“Why won’t it happen?”
“It won’t happen.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Won’t they be fokin angry?”
“That is not important. Please. Don’t interrupt. You need to carry a lighted torch into the house or you will not be able to see and you will not be able to overcome the trials; you will not be able to maneuver around the obstacles as you walk through. The two rolls of me’t, you will put out immediately. You have to bypass all the obstacles, so you begin to do that as soon as you enter for the light from the torch will last for a short time only. That is one of the deceits of the Lords of Xibalba. When you are done, you sit by the door in the darkness with the torch and me’t. You wait. Do not go anywhere. Do not go to sleep.”
“But the torch will burn out and how will I relight the me’t? I have to leave with them the same way they were when I entered.”
Kish raised his hand angrily. I shut up. He nodded then continued. “When you come out in the morning, you will come out with the torch lit and the two rolls of me’t lit. The same way you went in.”
“How the …” Kish glared at me. I shut the fok up.
“I will call to you, as I will do every morning after a trial. I will say, ‘Waach! Are you ready to leave Ee’hoch’e’en Ja?’ Before answering, you will take off the headdress. Hidden in the headdress are two red feathers of the ix-oop. Take them out and place them firmly in the head of the torch. They will immediately burst into flames. Also, in the headdress, you will find two ch’um-q’aq’s.355 You will put one ch’um-q’aq’ at the end of each roll of me’t and they will be lit. You will then need to hurry. Replace the headdress, then answer, ‘I am ready to leave Ee’hoch’e’en. Waach has won this trial’. I
will then open the door and take you up to the chamber of the Council Place of the Lords and present you. You will be assigned your next trial.”
“Are you sure about that, Kish?”
“You are being helped, Chiac. Be thankful and do not doubt the power and words of those who are doing that.” I made to open my mouth. “And do not ask who they are, Chiac.” I shut up once again. Kish finished fitting my headdress. I strapped on my machete and knife. “Let’s go, Chiac, and may the gods be with you, but remember that wining depends on you. And you can win. Even in Xibalba, you can win.”
We came out the room, Kish carrying the torch and two rolls of me’t. From the bottom of the stairway leading up to the open-air Chamber of the Lords I saw that the Xibalba sky was already losing its redness and, of course, there were no stars, no moon, as those did not exist in Xibalba. I wondered if it were the Hero Twins who were helping me and I reflected on the words of Xbalanque, “We have our spies in Xibalba.”
“Kinich Ahau leaves,” said Kish.
“Yes,” I answered. “How far is it to the house, Kish?”
“Ee’hoch’e’en Ja is the farthest, but it is no more than one k’ab356 away. We will walk, not too quickly.”
Torches lit the passageway, but only dimly as they were spaced far apart. I didn’t say much, but as we walked Kish pointed out and named the different Houses of Trials as we passed them. The first we encountered was Hot House, K’íilkab Ja, its door painted red and we took the passage to the left of it. As we walked further, we crossed a transecting passage. There was a house on the left with a yellow door. Kish told me it was Bat House, Sotz’ Ja. Jaguar House, Baläm Ja, came next on the right and it had a green door. Then there was Razor House, U-yeh Ja, also on the right, but there was no door.
“Where is the door for U-yeh Ja?” I asked Kish, almost absent-mindedly.”
“It faces the other passage. The doors of both Baläm Ja and U-yeh Ja are painted green because they are in the center of the Cavern of Trials and green is the color of the great green Yaxché which is the center of everything we are.” He continued, informing me that on the right of the adjacent passageway was Cold House, Ke’el Ja, also known as Rattling House. It had a white door, as it was in the north of the Cavern of Trials. I had noted that each of the doors was wooden, all looking alike except for its color and the glyph it carried.
Kish and I did not talk much more, just an occasional word or information he provided. When we arrived at the last House of Trials, its door painted black, he stopped and we stood silently facing the door.
Illustration 15: The Cavern of Trials.
