color & myth

Our oldest stories are often, in turns, staggeringly grotesque, or frighteningly beautiful. Foreign, inscrutable, and then suddenly the flash of a familiar gesture, or of a face we recognize as our own. Some of the best, I think, are full of gaps and ambiguities, scarred and pitted like the surface of the moon, colorless, to be approached and read directly by touch. A kind of ragged braille. Wooden or marble statues, unadorned, some missing arms and legs, others headless.

Describing those sculptures plundered by the British from the Parthenon in the early 19^th century, Matthew Gurewitsch observes how “such fragments are overwhelmingly abstract, thus, quintessentially ‘modern.’ And for most of us, that’s not a problem. We’re modern too. We like our antiquities that way.”

Gurewitsch goes on to explain how upsetting it was for people when, in 2003, a German archaeologist named Vinzenz Brinkmann began revealing to the public how classical antiquities were actually once painted, like so many garden gnomes or lawn jockeys smeared over with loud colors.

Mexico City’s Templo Mayor Museum has been doing similar work reconstructing the color palates once painted over the 10-ton basalt stelae of the Mexica and Aztec goddesses Coyolxauhqui and Tlaltecuhtli, along with other pieces that have been turning up over the past 40 years. (The Templo Mayor site was initially discovered by excavation workers in the course of placing underground cable for a new metro line.)

A couple metro stops away, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the exhibition “Picasso y Rivera: conversaciones a través del tiempo” includes some pieces along similar lines—Picasso depictions of classical myths and Rivera watercolors of scenes from the Popol Vuh.

The Cretan Labyrinth

“Daedalus, an architect famous for his skill, constructed the maze, confusing the usual marks of direction, and leading the eye of the beholder astray by devious paths winding in different directions. Just as the playful waters of the Maeander in Phrygia flow this way and that, without any consistency, as the river turning to meet itself, sees its own advancing waves, flowing now towards its source and now towards the open sea, always changing its direction, so Daedalus constructed countless wandering paths and was himself scarcely able to find his way back to the entrance, so confusing was the maze.

“There Minos imprisoned the monster, half-bull, half-man, and twice feasted him on Athenian blood; but when, after a further interval of nine years, a third band of victims was demanded, this brought about  the creature’s downfall. For, thanks to the help of the princess Ariadne, Theseus rewound the thread he had laid, retraced his steps, and found the elusive gateway as none of his predecessors had managed to.”

—Metamorphoses, Ovid

The Creation of the Animals

Then were conceived the animals of the mountains, the guardians of the forest, and all that populate the mountains—the deer and the birds, the puma and the jaguar, the serpent and the rattlesnake, the pit viper and the guardian of the bushes.

She Who Has Borne Children and He Who Has Begotten Sons then asked:

“Shall it be merely solitary, merely silent beneath the trees and the bushes? It is well that there shall be guardians for them,” they said.

Thus they considered and spoke together, and immediately were created the deer and the birds. Having done this, they then provided homes for the deer and the birds:

“You, deer, will sleep along the courses of rivers and in the canyons. Here you will be in the meadows and in the orchards. In the forests you shall multiply. You will walk on all fours, and thus you will be able to stand,” they were told.

Then they established the homes of the birds, both small and great.

“You, birds, you will make your homes and your houses in the tops of trees, and in the tops of bushes. There you will multiply and increase in numbers in the branches of the trees and the bushes,” the deer and the birds were told.

When this had been done, all of them received their places to sleep and their places to rest. Homes were provided for the animals on the earth by She Who Has Borne Children and He Who Has Begotten Sons. Thus all was completed for the deer and the birds.

The Creation of the Mud Person

Thus there was another attempt to frame and shape man by the Framer and the Shaper, by She Who Has Borne Children and He Who Has Begotten Sons:

“Let us try again before the first sowing, before the dawn approaches. Let us make a provider, a sustainer for us. How shall we then be called upon so that we are remembered upon the face of the earth? We have already made a first attempt with what we have framed and what we have shaped. But we were not successful in being worshiped or in being revered by them. Thus, let us try again to make one who will honor us, who will respect us; one who will be a provider and a sustainer,” they said.

Then was the framing, the making of it. Of earth and mud was its flesh composed. But they saw that it was still not good. It merely came undone and crumbled. It merely became sodden and mushy. It merely fell apart and dissolved. Its head was not set apart properly. Its face could only look in one direction. Its face was hidden. Neither could it look about. At first it spoke, but without knowledge. Straightaway it would merely dissolve in water, for it was not strong.

