The Popol Vuh: A Maya Myth Told in Dance and Song

The Maya of modern-day Guatemala express their history and myths through dances such as the Rabinal Achi and the Dance of the Conquest, thus passing their stories to the next generation. Archaeological evidence attests to a rich culture of music and dance among the ancient Maya as well—perhaps they used these talents to bring the quests of the Popol Vuh’s mythical Hero Twins to life?

The Popol Vuh is a collection of Quiché Maya myths from the creation of the world, all the way to the founding of the Quiché people. The most famous parts of the Popol Vuh are the tales of the Hero Twins, Hunahau and Xbalanque. What sets these tales apart from Greek myths, such as Theseus and Hercules, or the saga of Beowulf, is that the Hero Twins defeated their opponents with trickery and cunning—not strength.

Hunahau and Xbalanque were the sons of a maize god named One Hunahau. One Hunahau and his brother, Seven Hunahau, were both excellent ballplayers. They could be heard playing all the way down in Xibalba—the Maya underworld. Annoyed by the noise, the Xibalbans lured the brothers to the underworld and then killed them in a rigged match. Despite this, One Hunahau’s severed head managed to impregnate a Xibalban princess, Blood Moon. Under threat of death, Blood Moon fled to the surface and gave birth to the Hero Twins, placing them in the care of their grandmother and two half-brothers.

Hunahau and Xbalanque soon learned of their true father and began to play ballgames too. The lords of the underworld soon heard them play and invited them in an attempt to trick them into death, just as they had done with the boys’ father. The lords of Xibalba set many trials for the twins. Hunahau and Xbalanque, with their intelligence and the aid of animals, overcame all the trials. Only when the twins plunged themselves into an oven did the Xibalbans think they had won.

The twins would emerge alive, disguised as traveling performers. Their talents attracted the attention of the lords of Xibalba, and, still drunk on their victory, they invited the performers to court. The twins danced and performed magic tricks. They then sacrificed themselves, only to come back alive. The most powerful Xibalban lord, One Death, asked if he could be sacrificed in the same way. Hunahau and Xbalanque did not bring One Death back. Instead, they revealed themselves, claimed victory over the Xibalbans, and revived their father, One Hunahau. When Hunahau and Xbalanque released their father, a personification of maize, on earth the first shoots spring from the ground.

In another popular story, Hunahau and Xbalanque defeated a family of gods who had become too arrogant. The father, Seven Macaw, was defeated when the twins, disguised as dentists, removed all his facial jewelry, causing him to die from shame. His sons were then tricked into their deaths by being buried under mountains and earth.

The actions of the Hero Twins opened the way for the first humans to emerge. Safe from tyrannical gods and with the release of maize from the underworld, the Maya people were able to begin their earthly journey.

The Hero Twins were a key feature in Maya folklore long before the Popol Vuh was written in the Postclassic Maya period (900 CE-1530 CE). Art showing the Hero Twins, and characters associated with them, can be found throughout Maya history. One such example is the Princeton Vase from the late Classic period (600 CE-900 CE), which depicts Hunahau and Xbalanque performing magic tricks for a Xibalban lord.

Imagery of the Popol Vuh creation myth can be found at the very beginnings of Maya civilization. At Izapa in Chiapas, Mexico, a stela depicting Seven Macaw in between Hunahau and Xbalanque has been dated to around 100BCE-900CE. In Belize, an early Classic (200 CE-600 CE) cave burial contains symbols connected with ideas found in the Popol Vuh.

One of the most curious aspects of the Popol Vuh is that it seems to represent the movement of celestial bodies in the night sky. Each character is a constellation, with their actions within their respective myths reflecting the path they take across the cosmos. The ancient Maya were keen astronomers and astrologers who possessed one of the most accurate calendrical systems at the time.

The Popol Vuh was not just a guide to the Maya heavens but also a valuable commentary on worldly issues. All the antagonists, from Seven Macaw to the lords of Xibalba, are arrogant, a common theme found in other cultural and religious systems across the world, such as the Christian sin of pride and the ancient Greek concept of hubris. Overall, the Popol Vuh offers valuable insight into how the Maya perceived the world.

Dancing appears often in Maya culture; it is seen in ancient art and mentioned in both Indigenous and Spanish accounts, and traditional dances are practiced to this day by the modern Maya. In the same way that astronomical movements were anchored in memory with myth, stories, and ideas are anchored in the movements of the body.

Painted vases and murals from the Classic period depict a vast range of elements in ancient Maya life, including dances. Kings and nobles are often depicted as richly costumed dancers; they would have performed before their people in ritual events. Dance was a way for the Maya to cut through boundaries, connecting the past and present, the mythical and the living worlds. In this way, dancing for the ancient and modern Maya is a method of connection, not only between people but also gods, spirits, and ancestors.

Written Maya hieroglyphics also speak of dance. The glyph for dance is pronounced ahk’ot or ok’ot. One such example can be found on the Komkom Vase, in which the victorious Komkom Kingdom celebrates by performing the “frog-like turtle” dance. This mirrors dances in the Popol Vuh, as they are also named after animals—but unfortunately, it is not known what these dances looked like.

The Spanish also documented the dances of the Maya. Though a controversial source, Bishop Diego de Landa provides one of the few accounts we have of Yucatan culture at the time of the conquest. De Landa writes about dances in his observations and also names them, such as the warrior’s dance or holkan ok’ot, and the Xibalba ok’ot. These performances were accompanied by a diverse array of flutes, drums, and shakers.

