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Xibalba
From Wikipedia,
In Maya mythology Xibalba , roughly translated as "Place of fear", is the name of the underworld, ruled by Maya Death Gods and their helpers. In Yucatec it was known as Metnal.[citation needed] In the 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the vicinity of Cobán, Guatemala. According to some of the K'iche' Maya presently living in the vicinity, the area is still associated with death. Cave systems in nearby Belize have also been referred to as the entrance to Xibalba.
Another physical incarnation of the road to Xibalba as viewed by the K'iche' is the dark rift which is visible in the Milky Way.
Inhabitants
Xibalba is described in the Popol Vuh as a court below the surface of the Earth associated with death and with twelve gods or powerful rulers known as the Lords of Xibalba. The first among the Maya Death Gods ruling Xibalba were Hun-Came (One Death) and Vucub-Came (Seven Death), though Hun-Came is the more senior of the two. The remaining ten Lords are often referred to as demons and are given commission and domain over various forms of human suffering: to cause sickness, starvation, fear, destitution, pain, and ultimately death. These Lords all work in pairs and are Xiquiripat (Flying Scab) and Cuchumaquic (Gathered Blood) who sicken people's blood, Ahalpuh (Pus Demon) and Ahalgana (Jaundice Demon) who cause people's bodies to swell up, Chamiabac (Bone Staff) and Chamiaholom (Skull Staff) who turn dead bodies into skeletons, Ahalmez (Sweepings Demon) and Ahaltocob (Stabbing Demon) who hide in the unswept areas of people houses and stabbed them to death, and Xic (Wing) and Patan (Packstrap) who caused people to die coughing up blood while out walking on a road. The remaining residents of Xibalba are thought to have fallen under the dominion of one of these Lords, going about the face of the Earth to carry out their listed duties.
Structure
Xibalba was a large place and a number of individual structures or locations within Xibalba are described or mentioned in the Popol Vuh. Chief among these was the council place of the Lords, the five or six houses that served as the first tests of Xibalba, and the Xibalban ballcourt. Also mentioned are the homes of the Lords, gardens, and other structures indicating that Xibalba was at least a great city.
Xibalba seemed to be rife with tests, trials and traps for anyone who came into the city. Even the Road to Xibalba was filled with obstacles: first a river filled with scorpions, a river filled with blood, and then a river filled with pus. Beyond these was a crossroads where travellers had to choose from between four roads that spoke in an attempt to confuse and beguile. Upon passing these obstacles one would come upon the Xibalba council place, where it was expected visitors would greet the seated Lords. Realistic mannequins were seated near the Lords to confuse and humiliate people who greeted them, and the confused would then be invited to sit upon a bench, which was actually a hot cooking surface. The Lords of Xibalba would entertain themselves by humiliating people in this fashion before sending them into one of Xibalba's deadly tests.
The city was home to at least six deadly houses filled with trials for visitors. The first was Dark House, a house that was completely dark inside. The second was Rattling House or Cold House, full of bone-chilling cold and rattling hail. The third was Jaguar House, filled with hungry jaguars. The fourth was Bat House, filled with dangerous shrieking bats, and the fifth was Razor House, filled with blades and razors that moved about of their own accord. In another part of the Popol Vuh, a sixth test, Hot House, filled with fires and heat, is identified. The purpose of these tests was to either kill or humiliate people placed into them if they could not outwit the test.
From Wikipedia,
In Maya mythology Xibalba , roughly translated as "Place of fear", is the name of the underworld, ruled by Maya Death Gods and their helpers. In Yucatec it was known as Metnal.[citation needed] In the 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the vicinity of Cobán, Guatemala. According to some of the K'iche' Maya presently living in the vicinity, the area is still associated with death. Cave systems in nearby Belize have also been referred to as the entrance to Xibalba.
Another physical incarnation of the road to Xibalba as viewed by the K'iche' is the dark rift which is visible in the Milky Way.