Then said the Framer and the Shaper: “We have made a mistake; thus let this be merely a mistake. It cannot walk, neither can it multiply. Then let it be so. Let it be merely left behind as a thing of no importance,” they said. Therefore they undid it. They toppled what they had framed, what they had shaped.

The Fall of the Effigies of Carved Wood

Then came the end of the effigies carved of wood, for they were ruined, crushed, and killed. A flood was planned by Heart of Sky that came down upon the heads of the effigies carved of wood.

The body of man had been carved of tz'ite wood by the Framer and the Shaper. The body of woman consisted of reeds according to the desire of the Framer and the Shaper. But they were not capable of understanding and did not speak before their Framer and their Shaper, their makers and their creators.

Thus they were killed in the flood. There came a great resin down from the sky. There came the ones called Chiselers of Faces, who gouged out their eyes. There came Death Knives, which cut off their heads. There came Crouching Jaguar, who ate their flesh. There came Striking Jaguar, who struck them. They smashed their bones and their tendons.

Their bones were ground up. They were broken into pieces. Their faces were ground up because they proved to be incapable of understanding before the face of their mother and the face of their father, Heart of Sky, Huracan by name.

Thus they caused the face of the earth to be darkened, and there fell a black rain, a rain that fell both day and night. The small and the great animals came in upon them. Their faces were crushed by the trees and the stones. They were spoken to by all their maize grinders and their cooking griddles, their plates and their pots, their dogs and their grinding stones. However many things they had, all of them crushed their faces.

Their dogs and their turkeys said to them: “Pain you have caused us. You ate us. Therefore it will be you that we will eat now.”

Then the grinding stones said this to them: “We were ground upon by you. Every day, every day, in the evening and at dawn, always you did holi, holi, huki, huki on our faces. This was our service for you who were the first people. But this day you shall feel our strength. We shall grind you like maize. We shall grind up your flesh,” said their grinding stones to them.

Then their dogs said this to them: “Why was it that you didn’t give us our food? All we did was look at you, and you chased us away. You threw us out. You raised sticks against us to beat us while you ate. Thus you have spoken to us. We could not speak; therefore we received nothing from you. How could you not have understood this? You did understand. We were forgotten because of you. This day, therefore, you shall try the teeth that are in our mouths. We shall eat you,” said the dogs to them. Thus their faces were crushed.

Then spoke also their griddles and their pots to them: “Pain you have caused us. Our mouths and our faces are sooty. You were forever throwing us upon the fire and burning us. Although we felt no pain, you now shall try it. We shall burn you,” said all of their pots. Thus their faces were all crushed.

The stones of the hearth flattened them. They would come out from the fire, landing on their heads and causing them pain. They fled. They hurried away. They wanted to climb up on top of the houses, but the houses would fall apart beneath them and they were thrown off. They wanted to climb up to the tops of the trees, but the trees would not support them. They wanted to hide in caves, but the mouths of the caves closed up before their faces.

Thus the framed people, the shaped people, were undone. They were demolished and overthrown as people. The mouths and the faces of all of them were ruined and crushed.

It is said that the spider monkeys that are in the forest today are descendants of these people. This was their heritage because their flesh was merely wood when it was created by the Framer and the Shaper. Therefore the spider monkeys appear like people, descendants of one generation of framed and shaped people. But they were only effigies carved of wood.

The Descent of Hunahpu and Xbalanque into Xibalba

… But they didn’t light the torch. They just placed the red tail feather of a macaw on it as a substitute for flame. Thus the night watchmen saw it as if it were burning. As for the cigars, they just put fireflies on their tips. All night they would glow brilliantly because of them.

“We have defeated them,” said the night watchmen. But the torch was not used up, for it was only an illusion. Neither did the cigars have anything burning on them. It was merely an illusion as well. Thus they returned them whole to the lords: “What becomes of them? Where did they come from? Who begat them? Who gave them birth? Truly our hearts are troubled, for it is not good what they are doing to us. Their appearance as well as their nature are unique,” they said one to another.

Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the House of Cold

And so they now entered the House of Cold. The cold here was immeasurable. The interior of the House of Cold was thick with hail. But straightaway the boys caused the cold to dissipate. They did it in. They ruined and destroyed the cold. Thus they did not die, but rather were alive when it dawned again. The Xibalbans had wanted them to die there, but this was not to be. Instead they were just fine when the dawn came. So then their guardians came again to summon them. “What is this? Haven’t they died?” asked the lords of Xibalba. And again they marveled at the deeds of the boys, Hunahpu and Xbalanque.

Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the House of Jaguars

Next they entered into Jaguar House, which was crowded inside with jaguars: “Do not eat us. We will give you what is yours,” the jaguars were told. Then they scattered bones before the beasts, who voraciously crunched them. The hearts of the night watchmen found this sweet, saying, “They are finished. They have given themselves up. They have eaten their hearts, and now these are their skeletons that are being gnawed upon.”

But they didn’t die. They were just fine when they came out again from Jaguar House. “What kind of people are these? Where have they come from?” asked all the Xibalbans.

Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the House of Fire

Next they went into the fire, for there was a House of Fire. There was nothing but fire inside. But they were not burned. They were to have been roasted and set aflame. Instead they were just fine when dawn came. It had been desired that they would straightaway die when they passed through there, but it was not so. Thus all the Xibalbans lost heart as a result.

Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the House of Bats

Next they were put inside Bat House, which had only bats inside. It was a house of death bats. These were great beasts with snouts like blades that they used as murderous weapons. When they arrived there, they were to be finished off. They had to crawl inside their blowguns to sleep so that they would not be eaten there in this house. Nevertheless, it was because of a single death bat that they gave themselves up in defeat. It came swooping down. But this was merely a way to manifest themselves when it occurred.

Thus they pleaded for wisdom all that night as the bats made a din with their flapping wings. “Keeleetz! Keeleetz!” they said all night long. At length things quieted a little, and the bats became motionless. Thus one of the boys crawled to the end of his blowgun.

Xbalanque said, “Hunahpu, do you see the dawn yet?” “I will go and see for certain if has happened,” he replied. Hunahpu truly wanted to look out of the mouth of his blowgun to see the dawn. But when he did so, his head was cut off by the death bat,393 leaving the greater part of his body behind. “What? Hasn’t it dawned yet?” asked Xbalanque. But Hunahpu did not move. “What is going on? Hunahpu wouldn’t have left. What then has he done?” But nothing moved; only the rustling of wings was heard.

Thus Xbalanque was ashamed: “Alas, we have given in already,” he said. At the word of One Death and Seven Death, the head was placed atop the ballcourt. Thus all the Xibalbans rejoiced because of the head of Hunahpu.

Then Xbalanque summoned all of the animals—the coati and the peccary, and all the animals both small and great—while it was still dark, early in the morning. He then entreated them for their food: “I send each of you to bring the food that belongs to you,” said Xbalanque to them. “Very well,” they said. Then they all went to obtain what was theirs. When they returned they were many.

One brought back rotten things, another brought leaves, another brought stones, and yet another brought dirt. Thus the animals, both small and great, each brought their various foods. Now after many had come, the coati arrived last of all bringing a chilacayote squash. She came rolling it along with her nose.

This was to be transformed into the head of Hunahpu. Immediately its eyes were carved upon it. Numerous sages came down from the sky. For Heart of Sky, he who is Huracan, appeared here. He arrived here in Bat House. But the face wasn’t completed successfully in time. Only its beautiful covering had appeared. It only had the ability to speak by the time the horizon of the sky began to redden, for it was about to dawn.

Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the House of the Grandmother

Thus when they wanted to come back down, One Batz and One Chouen couldn’t climb down from the top of the tree. They therefore called down from the top of the tree: “What can we say, our younger brothers? Take pity on us. This tree is truly frightening to see, our younger brothers,” they called down from the top of the tree. Thus Hunahpu and Xbalanque called back to them: “Loosen your loincloths and retie the long end below your bellies. Pull out the tail end behind you. Then you will be able to walk freely,” they were told by their younger brothers.

“Fine,” they said. And so they pulled out the ends of their loincloths, and these immediately became tails. They appeared just like spider monkeys. Thus they went up into the tops of the trees there in the small mountains and the great mountains. They went out into the forests, howling and chattering loudly in the branches of the trees. Thus was the defeat of One Batz and One Chouen at the hands of Hunahpu and Xbalanque. It was merely by their enchantments that it was done.

—Popol Vuh

related: March 2013