DARK HOUSE
EE’HOCH’E’EN JA
FIRST HOUSE OF TRIALS
SECOND TRIAL
OF
THE COUNCIL PLACE OF THE LORDS
“We have arrived at Ee’hoch’e’en Ja and face the Black Door that carries the glyphs of the black god Zac-Cimi of the West. Waach! Are you ready to enter Ee’hoch’e’en Ja?”
“I am.”
“Do you wish to have the torch lit, Waach?”
“I do.” Kish handed me the torch and the two rolls of me’t after lighting them from another torch that was in the wall near the door.
“May the gods be with you,” he said and opened the door.
What the fok have I gotten myself into? It was the first time that I began to doubt myself. I quickly pushed my qualms aside and stepped into Ee’hoch’e’en Ja. The door closed behind me and I was suddenly completely alone.
The torch was not the brightest of torches and its light did not spread very far around me. I placed the two rolls of me’t on the ground, which was of sand and stone, and stepped on the lighted ends extinguishing them. I then shoved them between the bands of my skirt, scabbard, and my skin, making sure they were held securely. As far as I saw, the room was empty. I remembered that Kish told me that I had to go through the house and navigate the obstacles in order to win the trial. I kissed Bas’ Green Scapular then stepped forward cautiously. The torch flames flickered.
Even with the torch, my field of vision was very limited and I saw only a few feet in front of me. There was nothing immediately ahead or to my sides and when I looked up for the ceiling there didn’t seem to be one there, just blackness. The floor was made from black rocks and was very uneven with ridges and edges like the terrain we passed while walking on the sacbeob to Xibalba. I decided to examine it before I stepped any further. I stooped, not wanting to put my unprotected knees on the floor. Some of the edges stood vertically and were very sharp and serrated while others were lying more horizontally. I placed a finger on one of the vertical edges and it moved quickly, cutting upwards into my finger, bringing blood. I bit down on my lower lip, not allowing myself to cry out. Immediately that the blood dripped to the rocks, the jagged edges near to the one I had touched sprang up about three inches and the ones that were lying horizontally shot upward as well. I looked at my lej-xajäbs. It would have been cut to ribbons, along with my feet. I stayed there, studying the floor. Kish had said, You have to bypass all the obstacles so you begin to do that as you enter; the light from the torch will only last for a short time. I stared at the floor and noticed that the very sharp and barbed edges glistened under the flames from the torch. I gazed backward and forward and to the sides. I was able to discern groups of rocks that glistened and others that didn’t. I placed my finger on one of the jagged edges that did not. Nothing happened. I stood up and placed one foot on that spot, then my next foot on another. I continued moving the flame, and I saw exactly where I had to walk to avoid the sharp edges that glistened, those that would slice into me. I began walking deeper into Ee’hoch’e’en Ja. Suddenly, the rocky and dangerously toothed floor started disappearing under a thick grey sulfurous mist that rose from small crater like holes in the jagged rocks. It soon covered the floor ankle deep. I was no longer able to distinguish between the rocks that glistened and those that didn’t.
A sound like stone grinding against stone came from above me and I looked up. Sharp points of black craggy stalactites were descending, some as close as one foot apart, seemingly intent on gashing me to death. I started to breathe hard, panic rising. I knew I could not allow myself t
o panic, but I had increasing difficulty controlling my breathing. I kept blowing out my breath then inhaling deeply. Blowing hard. Blowing hard. Blow! Blow! Blow! What was I thinking? Concentrate Chiac. Oh fok! Blow! Blow! Blow! Blow, bugle, blow … I held Bas’ Green Scapular, trying to get the strength I needed to take over control of my thoughts, stop the thoughts being implanted there, the deadly stalactites getting closer. I couldn’t. Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying … Why the fok was I thinking about poetry that I did at school with Father Stiobhan? But that’s what made me win the trial at the krus-be. I stopped wondering why, concentrating on the poem. I was being helped. Now, what was the poem? Blow, Bugle, Blow, by Lord Alfred Tennyson. It had to do with the military. I was a soldier. How did it go? The splendor falls on castle walls, and snowy summits old in story: the long light shakes across the lakes, and the wild cataract leaps in glory. Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, Blow, bugle, blow, echoes dying, dying, dying. The sharp cruel points that were going to rip through me were just a foot away from my skull and I was reciting poetry in my head. What does the poem mean? It had to mean something. I was in a dangerous House of Trails. That was my castle. There were no snowy summits, but I was in Xibalba. The stalactites could be upside down summits and instead of white snow there was black soot. I did have a light and it was shining across a lake of grey mist, and it was shaking, for I was trembling like a madafok. The cataract leaps in glory. Do I leap? A soldier gets glory by using his weapon. Am I to leap with my weapon and sent the wild echoes flying?
