. In fact, when the Lords of Xibalba are defeated, their power is restricted, paving the way for the creation gods and goddesses to create humans:.
Here then is our word that we declare to you. Hearken all you of Xibalba; for never again will you or your posterity be great. Your offerings also will never again be great. They will henceforth be reduced to croton sap. No longer will clean blood be yours. Unto you will be given only worn-out griddles and pots, only flimsy and brittle things. Thus began their devastation, the ruin of their being called upon in worship. Their glory was not great in the past, for they wanted only conflict with the people of ancient times.
Surely they were not true gods. From the plot perspective, the game "ball" is simply a competition to resolve the conflict, and the story wouldn't be much different if they played chess or another game.
Just to clarify the plot: One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu are defeated by Xibalba, but their sons learn to play ball, go to Xibalba, and defeat the Lords of Xibalba. Afterwords, humans are finally created. However, another way of looking at the game is as a symbol representing the sky.
From Esotericism of the Popol Vuh :. All this unmistakably reflects a gradual progress in astronomic and cosmogonic knowledge. The Popol Vuh is the only American source to speak of the origin of the ball game and place it in time. Not only does it tell us of the game's ethnological antiquity, it also explains its symbolism. It in fact establishes a parallel between the ball players and the solar gods, which from the angles of the universe — to employ the phraseology of the Chumayel manuscript — meet in the center, in this case in the ball court, where they can convert themselves into two and even four persons with no loss of their theogonic individuality, at once a unity and a multiplicity.
During the ball game they wear their resplendent ceremonial gear — that is, they exhibit their insignia as solar deities. Two by two they come from the eastern and western sectors of the cosmos and, meeting in the center, forge themselves into the individuality of Heart of Heaven.
The continual contact of two or four bodies with a single ball makes clear the monotheistic principle whereby the deity integrates itself through the union of its hypostases. This idea is objectified in the group of ball players unable to use their heads or extremities since the ball — the symbol of the Star or Sun god — is alternatively the head of each.
This figure of a single-headed god having many bodies is characteristic of Maya thought. We need only to remember Oxlahun-oc "it of the thirteen feet" , who is mentioned in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel. This interpretation lends a new interpretation to the text: Xibalba, the "Lords of the subterrene regions" Esotericism are in conflict with the lords of the sky the creators of the world over power over the living world. The punishment of the Lords of Xibalba "you This may be one of the reasons why the gods can then create humans who "can speak their name.
However, we don't know enough to know without a doubt the real symbolism behind the ball game 3.
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