Nim-ja’ Ti’ Puh, River of Pus, flowed slowly, not in pulses like Nim-ja’ Ti’ K’i’ik, but just a slow continuous oozing. It was yellow pus, with many rough circles of green, red, and black purulence bubbling up and down, crashing wildly and suppurating into each other as they moved downstream. Very often, there was also a white circular body with an inner pulsating darker mass.
“Nim-ja’ Ti’ K’i’ik,” repeated Xbalanque. “How do you cross, Warrior? Remember, you cannot enter. You have to cross.”
What do I know about pus? The only thing close to Medical I did was a Red Cross course as part of my non-commissioned officer training. “I don’t suppose you are on speaking terms with Cabrakan?” I asked, looking at the Hero Twins.
“You must jest,” scoffed Hunahpu. “We humiliated him and buried him forever in a deep hole beneath U Wach Ulew.”
“Can’t you release him for a little while in exchange for some help?”
“Never!” asserted Hunahpu. “He would release Zipacna and together they would seek us out and try to kill us. Also, we have our arrangement with U K’ux Kaj. They stay where they are.”
“Is there another Earthquake god?”
Hunahpu looked at Xbalanque, closed his eyes in exasperation then answered. “There is Kisin, but he is evil and he doesn’t like us very much. I don’t want to make an arrangement with him. What do you want, anyhow?”
“I want an earthquake that makes a deep crack in the riverbed beneath the Nim-ja’ Ti’ K’i’ik, open just long enough for the pus to flow into it. That will leave the riverbed beyond the crack empty until the crack closes again. I want the crack open only long enough for us to cross.”
“Us?”
“Me!”
“Hmph!”
The Hero Twins looked at each other. “Well,” replied Hunahpu. “Kisin keeps the souls of Warriors killed in battle in his domain for some time. As you are a Warrior, we will see what arrangements we can make.” Before I could say anything, they disappeared then they were back. “All done,” Hunahpu informed me.
Immediately, the ground began to shake and I felt it moving apart as the pus began pouring into a deep fault that had opened in the riverbed. The level of the purulent liquid beyond was surging downward and quickly fell away. The odor, however, remained and was horrendous.
“Ko’one’ex!” I shouted. Of course, the Hero Twins were awaiting us on the opposite bank. As soon as the servants and I arrived, the ground shook again and the fault closed and the Nim-ja’ Ti’ K’i’ik flowed as it normally did.
“Ubi pus, ibi evacua” I said aloud. “Where there is pus, there evacuate.” I jumped up, making a loud war whoop.
“You’re obviously very pleased with yourself,” grinned Xbalanque. “Ubi pus, ibi evacua?”
I shook my head. “One never knows. One never knows. I did that Red Cross course only because I had to. I supposed, deep down, I knew I might need it at some time. But here? Who would have believed?” I saw the Hero Twins looking at me, puzzled. “My lecturer said the phrase. Ubi pus, ibi evacua. Where there is pus, there evacuate.”
“Well, all’s well that ends well. That’s a phrase the citizens of U Wach Ulew like to say,” said Hunahpu. “With them, however, things rarely end well … and most likely won’t.”
I was concerned by his comment, but decided to ignore it. I would follow up on that later, when or if I could. “What arrangement did you make with Kisin?” I asked,
“Oh, that!” responded Hunahpu, nonchalantly.
“I don’t like the sound of ‘that’.”
Hunahpu shrugged his shoulders. “As you are a Warrior, if you are killed in battle, as all Warriors desire, we told Kisin that you agreed to remain with him forever once you arrived in his domain.” I opened my mouth to object, but Hunahpu held up his hand. “All you have to do to outsmart him is not to die in battle.”
“I suppose that will be easy,” I responded, sarcastically.
“Do you want our help or not?” I sighed and nodded. “Now all that is left of these first trials take place at the krus-be of the four sacbeobs up ahead. You will have to pick the one which will take you to Xibalba. Don’t let them trick you,” said Xbalanque.
“Trick me? Who will trick me?”
“The sacbeobs, of course,” he answered as he turned to resume walking, leaving me very puzzled.
We continued and, overhead, the Xibalba sky continued to redden. Lightning and thunder persisted, now and then, from all areas surrounding us. There were times when lightning shafts raced from two or three points on the ground, meeting high above us then spreading across the entire dome. The smell of sulphur was very evident and in that dark desolate rock filled land, fountains of fire, smoke, and ash rose intermittently.
