Popol Vuh

The authors of the Popol Vuh announce that they will tell the story of Hunahpu and Xbalanque’s father. Christenson translates the statement: “We shall retell it” (100). The authors will tell the renowned story of the twin boys’ father, One Hunahpu, in the following sections.  

Xpiyacoc and Xmucane have two sons named One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu. One Hunahpu and his wife, Xbaquiyalo, also have two sons of their own, named One Batz and One Chouen. Seven Hunahpu has no wife or children, but accompanies One Hunahpu as a close friend and servant. Together, One Hunahpu and Seven Hunahpu are great thinkers who pass on their talents to One Batz and One Chouen. As a result, One Batz and One Chouen possess multiple artistic abilities from music to metalwork.

One Hunahpu, Seven Hunahpu, One Batz, and One Chouen would play dice and ball every day above Xibalba, the underworld. Their game-playing causes so much noise through their stomping and shouting that they incite the ire of the lords of Xibalba, One Death and Seven Death. They feel that their ruckus is disrespectful to the underworld, so they plan to invite the four gods to Xibalba to play ball and defeat them at their own game.