The story of the twin gods Hunahpu and Xbalenkhu
The story of these twin deities is considered to be the most thrilling chapter of the Maya Purana. This story is the most famous of all the surviving Maya Puranas. This story is written in the famous Popol Bhuh text in Khuiche language; In Spanish script. Here is a summary of the story.
Dad and uncle
The story of this twin god begins with the story of the twin baby boy. Their names were with one Hunahpu and seven Hunahpu. These two Hunahpudas lived well to play the famous Maya ball game. They were very talented, they always won this game. What happens when they win, they would shout loudly while playing. Hearing their constant screams, the so-called Maya hell god Axibalbar broke the barrier of patience. He was so annoyed by this shout that he sent two angels to hell and summoned the twin gods. This Axibalba was a god of extremely grumpy and cruel character. Mayara usually did not want to mention her name. Because the Maya believed that if someone made a mistake and mentioned it, his life would end quickly.
Whatever it was, the twin gods were summoned and quickly came to hell. Then the god of hell put them to the test. At first they were told to cross the thorny bridge anyway. A river of blood was flowing through the floor of this bridge. They succeeded in that test and reached the god of hell. There the god of hell greeted him with a wooden stick on his shoulder. He then asked if the two gods could recognize them. The gods did not know him. As a result, they failed the test. Then Axibalba sat them down and told them to sit on an innocent wooden bench. Unable to catch his plot, the two brothers sat down on the bench in good faith. Immediately they watched in amazement as he caught fire on the bench. They could not get out of the bench and died in the fire.
Born in Hunahpu and Xbalangkhu
One Hunahpu and seven Hunahpu died. What happened then? According to the Puranas, a child was alive in Hunahpur. She was one of the most important Maya Goddess. In time, she gave birth to two children. The names of these twin children are Xbalangkhuye and Hunahpu. They were good ball players just like his father and uncle. But he was more intelligent and powerful than them. They used to shout loudly while playing like their parents and uncles. Narakadev Axibalba was very upset to hear them screaming loudly. As before, he sent two envoys to summon Axibalbar. And came there and lost to Axibalba.
Expedition to the hell of the twin gods
Then the two brothers set out for hell. They knew in advance from their mother what had happened to their father and uncle. Knowing that, they set out for hell. They did not fall into the trap of the gods of hell. They passed as many exams as Axibalba allowed them to sit.
Then the enraged Axibalba took refuge in deception. He took the form of a mosquito and bit the two brothers. But nothing happened. They chased the mosquito with a piece of wood like a hook to kill it, forcing the mosquito to flee for its life. Then when Axibalba ordered them to sit on the wooden bench, they subtly disobeyed that order. Hunahpu and Axibalenkhuye told Narakadev that they had come to play, not to sit. Doesn't the god of hell want to play with them for fear of losing? So are you wasting time doing that?
Axibalba vs. Axibalengkhue and Hunahpu
Needless to say, Axibalba ignited the arrogance of the two brothers. His idea is that the two brothers are insulting him by saying such things in front of all the angels of hell. He was angry and did not tell the two brothers that he was not afraid. Let's sit down to play. Axibalenkhuye and Hunahpu smiled when they heard that. This is what they wanted.
Axibalba knew he could not win against two brothers if he played the right way. Because he has aged; Meanwhile, the two brothers are younger, faster, so they are more likely to win. So he started playing with a forked ball. His two hands were wrapped in thick cloth. As a result, he was not afraid to cut his hand. But the two brothers did not have it. They got angry because of the mischievous attempt to play such an unjust game on Axibalbar. They made it clear that they would not play Axibalba if they did not play fairly. Then he was forced to play with a good and thorn free ball.
The two brothers knew very well that if they won, they would not return alive from hell. So cleverly they started playing for Harbor. The result is. Axibalba won easily. Then the game of ice began to jump over the fire. Each time the two brothers lost intentionally.
Two brothers died
Eventually the real game began in the last game of hell with the two brothers. The two brothers didn't feel good about losing every match. And so they really won the last match. That's when Axibalba realized that the two brothers had cheated on him. They also realized that they had lost all the matches on purpose. Angered, he told the two brothers to jump into a huge furnace. The two brothers agreed to jump into it. Two brothers died. Then hell threw their ashes into the river of blood. Little did he know that this was a secret game between two brothers. The two brothers knew that they would be resurrected as soon as they were thrown into the river. But not in human form, but in the form of cuttlefish. That's why they agreed to jump. For this a secret mantra had to be said. Before jumping, the two brothers memorized the mantra. As a result, it was not difficult to return to life in the form of cuttlefish.
Axibalba was shocked to see their amazing magic. He brought the two brothers back to human form from the form of a cuttlefish. Then he wanted to know the secret of coming back alive. The two brothers told him how they had made this possible. Not only this, with the help of fire you can do welding. They lied about a mantra and said that you have to jump on this mantra. The king of hell will return the way they survived. Stupid Axibalba believed that and jumped into that huge furnace. As a result, he died. He buried his ashes in the ground. As a result, there was no possibility of Axibalbar returning. In this way Axibalenkhuye and Hunahpu won!
Interesting information about Axibalenkhuye and Hunahpu
Similar stories of these twin heroes are found in other Mesoamerican civilizations.
The Mayas believed that Axibalenkhuye and Hunahpu were the rulers of the earth and the gods of the sky, respectively. Later the two were transformed into Chandradev and Suryadev respectively.
According to the Puranas, the two brothers later managed to bring his father and uncle back from hell alive.
The Mayas believed that the Maya emperor was in fact the son of Hunahpu, not Axibalenkhuye. This is why Mayara respected Ahao so much.
There are many rhymes about these two brothers in many literatures of Maya. And there are many pictures of the two in many pyramids.