In Maya mythology Xibalba (IPA: [ʃɨbʊlbə]), roughly translated as "Place of fear",^[1] is the name of the underworld, ruled by Mayan spirits of disease and death. In the 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the vicinity of Cobán, Guatemala. To some of the Quiché descendants of the Maya people 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. ^[2] Another physical incarnation of the road to Xibalba as viewed by the Quiché peoples is the dark rift which is visible in the Milky Way.^[3] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... // In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly dead souls go. ... The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus (breath). // The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath (compare spiritus asper), but also soul, courage, vigor, ultimately from a PIE root *(s)peis- (to blow). In the Vulgate, the Latin word translates Greek (πνευμα), pneuma (Hebrew (רוח) ruah), as... The term disease refers to an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs function. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The city of Cobán is the capital of the department of Alta Verapaz in Guatemala. ... The Kiche (or Quiché in Spanish spelling), are a Native American people, part of the Maya ethnic group. ... The Milky Way as seen from Death Valley The Milky Way is the galaxy where the Solar System (and Earth) is located. ...

Inhabitants

Xibalba is described in the Popol Vuh as a court below the surface of the Earth. It is unclear if the inhabitants of Xibalba are the souls of the deceased or a separate race of beings worshipping death, but they are often depicted as being human-like in form. The place Xibalba was associated with death and was ruled by twelve gods or powerful rulers known as the Lords of Xibalba. The first among the Lords of Xibalba were One Death and Seven Death. 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.^[1] 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. The Popol Vuh (Quiché for Council Book or Book of the Community; Popol Wuj in modern spelling) is the book of scripture of the Quiché, a kingdom of the post classic Maya civilization in highland Guatemala. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The demon Satan In folklore, mythology, and religion, a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as an evil spirit, but is also depicted to be good in some instances. ...

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 ball court.^[4] Also mentioned are the homes of the Lords, gardens, and other structures indicating that Xibalba was at least a great city. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Ulama game. ...

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.^[5] 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 Xibalban 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. Superfamilies Pseudochactoidea Buthoidea Chaeriloidea Chactoidea Iuroidea Scorpionoidea See classification for families. ... A wooden mannequin For other uses, see Mannequin (disambiguation). ...

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.^[6]

Downfall of Xibalba

Sport was important among ancient Mesoamerican cultures, and the Lords of Xibalba were no exception to the rule. Xibalba was home of a famous ball court in which the heroes of the Popol Vuh succumbed to the trickery of the Xibalbans in the form of a deadly, bladed ball, as well as the site in which the Maya Hero Twins outwitted the Xibalbans and brought about their downfall.^[7] The Hero Twins feature prominently in Maya mythology. ...

According to the Popol Vuh, the Xibalbans at one point enjoyed the worship of the people on the surface of the Earth, who offered human sacrifice to the gods of death. Over the span of time covered in the Popol Vuh, the Xibalbans are tricked into accepting counterfeit sacrifices, and then finally humiliated into accepting lesser offerings from above. Anthropologist Dennis Tedlock has speculated that this version of history may be a Quichean slander on earlier Mayan forms of worship.

The role of Xibalba and the Xibalbans after their great defeat at the hands of the hero twins is unclear, although it seems to have continued its existence as a dark place of the underworld long after.

Cultural References

• Featured in the film The Fountain
• Featured in the film Strangeland
• Featured in the film The Road to Eldorado

The Fountain is a 2006 science fiction / fantasy film directed by Darren Aronofsky that follows three interwoven narratives that take place in the age of conquistadors, the modern day period, and the far future. ... Strangeland is a American horror film released in 1998. ... The Road to El Dorado is an animated comedy film by DreamWorks SKG released in 2000. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Hooker, Richard. Native American Creation Stories. Washington State University.
2. ^ Walker, Amélie A. (June 2000). My Trip to Xibalba and Back. Archaeological Institute of America.
3. ^ Mizrach, Steve. The Mayan Sacbe System Analyzed as an Information Web. Florida International University.
4. ^ Palmer III, William. Maya Ballgame. University of Maine, Fogler Library.
5. ^ Popol Vuh, Chapter II.
6. ^ Hero Twins. Mythweb.
7. ^ Twins in mythology. Simon Fraser University.

• Dennis Tedlock, Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings. Touchstone Books (1996). ISBN 0-684-81845-0.

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