Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky. David Bowles
One Hunahpu’s head there beside the ball court. There is a greater power at work here, respected friends. You must not sacrifice me.”
The owls looked upon her unblinking for quite some time. They had known her all her life, had watched her grow into a delightful young woman. Deceit was not her nature. And even if she were lying, they realized with a start, they did not wish her to die.
“But what can we take in place of your heart, Lady Blood? Your father demanded we bring it to the king and queen today.”
“My heart will never belong to them. And you, friends, must no longer call this place your home. Never again let them force you to kill someone unjustly. There, upon the sea-ringed world, you can harry true villains. From now on, let the King and Queen of Death taste only blood, sap, resin. No more hearts burned in their presence. Not mine, not anyone’s.”
She placed her palm on a cochineal croton tree. “Drain the sap from this plant. Collect it in your gourd.”
They used the blade to slice the trunk until sap dribbled out. The red resin congealed in the makeshift bowl, forming a lump like a heart surrounded by what appeared to be clotted blood.
“On the surface of the world you will be blessed,” said the maiden to the owls with a happy smile. “You will have all you desire.”
“So be it, Lady. We will accompany and serve you. But go on ahead while we present this false heart to the dark lords.”
When the Royal Guard arrived in the council chambers, the fell aristocracy of the netherworld had already gathered.
“Has it been done?” asked the King of Death.
“Indeed, Your Majesty. Here is her heart in this gourd.”
“Very well. Let us see.” The king lifted out the coagulated sap, which looked for all the world like a heart glazed with ruddy gore.
“Excellent. Stir up the fire—let us set it among the coals.”
Once the resinous clump was thrown upon the fire, the dark lords delighted in the aroma of its burning. They stood near, leaned into the smoke, delighted at the sweet smell.
As they watched it bubble and hiss, the owls slipped away, overtaking the maiden and leading her up through caverns, out of the bleak Land of the Dead and onto the surface of the earth.
And that is how the dark lords were first defeated, every one of them tricked by a maiden.
Their Birth and Childhood
Following the instructions she had been given by One and Seven Hunahpu, Lady Blood finally arrived where Ixmukane lived with One Monkey and One Artisan. She carried sons in her womb—soon they would be born, twins named Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
Standing before the grandmother, the maiden announced:
“Here I am, Lady Mother—your daughter-in-law, your own sweet child.”
“What?” demanded Ixmukane. “Who are you? Where are you from? How can you be my daughter-in-law when my boys have both died in the Land of the Dead? Look upon these two: One Monkey and One Artisan, their true blood and heirs. Now go. Get out!”
Wincing at the shouts, Lady Blood did not move. “Regardless, I am still your daughter-in-law. I belong to your sons. One and Seven Hunahpu are not dead, Lady Mother. They live on in what I carry. They have turned dark tragedy to brightest hope, as you will see for yourself in the faces of my sons.”
The other woman scoffed. “Daughter-in-law indeed. No, you lying wench, I have no need of you or the fruit of your disgrace. My sons are dead, I tell you. You are clearly an impostor!”
Lady Blood remained where she was, head high. After a few moments, Ixmukane frowned. “Right. You claim to be my daughter-in-law. If that is true, then go bring food for these boys. A netful of ripe ears of corn from our milpa.”
“As you say,” the maiden replied. She walked along the road that One and Seven Hunahpu had cleared until it opened onto the family milpa. One lone clump of cornstalks stood in its midst, with a single ear dangling from it.
“Oh, I am but a sinner, a debtor!” Lady Blood cried. “Where will I get the netful of food she has demanded?”
Then she remembered who she was, a noblewoman from the Land of the Dead, powerful and commanding. Lifting her hands, she called out to the guardians of food:
“Arise now, come, O Lady of Tribute, O Lady of Maize-Gold, O Lady of Cocoa Beans, O Lady of the Shameless Day! Come, you guardians of the food of One Monkey and One Artisan!”
Then, seizing the cornsilk at the top of the ear, she yanked upward. Though she did not pick the corn, it multiplied magically, filling her net till it overflowed. Calling to the animals of the field, she enlisted their help in transporting the load back to the house. Once they had arrived, the creatures brought her a carrying frame, and she made herself break out in a sweat so her mother-in-law would believe she had brought the net alone.
Ixmukane emerged from the house and was astonished at the mound of food. “Where did you get that corn? Did you steal it? Let me go see if you have stripped the milpa bare!”
She rushed to the field to find the clump of cornstalks intact and the impression of the net sunken deep in the earth. Something miraculous had occurred. And where there was one miracle, there could be others. She hurried back home and spoke to Lady Blood.
“This is surely a sign that you are, in truth, my daughter-in-law. I will keep watch over all that you do. Those grandchildren of mine you carry must already be as magical.”
The day at last arrived, but Lady Blood was on the mountain, so Ixmukane did not witness the birth. Labor came upon the maiden suddenly, and the twins were born: Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
When their mother finally brought them down to the house, they could not sleep and made quite a fuss.
“Take them back to the mountain and leave them there,” Ixmukane told her other two grandsons. “They just will not stop screaming.”
So One Monkey and One Artisan dumped them on an anthill, hoping they would die, but the babies slept soundly and were not harmed. The jealous half-brothers then threw them in the brambles, from which their mother soon rescued them. Neither had a scratch.
In the end the older boys simply would not accept their half-brothers or Lady Blood into their home. The maiden had to raise her sons in the mountains, aided by animals and other beings. Over the years they learned to harness the divine energy that was their birthright, to communicate with the animals, to hunt with a blowgun, to coax melodies from the flute, and, above all, to play ball with such skill as to make their fathers very proud.
When they were able to fend for themselves, Lady Blood left them, knowing their destiny could not be fulfilled at her side. Once their mother was gone, Hunahpu and Xbalanque spent their days shooting their blowguns and felling prey. Though they had never received love or food from their fathers’ family, the boys began to visit their grandmother’s home again, avoiding mealtime in order to minimize conflicts. Silently, understanding their low rank in the family, they suffered the rudeness of their grandmother and older brothers, making a gift of fowl each day with the full understanding that they would never have a bite from the fruit of their own labor, which was devoured by their older siblings without a word of thanks.
One Monkey and One Artisan had suffered greatly from the loss of their father and uncle, but they had grown in stature through the years, becoming in many ways the equals of One and Seven Hunahpu. However, though as talented and wise as their father, the brothers felt such envy of the twins, their half-brothers, that their hearts were filled with hate, keeping them from showing true wisdom. Their natural foresight told them that their young brothers were destined for greatness, but they did nothing to encourage those abilities.
Finally, Hunahpu and Xbalanque decided to put an end to their siblings’ cruelty. “We’ll just turn their beastly nature against them. It’ll be a fitting payment. If they’d had their way,