I did not wait any longer. I pulled out my machete and jumped upward, swinging it with all my strength, cutting at the descending enemy. It was not the sound of the bugle, but the clang that followed was fierce, so strong and violent that I thought my ear drums would rupture. I jumped again, slamming the cutting edge of my machete into the rock. The noise and cries of battle filled the room, echoing off the walls, the rocks, off everything, amplifying so greatly that I felt I could almost see the sound waves racing. I had to kneel, put down my machete, and put my hands to my ears, still holding onto the torch. The ground began to shudder, as I was doing. Exploding sounds added to the chaos. I looked up and saw that some of the rocks above me were shattering, hurling pieces like shrapnel. Others were developing large cracks then breaking off and falling down. I lay on my side quickly, withstood the sharp edges of the rocks, curled up as small as I could, closed my eyes, and protected my head with my hands while holding the torch upright between my belly and my knees. I had no ballistic vest and I had to protect my vital organs as best I could. The rocks pelted me, but, fortunately, they were not being hurled forcefully enough to cause severe damage. Yet, I knew I was getting multiple bruises and abrasions and it would only take one large fragment to take me out. Then the noise began getting less, echoes, dying, dying, dying. No more stones were pelting me, so I kneeled carefully and looked around. All was quiet; but the ground began to develop an intense and searing heat, burning my knees. The scorching smell of burning rocks soared into my nostrils and I began to cough, my eyes watering. I looked around. There were chunks of fallen stalactites lying all over, most of their bulk rising above the blistering grey-white floor.
I jumped up, knowing that my lej-xajäbs would not last long. They would just shrivel, turn to dust, and my feet would burn, making me unable to walk. Using my machete and the torch to help balance me, and the agility I had developed from childhood when Bas and I played in the rocky rivers of my jungle, I jumped onto the nearest rock. It was not hot. I looked ahead and saw that the large pieces of rocks that had fallen formed a broken bridge. I began jumping from rock to rock, hoping that the back wall of Ee’hoch’e’en Ja was not far away; it wasn’t. I reached it and turned around, looking at the grey-white savage desolation I had walked through. Kish had not told me what happened after I crossed the obstacles leading to the back wall of Ee’hoch’e’en Ja, Dark House, and I was exhausted, my lungs filled with foul and heated air. I stood, taking a short rest, before I started my return. My torch flickered, warning me that it did not have much longer before it would go out.
I stepped forward to get on the first rock and everything changed. All that was left was a smooth black floor. The air was a little stale, but there were no more burning and sulfurous smells. I hesitated, not knowing if that were another trick, more deceit of the Lords of Xibalba. The torch’s flame continued to diminish and I knew I had to get back to the door before it went out. I continued walking and nothing happened.
I sat beside the door, my back to the wall, as Kish had instructed me. I placed the flickering torch against the wall. I kept the two rolls of me’t secured on me and made sure that the headdress was still firmly in place. I wasn’t sure how Kish had secured it, but it hadn’t moved and most of the time I wasn’t even aware that I wore it. I took out my machete and placed it across my thighs. My fingers felt a sticky warmth on my right thigh and I wondered if it were sweat or blood. I brought my fingers slowly up and tasted it. It was blood. The torch went out, plunging me into total darkness.
