72 pages • 2 hours read
AnonymousPopol Vuh
Nonfiction | Scripture | Adult | Published in 1554A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Section 7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
“The Resurrection of Hunahpu and Xbalanque” Summary
Five days after the deaths of Hunahpu and Xbalanque, the brothers start to appear before others in various forms. At first, people see them in the river as fish. When the Xibalbans try to search the river for them as fish, they transform into two orphans. When the Xibalbans find them in their orphan forms, they do not recognize them as Hunahpu and Xbalanque. The brothers dance several ceremonial dances in honor of the creator deities, which includes Heart of Sky, in their orphan forms. They perform miracles, such as setting a house on fire without having it truly burn. They also kill themselves again just to show the Xibalbans that they can revive themselves. The Xibalbans watch the brothers in awe but have no idea that they are the resurrected Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
“The Summons of Hunahpu and Xbalanque Before the Lords” Summary
One Death and Seven Death demand that the orphans (who are Hunahpu and Xbalanque in disguise) come to their house to perform for them. The boys refuse, expressing shame over their poverty. However, the lords of Xibalba threaten harm to them if they refuse. Finally, the boys relent and proceed to the lords’ house.
“Hunahpu and Xbalanque Dance Before the Lords of Xibalba” Summary
Hunahpu and Xbalanque arrive at One Death and Seven Death’s house, continuing to pose as orphans. The lords of Xibalba demand that the orphans dance for them. Hunahpu and Xbalanque dance the ceremonial dances honoring the creator deities, as they did before. Next, the Xibalbans tell the brothers to sacrifice their dog and bring it back to life, which Hunahpu and Xbalanque do very easily. Impressed, the Xibalbans next tell the brothers to burn their home. Hunahpu and Xbalanque set fire to the house and restore it back to normal. Then, the Xibalbans ask the brothers to kill a person and bring him back to life. Hunahpu and Xbalanque kill a person, putting his heart in front of the lords of Xibalba. They bring the person back to life, restoring his heart in his body. The Xibalbans demand more. They tell the brothers to kill themselves. Xbalanque kills Hunahpu, cutting up his body and scattering the pieces everywhere. Xbalanque shouts, “Arise!” (173) and brings his brother back to life. These miracles bring the Xibalbans glee.
“The Defeat of the Lords of Xibalba” Summary
Thrilled at the sight of Hunahpu and Xbalanque’s many miracles, the lords of Xibalba demand that the brothers kill them and revive them. The brothers kill One Death first and then Seven Death next, but they do not revive either one of them. When the other lords see this, they panic. One by one, Hunahpu and Xbalanque kill the other lords. The Xibalbans’ servants flee the house of One Death and Seven Death until they come across the ants, Hunahpu and Xbalanque’s allies. The servants bow before the ants, surrendering. Finally, Hunahpu and Xbalanque reveal their true names before all of Xibalba.
“The Miraculous Maize of Hunahpu and Xbalanque” Summary
At the defeat of the lords of Xibalba, Hunahpu and Xbalanque declare their punishment for the rest of the underworld. The brothers declare that Xibalbans will never receive clean blood offerings, but only croton sap in their place. They will only accept broken and worn-out pottery as gifts. They are confined to eating only the lowest of creatures. Instead of punishing anyone without just cause, the Xibalbans can only punish those who have truly sinned.
Meanwhile, back at Xmucane’s house, she has seen the maize stalks that she has planted for Hunahpu and Xbalanque grow, shrivel up, and grow again. When the maize stalks grow a second time, Xmucane deifies them by naming the sections of the maize plot in her house, Center House, Center Ancestral Plot, Revitalized Maize, and Leveled Earth. Thus, Hunahpu and Xbalanque’s lives and successes in Xibalba are commemorated.
“The Apotheosis of the Sun, Moon, and Stars” Summary
Hunahpu and Xbalanque find One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu’s bodies buried in the Xibalban ballcourt. They locate One Hunahpu’s head in the tree and ask him to name his mouth, nose, and eyes. One Hunahpu can only name his mouth as his eyes and nose are merely empty sockets. The brothers are not able to fully restore their father, and thus, must leave his body behind in the Crushing Ballcourt. They comfort their father by ensuring that his and Seven Hunahpu’s legacies will live on and that they will be worshipped for their deeds. One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu, comforted by these words, rise to the sky. One of them becomes the sun while the other becomes the moon. The four hundred boys who were killed by Zipacna become stars too, and join One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu in the sky.
Section 7 Analysis
Hunahpu and Xbalanque’s preemptive planning towards their deaths with the Ascended and the Descended ensures that their decimated forms are scattered in such a way that will enable their resurrection. As Hunahpu and Xbalanque’s ashes are scattered in the river, they aptly become fish upon revival. In these sections, the brothers’ various resurrected forms permit them disguises that elude detection by the Xibalban lords who still believe Hunahpu and Xbalanque to be dead. Thus, the brothers’ revenge is slow and gradual, winning over the trust of the Xibalban lords through the performanceof miracles. When the Xibalban lords eventually demand that Hunahpu and Xbalanque kill and revive them, the brothers do as they are told, but do not bring them back to life.
Hunahpu and Xbalanque’s revenge is a form of poetic justice as they best the Xibalban lords through several trials, just as the underworld lords have done to them, and dismember them as part of the final test. In fact, Hunahpu and Xbalanque’s actions set the foundation for Quiché attitudes towards death, the revision of sacrificial rituals, and offerings. Their actions level death’s dominion over the living, ensuring a more favorable balance where only true sinners are punished as opposed to punishment being doled out according to the whims of the Xibalban lords.
In “The Miraculous Maize of Hunahpu and Xbalanque,” Xmucane’s deification of Hunahpu and Xbalanque through the maize plot emulates the first creation of the world. The creator deities approach the cultivation of maize and the planning of the world in a similar fashion, mapping the four corners and sides of an area and determining what should grow within it. Xmucane’s replication of the creation of the world in this instance indicates a new phase of constructing the world. Hunahpu and Xbalanque play a crucial role in this new phase, as their death and resurrection cause the maize to wilt and sprout again. Their righting of One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu’s deaths is also the catalyst for the creation of the sun, moon, and stars. By locating One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu’s bodies and putting them to rest, Hunahpu and Xbalanque enable them to rise in the sky and become celestial bodies.
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