“Well, we are here, Warrior,” declared Hunahpu. “You now have the last trial of the sacbeob to Xibalba. Stand in the middle of the krus-be and decide which sacbeob will take you to Xibalba. Don’t make a mistake.”
“And hurry,” moaned Xbalanque. “We want to arrive before the gates to the city are opened.”
I wanted to ask why, but I decided to forego that and concentrate on the task before me. Which sacbeob do I choose? I remembered Hunahpu saying, “You always travel towards where Kinich Ahau begins his night journey.” How the fok was I supposed to know where Kinich Ahau began his night journey? Everything was red. There was no single Kinich Ahau, just a diffused redness. I sat, facing away from the sacbeob we had just come through, fine ash blowing across my face.
“Now he’s sitting,” groaned Xbalanque. “And the wind is picking up. Perhaps we should call on Ahmakiq.334 This flying dust is unbearable.”
I ignored him, thinking, trying to pull anything from my past that might be relevant. The Red Cross Course had helped me at the River of Pus, Nim-ja’ Ti’ Puh. I had to find something to help me at the krus-be. Then I made a terrible mistake. I stood and looked around, turning several times. I stopped and turned. Everywhere looked the same and I couldn’t identify which sacbeob I had traveled on. Oh fok! I held my head and sat again.
“Take me,” demanded a voice to my right.
“No! Me!” insisted a voice to my left.
“Don’t be a fool, Warrior. You’re looking straight ahead. That’s the correct direction. I am the sacbeob to choose. I will take you where you’re looking. That’s the correct direction.”
“Don’t listen to any of them,” came from behind me. “You are in Xibalba, a place full of trickery. They all want to trick you … that is, except for me. I’m the sacbeob to take.”
“Pick me. The others are deceitful and will lead you away from Xibalba. I am your slave, Warrior. How can I do otherwise than to take you to Xibalba?”
“Are you confused, Warrior? How can you be sure that I am not the sacbeob you should walk on? Or is it the one over there, or the other one over there. Heh-heh! Heh-heh! Once you have reached the krus-be, any sacbeob could be the one to take you to Xibalba. Heh-heh! Heh-heh!”
“I am smooth, cool, and quick to travel on, Warrior.”
“No, you aren’t. You are rocky and filled with gorges. Warrior, you’ll never make it to Xibalba on that sacbeob.”
Xbalanque had said, ‘You are lucky that you are already on the sacbeob leading us to the west’ … they had cautioned me to listen to them.
“I move. I will carry you to Xibalba. You won’t even have to make a step and you will arrive at the Gates of Xibalba.”
“The Warrior is wise. Why do you think he’s called ‘Fuck’?”
“He will choose me. Boo-hoo! Boo-hoo!”
“Bah! He’s not foolish. He’s the great Warrior that scribes and artisans write and sing about. He will choose me!”
I wanted to think, but their continuous babbling was confusing me. I placed my hands over my ears, but I still heard them. I removed my hands from my ears and held onto Bas’ Green Scapular instead. I looked at each of the four sacbeobs, in turn. I couldn’t
tell if they were exactly aligned with the four cardinal points, but I had to begin to formulate a strategy. Taat had taught me that each cardinal point was associated with a color: north with white, south with yellow, east with red, and west with black. If Xibalba was where Kinich Ahau began his night journey, then the city would be in the west, just as Xbalanque had indicated. I had to find out which sacbeob was going west.
“I like the color red,” I shouted.
“Now he’s into colors,” snickered Xbalanque.
“Oh, that’s …” responded the sacbeob behind me. It didn’t finish the sentence.
“Good, Warrior. Just remember that sacbeobs often bend,” advised Hunahpu. “And you need to hurry.”
I had very little to go on, so I had very little choice but to accept what came along. The sacbeob behind me had responded to my comment of my liking red so I concluded that it was the sacbeob going east. Yet, I could not just assume that the opposite road went west. Hunahpu had warned me that sacbeobs bend. I had to be sure. I shifted my position and put my back to the sacbeob I had concluded was going east. I doubted the sacbeobs would fall for another trick like that, but I decided to try. “Have you ever seen snow? It is a wonderful thing, I am told. It would help with cooling off this place. It would cover the land, make it beautiful and white.” There was no response for about two seconds then the gibbering resumed.
“Do you think you can trick either of us again?
“Do you think us fools?”
“We were made by Itzamná. We’re not idiots.”