Inhabitants
Xibalba is described in the Popol Vuh as a court below the surface of the Earth associated with death and with twelve gods or powerful rulers known as the Lords of Xibalba. The first among the Maya Death Gods ruling Xibalba were Hun-Came (One Death) and Vucub-Came (Seven Death), though Hun-Came is the more senior of the two. The remaining ten Lords are often referred to as demons and are given commission and domain over various forms of human suffering: to cause sickness, starvation, fear, destitution, pain, and ultimately death. These Lords all work in pairs and are Xiquiripat (Flying Scab) and Cuchumaquic (Gathered Blood) who sicken people's blood, Ahalpuh (Pus Demon) and Ahalgana (Jaundice Demon) who cause people's bodies to swell up, Chamiabac (Bone Staff) and Chamiaholom (Skull Staff) who turn dead bodies into skeletons, Ahalmez (Sweepings Demon) and Ahaltocob (Stabbing Demon) who hide in the unswept areas of people houses and stabbed them to death, and Xic (Wing) and Patan (Packstrap) who caused people to die coughing up blood while out walking on a road. The remaining residents of Xibalba are thought to have fallen under the dominion of one of these Lords, going about the face of the Earth to carry out their listed duties.
Structure
Xibalba was a large place and a number of individual structures or locations within Xibalba are described or mentioned in the Popol Vuh. Chief among these was the council place of the Lords, the five or six houses that served as the first tests of Xibalba, and the Xibalban ballcourt. Also mentioned are the homes of the Lords, gardens, and other structures indicating that Xibalba was at least a great city.
Xibalba seemed to be rife with tests, trials and traps for anyone who came into the city. Even the Road to Xibalba was filled with obstacles: first a river filled with scorpions, a river filled with blood, and then a river filled with pus. Beyond these was a crossroads where travellers had to choose from between four roads that spoke in an attempt to confuse and beguile. Upon passing these obstacles one would come upon the Xibalba council place, where it was expected visitors would greet the seated Lords. Realistic mannequins were seated near the Lords to confuse and humiliate people who greeted them, and the confused would then be invited to sit upon a bench, which was actually a hot cooking surface. The Lords of Xibalba would entertain themselves by humiliating people in this fashion before sending them into one of Xibalba's deadly tests.
The city was home to at least six deadly houses filled with trials for visitors. The first was Dark House, a house that was completely dark inside. The second was Rattling House or Cold House, full of bone-chilling cold and rattling hail. The third was Jaguar House, filled with hungry jaguars. The fourth was Bat House, filled with dangerous shrieking bats, and the fifth was Razor House, filled with blades and razors that moved about of their own accord. In another part of the Popol Vuh, a sixth test, Hot House, filled with fires and heat, is identified. The purpose of these tests was to either kill or humiliate people placed into them if they could not outwit the test.
Xibalbá o Xib'alb'a es un lugar dentro de la mitología maya, descrito como un mundo subterráneo regido por los espíritus de la enfermedad y la muerte. En el siglo XVII, tradicionalmente se ubicaba su entrada en una caverna ubicada en la localidad de Alta Verapaz, en las cercanías de Cobán, Guatemala.
Descripción
Fray Francisco Ximénez tradujo al latín la obra aborigen guatemalteca Popol Vuh (Pop wuj, en k'iche' correcto) o Libro de los acontecimientos, desde una perspectiva católica. Por lo tanto se refiere al Xibalbá como el Infierno cristiano, un mundo telúrico gobernado por los Ajawab del Xibalbá o los "señores del infierno".(ver Mitología maya)
Sin embargo el concepto de "mal" está explícitamente representado en las características de otros seres de la mitología maya, como Wuqub Qak'ix y su familia, o en defectos en las personalidades de los primeros seres humanos creados. Xib'alb'a no es entonces el infierno, ya que representa a la muerte y la enfermedad, vistas como parte de la existencia y no como castigo. Es más preciso referirse a Xib'alb'a como el inframundo.
Una de las partes del Popol Vuh narra el enfrentamiento entre los Señores de Xibalbá (el inframundo maya) y dos pares de gemelos divinos: en primer lugar Hun-Hunahpú y Vucub-Hunahpú, y tras ser derrotados, sus hijos Hunahpú e Ixbalanqué, que saldrán victoriosos gracias a su ingenio y conocimiento de la magia.
En ambos casos son llamados por los Señores de Xibalbá debido a que les molesta que hagan ruido al jugar a la pelota sobre la superficie de la tierra. Una vez allí serán retados a realizar varias pruebas y a jugar al juego de pelota. Así, mientras se cuentan los acontecimientos de dichos enfrentamientos, se hace una descripción de Xibalbá y del camino que hay que recorrer antes de llegar a él, lo cual permite dar una idea de la visión maya quiché del inframundo.