After about an hour, I began to hear subtle movements in the dark. Sometimes there was the sound of soft footsteps, a sudden jarring noise, faint movements, a distant hand clapping, the hissing of a snake, the crash of a bowl. I began to develop an urgency to explore with my machete, to find out what was there, but I held onto Kish’s words with all my remaining strength and rationality, “Do not go anywhere. Do not go to sleep.” I remained absolutely still. I sweated. I listened. I fought the urges to get up. I feared. I fought the desire to go to sleep. Time passed and I began to feel pain. Everywhere a stone had hit me was alive with pain. Yet, I did not move.
CHAPTER TEN
RATTLING HOUSE OR COLD HOUSE: KE’EL JA
SECOND HOUSE OF TRIALS - THIRD TRIAL
K’iin 2 - The Uinal of Yaxk’in’
Tuesday, May 1, 1973
Waach! Are you ready to leave Ee’hoch’e’en Ja, the House of Trials that carries the glyphs of the black god Zac-Cimi of the West?”
I hurriedly reached for the headdress, wondering if I would be able to remove it. It came off easily. I turned it over and there was a dim glow from the two ch’um-q’aq’s … peeniwali. The two red feathers of the ix-oop were also there. I took out the feathers and placed them firmly in the head of the torch. It immediately burst into flames. I took out the two ch’um-q’aq’s and placed one at the end of each roll of me’t. The aroma of the lighted me’t smelled good and I was strongly tempted and urged to sit and smoke. I didn’t. I replaced the headdress as best I could.
“I am ready to leave Ee’hoch’e’en Ja. Waach has won this trial.” I had tried to shout vigorously, but what came out was rather weak as my mouth was dry and filled with soot. Slowly, the door opened.
“Follow me,” ordered Kish and he turned, not saying even a Thank the gods you survived. You did well. We took the stairs leading me up to the Chamber of the Council Place of the Lords, remaining absolutely quiet during the whole walk as Kish said nothing. The morning Xibalban sky had a bright red glow which lit the steps as we ascended to the chamber. There was a great hush in the chamber which was filled with spectators even though it was very early. Kish took me to the pedestal before the statue of the Death Gods, the assigned place for us to be. I faced the Lords of Xibalba and saw confusion and darkness on their faces.
The Ahau Can Mai came through the elaborate arched doorway to my right, the same one he had used the day before. He walked hurriedly, looking haunted. He stood in front of the Death Lords and the Demon Lords of Xibalba. He bowed deeply, saying, “My Lords. Waach has won his second trial of the Council Place of the Lords. He has spent the night in the first House of Trials, Ee’hoch’e’en Ja, encountered and overcome the obstacles, and has returned just as he entered last night.”
Vucub-Came stood. He smiled, looking almost mischievous. “So, Waach, you have faced the trials of Ee’hoch’e’en Ja and survived.”
“I have, My
Lord.”
He nodded his head. “Are you ready for your second House of Trials, Waach?”
“I am, My Lord.”
“Tonight, you will enter Ke’el Ja, the cold house of the white god Can-Tzicnal of the North.
“My Lord,” I answered, then bowed my head. He made to sit. “My Lord!”
He looked at me, apparently annoyed. “What is it, Waach?”
“My Warrior, My Lord.”
“He awaits you below.”
“I nodded. “Thank you, My Lord.”
I was about to step off the pedestal, but Kish grabbed my arm. “Wait until the Lords leave.” I stood still, but I felt like rushing, wanting to see which of my men waited for me below. The Death Gods rose and that was the trigger for all the people in the chamber to rise. The Demon Lords then rose and a small procession took place, the Death Gods first, then the Demon Lords, followed by the Ahau Can Mai. Once they had disappeared through the arched doorway, the people started going into the adjacent rooms to place their bets for my next trial. “Let’s go,” directed Kish.
Sisimito II--Xibalba Page 33