The Mayans are well-known for their luxuriant spiritual rites and blood is really critical in any sacred events. Religion has a cardinal portion in Mayan being and these people are convinced that blood forfeit can pacify their Gods. sometimes traveling every bit far as taking the bosom of a human to be sacrificed to the divinities. This sort of ceremonial is agonizingly painful that resulted. more frequently than non. to the decease of the forfeit. But the twins are non terrified with this world. They know that this is one Mayan belief that they have to make for the goodness of humanity.
Despite the inventiveness and fast ones they used against the Xibalbas. the underworld animals still outnumber them. The twins decide that merely selflessness can get the better of their antagonists. The Xibalbas ask for the heroes to play with them in a game of jumping over the immense balefire four times. Although they know it is a fast one. Hunahpu and Xbalanque still jump non over but straight into the oral cavity of the fire and they burn to ashes. That is their first forfeit. They make the Xibalbas believe that they perished.
In conformity with the Mayan construct that the psyche of every human being will be reincarnated as an animate being that was associated with the person’s birthday. the ashes of the twins become fish which. later on. bends into the human signifiers of the twins. In camouflage. they perform many charming fast ones that amaze the Xibalbas’s Gods. The twins perform their 2nd forfeit. By Xibalbas’ petition. Xbalanque cut and kill Hunahpu. so brings him back to life at one time. The twins do this to affect the Xibalbas that leads to the eventual licking of the underworld animals and. more significantly. gives peace to the life of the worlds above.
The Mayans believe in dualism of everything: female and male. dark and twenty-four hours. Sun and Moon. worlds and animate beings. humanity and deity. nature and spirit. life and decease. good and evil. The twins symbolize the two spheres of the Earth: the universe of worlds and the underworld. The universe of worlds is signified as the good and the underworld symbolizes evil. The dark forces of immorality from the underworld. like the savages. the wicked and the evildoers. lurk at dark because their colour was concealed by darkness. as if indirectly stating that sinners can non be at daylight ; therefore twenty-four hours and dark besides typify good and evil.
The heroes can easy pass over out all the staying Xibalbas. but they do non make this to find the beginning of malignity among worlds and. in this instance. the Xibalbas. Besides. they allow the underworld to be because it is a fitting topographic point to penalize sinners. therefore keeping the balance of the natural universe. Hunahpu and Xbalanque are besides depicted as corn ( maize ) Gods. Their descension into the underworld and their Ascension to the sky are likened to the planting of the meats of the maize in the land that sprout.
It is known that corn is the Mayan basic nutrient. This symbolizes the hero twins as life givers and upholders of the Mayans. In both narratives. the Gods are depicted as infantile and hungry of flattery from the persons ; in some cases they are going good stories. They act impetuously when offended because they are non bound by any moral and ethical rules. Worlds have to endure their immature and capricious temper swings. They don’t even care about the predicament of the worlds.
The Xibalba Gods ( Hero Twins ) wreck mayhem on the worlds while the Gods in Gilgamesh send a great inundation that wipe out all populating things on Earth. except Parnapishtim. his household and some animate beings in the boat. The difference is that the Gods in Gilgamesh plaint at and repent the devastation they create. while the Xibalbas did non even flinch at their malignity. On the other manus. the two myths have some similarities when it comes to animate beings. The animate beings can interact straight with the worlds and some of them possess human traits. The louse. for illustration. is sent to give a message to the twins.
Similarly. Gilgamesh’s comrade. Enkidu. drinks and eat with his carnal friends and the allalu-bird. the king of beasts. and the Equus caballus are cited to hold sexual intercourse with Ishtar ( or Inanna ) . the goddess of sexual love. The difference is the worlds in the Hero Twins can hold the animate beings at their bid while this barely happens in Gilgamesh.
Works Cited:
• Bentley. Jerry and Ziegler. Herbert ( 2008 ) . Traditions & A ; Brushs: A Global Perspective on the Past ( 4th edition ) . McGraw-Hill Higher Education • Popol Vuh. Retrieved March 25. 2009 from hypertext transfer protocol: //www. meta-religion. com/World_Religions/Ancient_religions/Central_america/popol_vuh. htm