El camino hacia Xibalbá se describe como un descenso por unas escaleras muy inclinadas que desembocan en la orilla de un río, el cual recorre barrancos y jícaros espinosos. A continuación hay otros ríos e incluso uno de sangre, para después abrirse un cruce de cuatro caminos: uno rojo, otro blanco, otro amarillo (o verde en el caso de Hunahpú e Ixbalanqué) y otro negro. El último es el que se dirige a Xibalbá, exactamente a la sala del consejo de los Señores de Xibalbá.
En cuanto a las pruebas que los Señores de Xibalbá hacían pasar, el Popol Vuh cuenta que eran muchos los lugares de tormento y los castigos de Xibalbá:
El primero era la Casa oscura, en cuyo interior sólo había tinieblas;
El segundo era la Casa del frío, donde un viento frío e insoportable soplaba en su interior;
El tercero era la Casa de los tigres, donde los tigres se revolvían, se amontonaban, gruñían y se mofaban;
El cuarto era la Casa de los murciélagos, donde no había más que murciélagos que chillaban, gritaban y revoloteaban en la casa;
El quinto se llamaba la Casa de las navajas, dentro de la cual sólo había navajas cortantes y afiladas
En otra parte del Popol Vuh dice que hay una sexta casa llamada la Casa del calor, donde sólo habían brasas y llamas.
Descripción
Fray Francisco Ximénez tradujo al latín la obra aborigen guatemalteca Popol Vuh (Pop wuj, en k'iche' correcto) o Libro de los acontecimientos, desde una perspectiva católica. Por lo tanto se refiere al Xibalbá como el Infierno cristiano, un mundo telúrico gobernado por los Ajawab del Xibalbá o los "señores del infierno".(ver Mitología maya)
Sin embargo el concepto de "mal" está explícitamente representado en las características de otros seres de la mitología maya, como Wuqub Qak'ix y su familia, o en defectos en las personalidades de los primeros seres humanos creados. Xib'alb'a no es entonces el infierno, ya que representa a la muerte y la enfermedad, vistas como parte de la existencia y no como castigo. Es más preciso referirse a Xib'alb'a como el inframundo.
Una de las partes del Popol Vuh narra el enfrentamiento entre los Señores de Xibalbá (el inframundo maya) y dos pares de gemelos divinos: en primer lugar Hun-Hunahpú y Vucub-Hunahpú, y tras ser derrotados, sus hijos Hunahpú e Ixbalanqué, que saldrán victoriosos gracias a su ingenio y conocimiento de la magia.
En ambos casos son llamados por los Señores de Xibalbá debido a que les molesta que hagan ruido al jugar a la pelota sobre la superficie de la tierra. Una vez allí serán retados a realizar varias pruebas y a jugar al juego de pelota. Así, mientras se cuentan los acontecimientos de dichos enfrentamientos, se hace una descripción de Xibalbá y del camino que hay que recorrer antes de llegar a él, lo cual permite dar una idea de la visión maya quiché del inframundo.
El camino hacia Xibalbá se describe como un descenso por unas escaleras muy inclinadas que desembocan en la orilla de un río, el cual recorre barrancos y jícaros espinosos. A continuación hay otros ríos e incluso uno de sangre, para después abrirse un cruce de cuatro caminos: uno rojo, otro blanco, otro amarillo (o verde en el caso de Hunahpú e Ixbalanqué) y otro negro. El último es el que se dirige a Xibalbá, exactamente a la sala del consejo de los Señores de Xibalbá.
En cuanto a las pruebas que los Señores de Xibalbá hacían pasar, el Popol Vuh cuenta que eran muchos los lugares de tormento y los castigos de Xibalbá:
El primero era la Casa oscura, en cuyo interior sólo había tinieblas;
El segundo era la Casa del frío, donde un viento frío e insoportable soplaba en su interior;
El tercero era la Casa de los tigres, donde los tigres se revolvían, se amontonaban, gruñían y se mofaban;
El cuarto era la Casa de los murciélagos, donde no había más que murciélagos que chillaban, gritaban y revoloteaban en la casa;
El quinto se llamaba la Casa de las navajas, dentro de la cual sólo había navajas cortantes y afiladas
En otra parte del Popol Vuh dice que hay una sexta casa llamada la Casa del calor, donde sólo habían brasas y llamas.
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