“The Lords of Xibalba have walked on us.”
“You are the idiot for not choosing me.”
“If you choose me, Itzamná himself awaits to embrace you.”
“If you choose me, Itzamná himself awaits to embrace you, and he will order the Lords of Xibalba to stop all trials.”
“If you choose me, Itzamná will not only embrace you and order the Lords of Xibalba to stop all trials, but he will personally take you out of Xibalba.”
“Oh, shut the fok up,” I cussed. I had to concentrate. Go back. Think! Find something that would help me, perhaps, something to do with krus-bes, crossroads. I closed my eyes, reaching into my memories, shutting out the constant jabbering of the sacbeobs. Then, suddenly, I was in my old classroom and there was Father Stiobhan. Of all the people in the world, I didn’t expect to jolt a memory with Father Stiobhan in it. He was walking up and down with a book in his hands. “And what is the name of this poem?” he questioned us. “The Crossroads,” we all shouted. “And who is the author?” “Samuel John” we replied, loudly. “And now, we’ll ask Stephen Chiac to read the poem for us. Come to the front of the class, Stephen.”
“My name is Eutimio,” I grumbled. “My name is Eutimio.” I shook my head in disbelief, clearing it. I had brought my anger for Father Siobhan all the way to Xibalba.
“Eutimio? I thought his name was Fuck. Perhaps he’s getting mad. It happens and he’s certainly in the right place for that to happen,” sighed Xbalanque, emphatically. “And we can’t help him anymore than we have already. Oh Itzamná! We certainly won’t arrive at Xibalba before the gates open.”
A strong gust of wind sent more dust upon my face and I shut my eyes, holding on to the memory as lines from the poem began pounding me, Caught between the crossroads … I couldn’t choose … And I followed the path to the right … halfway through I realized … I turned and headed back … I hesitated to take the other road … I knew that I would soon retreat … a gust of wind … dust blinding me … opened my eyes … crossroads gone … a straight road remained. I had to think. I had to use my wit. I had to use the poem. I didn’t know why, but I just knew I had to use what had been given to me in the broken lines of the poem. Perhaps this was how Hunahpu and Xbalanque were helping me, but knowing who was helping me, if anyone, was not important then and I pulled myself back to the sacbeobs. According to the poem, if I chose the sacbeob on the right, I would head back. If I took the other sacbeob, most probably the one to the left, I would retreat. Hopefully, if the lines of the poem were right, when I opened my eyes the crossroads would be gone, only a straight sacbeob remaining. I would not take the sacbeob behind me as, due to my trickery, I knew that one led to the east. If I were right, I needed to go straight ahead.
“I chose to go straight ahead,” I cried out. The jabbering immediately stopped then there was wild lamentation and, up to that time in my rowdy life, I never thought that sacbeobs, anyone for that matter, could cuss such profanities. Teul had nothing over them.
“We will lead you to the Gates of Xibalba,” proclaimed Hunahpu, ignoring the obscenities.
“And let’s hurry about it.” Xbalanque looked at me. “You have done well, Fuck. I can only wish upon you the continued blessings of the gods.”
So, I have proved myself. They are now using my Warrior name. I laughed out loudly.
“Quiet!” warned Hunahpu. “Such noise and mirth is not common in Xibalba. It usually occurs only in the Chamber of the Council Place of the Lords, as the Lords desire, and it’s often to humiliate someone.”
We walked briskly and yet I saw no city appearing ahead of us. “When will we see Xibalba,” I asked.
“See Xibalba? More questions! You will not see Xibalba. We will come to the gates and once you are through the gates, that is when you will see the city,” explained Hunahpu. I decided to keep quiet.
We walked a short while longer and Hunahpu put up his hand. Immediately before us appeared the massive gates, high walls on either side of it, both made of the same black and grey rocks we had passed through. Some of the smaller rocks glowed red, and whirls of smoke occasionally spurted out from cracks that opened and closed, on and off. Koal seed rose on my skin as I thought of ‘fire and brimstone’ and Father Stiobhan staring down at me during Catechism class. “Let’s sit at the side until the gates are opened,” instructed Hunahpu as he looked towards the servants and slaves. “Sleep, if you wish.” Baskets and cuxtals were hurriedly put down and the men began taking off their lej-xajäbs.
“Why are they taking off their lej-xajäbs,” I questioned.