To this day, the Maya still perform dances, the most famous being from the Guatemalan highlands. One of these is the Rabinal Achi, a drama centered on a conflict between the Rabinal and the Quiché factions. It is of such importance to the region that UNESCO included it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. Like their ancestors, the locals of Rabinal connect with the experiences of their people’s past through song and dance.

Just as ancient Greek theater and Edo-period Japanese kabuki acted as a free space for satirical commentary, ancient Maya performances spoke about the world they lived in. Dressed in black mesh, clowns can be seen in Classic Maya artwork, wearing the headdresses of rulers. These individuals often acted as a form of social catharsis to not only the community at large but even to the nobles they mocked. Artwork and sculpture of clowns demonstrate that they were supported by rulers.

These jesters were noted by de Landa as extremely skilled and amusing imitators—the Spanish being targeted by their jokes as much as their Indigenous leaders. Clowns could themselves become vessels for spirits and gods, much like dancers; it is likely that many clowns were dancers.

Linking motifs, ancient Maya clowns were also often connected with monkeys. Indeed, the black mesh clowns wore may have been an attempt to represent the fur of either the howler or the spider monkey. In the Popol Vuh, one of the first attempts at humans were those made of wood and for their arrogance, were turned into monkeys. During performances, it is likely that clowns would have brought these roles to life using their comedic talents.

It is also important to consider that not every performance of the Popol Vuh would have been the same. Not only because each Maya city likely had their own local culture, but also to reflect contemporary issues of the time. Some of the lords of Xibalba may have looked suspiciously like corrupt nobles and statesmen of the time.

Ancient Mayan ruins have many common features, most notably the ballcourt. Though they can differ in appearance from case to case, they are extremely widespread. This is where the famous Mesoamerican ballgame was played, using a large rubber ball so heavy that players wore thick leather armor like American football players today.

Maya archaeologists know that troves of artifacts can be found under these ballcourts, most notably “eccentric flints.” These are pieces of chert or flint that have been shaped into profiles of gods. Their ritual importance calls back to the Popol Vuh, when Hunahau and Xbalanque try to resurrect their uncle Seven Hunahau, buried at the Xibalban ballcourt, but they fail. They promise their uncle that forever more, he will be honored at his resting place on certain days. The ballcourt was symbolically connected to the Maya Underworld, and in the highlands, ballcourts and graveyards share the same word in Quiché: jom. To come full circle, the movements of the ball were also connected with the movement of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, and Venus.

It is likely that, much like sports fields today, ballcourts were also used for social events, the flat and open ground proving useful for markets and festivals just as much as for games. Dancing may have been performed not only in the open plazas of Maya cities but also in ballcourts. What dance-story would be more appropriate to be performed in a ballcourt than that of the Hero Twins, of which the ballgame is a central theme? During performances, dancing may have been broken up by actual ballgames. These would have been entirely theatrical, with the opposing sides winning when the story required, aiding the dance in bringing the myth to the mortal world—for a moment, Hunahau and Xbalanque play against the Xibalbans before the audience, deciding the fate of humanity.

The story of the Hero Twins is not one of great action as in the Iliad, nor of grand miracles as mentioned in the Bible. Instead, it contains plots and themes easily recreated in theater. In one tale, Hunahua and Xbalanque impress one of Seven Macaw’s sons by hunting birds with blowpipes. They are so good that they do not even need any ammunition; they simply blow air at the birds. While this is actually a real technique used by hunters to confuse prey, it is also something that seems to mirror the imitation of hunting by an actor.

Could the magic tricks performed by the Hero Twins have been dramatized too? It is very possible: illusion is as old as civilization itself. With forced perspective and distraction, the ancient Maya performers may have added an extra layer of spectacle to the grandest pageants. When Hunahau and Xbalanque entertain the Xibalbans, it is said they are disguised as vagabonds; perhaps actual street illusionists were commissioned to perform this part?

Murals, such as those at Bonampak above, show just how complex and rich ancient Maya costume and music were; perhaps these elements would have been used to enhance the “special effects” of such dramatizations.

The Legacy and Future of Maya Storytelling

One of the most interesting aspects of the Hero Twins myth is that its performance may have included a broad range of talented people. Within one performance, dancers, musicians, ballplayers, street magicians, clowns, and stage directors would all have contributed their particular skills to the project. Even hunters and dentists may have been called in to perform specific parts that involved their expertise, even if it was only a demonstration. Much like the myth of the Popol Vuh itself, the dance-story of the Hero Twins is a holistic reflection of Maya life, one that sympathizes with each member of the audience in one way or another. For example, to mothers of all walks of life, Blood Moon’s escape from the Underworld acts as an analog for the dangers of childbearing and childbirth. Meanwhile, kings would have done well to watch Seven Macaw and his downfall with care.

With the modern revival of the Mesoamerican ballgame, the spectacle of dances in the Guatemalan highland, and the Maya languages fighting for survival in the modern era, perhaps the Popol Vuh as performance art may also be resurrected. While the exact composition of this dance as performed by the Q’eqchi’ Maya in the 16th and 17th centuries is unknown, that should not deter attempts to recreate it. Just as Hunahau and Xbalanque brought their father back to life, so could the dance of the Hero Twins be restored.

Bibliography:

De Landa D. (translated by Nevaer L.E.V.), 2013. Yucatán at the time of the Spanish Encounter (bilingual edition). Hispanic Economics, Inc.