“The lesser citizens of Xibalba, including servants and slaves, do not generally wear lej-xajäbs,” answered Hunahpu. “The sacbeobs in the city are not like these on the outside. They are smooth and cool. Like the citizens of U Wach Ulew, many choose not to wear lej-xajäbs regardless of their social status. Except for the gods, priests, guards and Warriors, all Xibalbans dress much alike. Incidentally, you may now return the lej-xajäbs we loaned you.”
“And before you ask another question, let me continue,” interjected Xbalanque. “The level of citizenship in Xibalba is decided by the Lords of Xibalba and mostly based on what you accomplished in your profession before coming here.” Xbalanque opened his hands. “You may have been a slave before and if you were good at being a slave, you may not be a slave here and be allowed to wear lej-xajäbs, if you wish. It can be the other way around also,” he grunted, indicating to the men who were lying against their baskets and cuxtals, already asleep. “I am not sure where you fit in. You’re … different.”
I had to chuckle. “I won’t be a slave, I assure you. I will not be remaining here. And, it is as you say. When I was in Ox Witz Ha even the nobles, many times, did not wear lej-xajäbs, but the nobles were easily identifiable. Here it seems, it will be difficult to know who’s who.”
Xbalanque shrugged his shoulders. “Well! Knowing ‘who’s who’, as you put it, will certainly not be your major problem in Xibalba and you wouldn’t use lej-xajäbs anyhow. Also, there are many more important things for the craftsmen to make here other than lej-xajäbs; they are not necessary, anyhow.”
I nodded. Why the fok are we talking about lej-xajäbs?
“I still do have another question for you, Xbalanque.” He sighed. “Why did you want to reach before the gates opened?”
“That should be obvious. Merchants arrive early so that their wa
res are first in the market. By arriving early, we are, therefore, less conspicuous and, at that hour, there are not many Xibalbans about to observe us.” He shook his head. “Questions!”
“When the gates open, you will leave us here and go ahead. If you look back, you will not see us. Do not be alarmed. Follow the Chúumuk Sacbeob.335 It will take you to the Council Place of the Lords. Speak only with the guards there,” instructed Hunahpu.
“Why?”
“Questions! More questions,” mumbled Xbalanque. “Can’t you just follow our instructions?”
“Speak and every Xibalban you speak to will know that you are not a Xibalban,” continued Hunahpu. “They will immediately begin to humiliate you, probably kill you, and all will be lost. Lost! Not for us, but for you. Just do as we say.”
“I need to know why I am to do things. In that way, I can better prepare myself.”
“Sometimes, too much information can prove hazardous,” countered Xbalanque.
“I prefer to know too much than too little. In that way, I, as a Warrior, will be able to decide what is important for the success of the mission and what is not.”
“Probably you’ll do better as a regular Warrior than you’ve done as a Nacon,” smirked Hunahpu.
There was a determined smile on Xbalanque’s face as he said, “Speak only with the guards.”
“You said you defeated Xibalba, but it seems that you have little or no control on what happens here.”
Hunahpu shook his head as he stared at me. “Our battle with Xibalba had nothing to do with the Demon Lords’ duties as directed by the Gods of Death. As we told you before, and I will repeat some of the epic tale for clarity as, at times, you do appear a bit dopey … a bit thick in the head … my brother and I played Pitz in the same ballcourt that our father and uncle played in as young men. The Lords of Xibalba said that the noise disturbed them. The Xibalbans summoned my father and uncle to play Pitz in their own court. Doing so was a trap, however, as the Xibalbans used a bladed ball which was used to kill and decapitate our father and our uncle for disturbing their peace. We decided to defeat Xibalba because of the trickery they used to kill our father and our uncle. It was not only this treachery that provoked us. For many baktuns,336 the citizens on U Wach Ulew were forced to worship the Xibalbans and offer sacrifice of young men and captives to the Lords. If the citizens did not comply, the Demon Lords sent up Xibalbans and gave them the powers to cause sickness, starvation, fear, destitution, pain, and death. But the time came when the citizens of U Wach Ulew no longer wanted to continue the accord. Already, the people were tricking the Xibalbans into accepting false sacrifices and offerings of lesser importance and value. We knew that the defeat of Xibalba would completely eliminate the Xibalbans demand for sacrifices and offerings from U Wach Ulew. We thrashed Xibalba because of their trickery in causing the deaths of our father and uncle, and to stop the sacrifices and offerings. We did not rout Xibalba to stop the Demon Lords from their duties.”
Sisimito II--Xibalba Page 29