Sisimito II--Xibalba

by Henry W. Anderson

“Let’s go, Waach,” urged Ikan as he called out, “Ek Baläm has whistled.”

  “Ek Baläm has whistled.”

  I was soon with Yochi and quickly removed my mask. He looked at me and smiled. “It is good to see you, Waach. It is also good to see that you are prepared for battle.” I looked down at my huipil and the Warriors laughed out loudly. “You look so good in a woman’s dress that I may soon take you to my mat; and don’t worry. I am very good on my mat. You will enjoy your time there.” The Warriors laughed even more. I shook my head and started to undress. “Not yet, Waach. You skin still glows golden in the darkness and you will be recognized. You will need to be my woman a bit longer.” The Warriors laughed again, at my expense. “And remember to control your emotions or you will glow even brighter. Do not think of your time with me on my mat, Waach, or you will glow as brightly as Kinich Ahau on U Wach Ulew.” The Warriors gave a loud war-whoop.” I smiled, happy to be able to smile. Happy that I was not dead, sacrificed, my heart cut from my chest.

  Ichik and six Warriors came out of the darkness carrying sk’ops and maquahuitls. No one gave them praise for what they had done. No one looked at the dead guards. Ichik addressed his section. “Put down your weapons and bring those we brought for Waach and his Warriors.”

  “Warriors!” They all looked at me. Once again, it was time for me to take the name given to me at Ox Witz Ha. “I am no longer Waach. I am Fuck. That is my name.” They simply nodded and continued what they were doing. I went over to Yochi. “The others? Do you know where they are?”

  “No, Fuck. I don’t know, but they are taken care of just as you were.”

  “The slave? Ikan. He has the body of a Warrior. He acts and thinks like a Warrior.”

  Yochi smiled. “He is a Warrior, as are all the others.” Yochi laughed. “This day, they act like slaves.” He smiled. “We will call them our Warrior-slaves. Kish selected them from among the best of his Warriors here in Xibalba. They died as they protected Ajawinel K’an II when Maxam attacked Ox Witz Ha, a battle you yourself fought bravely in.”

  “And you and your Warriors?”

  “We are from many kingdoms. It was Kish who made us one and we remain one. I am from Yax Mutul. Ichik is from Maxam. Our other Warriors are from Siaab K’aan, Chiik Naab’, Ox Te’ Tuun, Xunantunich, from other cities. Kish is our Nacon and we follow him. We are one. When we leave Xibalba, we will follow Kish and go to Ox Witz Ha. There we will be Warriors of Ajawinel K’an II. There we will each take a woman, bed her on our mat, and have our children. We will be citizens of Ox Witz Ha.”

  “K’an II is a strong, brave, wise, and just ruler. He is a great man, a great Warrior, and a great Ajawinel.”

  “Kish has told us of those things.”

  “And what will happen to the slaves … Warrior-slaves? What about Kish and the Red Team?”

  “The Warrior-slaves bringing out your Warriors will also be coming with us.” Yochi hesitated as if he was trying to decide if he should provide any more information. “Kish will soon be here. He will let us know what he decided about the Red Team.”

  “I told him I wanted the Red Team to come. They are also my Warriors. They were killed by Mahanamatz.”

  “I know.” He looked at me. “They are Warriors, Fuck. They accept their deaths, their fates. They will follow Kish’s orders. You, Fuck, are our duty. We will take you out of Xibalba so that you can kill Mahanamatz and rescue Xch’úup Xma’ K’aaba’ and take her to your mat. That is Kish’s command. That is our mission and nothing will deter us from that. You should have no doubt or you dishonor us.” I was, once again, being reprimanded. Yochi looked around him. “Warriors! Get rid of the bodies then take their positions. Make sure each has a weapon for his journey. It is best that those we wait for arrive quickly, but if they don’t we will still wait. That means we may have to fight, for the Death Guards and Demon Guards of the Lords of Xibalba will be coming soon.”

  Warriors carrying the dead disappeared into the darkness, while other Warriors stood at the gates, holding bate’s as the guards had done, but having their personal weapons out of sight at their feet. Yochi took the kohaw one of the Warriors handed him and placed it on his head.

  “Kaloonte’,” shouted the Warrior, putting his bate’ out to his side, arms-length.

  Yochi looked at him sternly and the Warrior laughed as he got back into position. It was only then that Yochi smiled.

  “A Warrior-slave comes,” said Ikan, “And another with him.”

  “Ek Baläm has whistled.”

  “Ek Baläm has whistled.” responded Ikan.

  We both looked up into the dark greyness of the Chúumuk Sacbeob. The Warrior-slave ran up to Yochi, quickly followed by a breathless Robertson. The Warrior was immediately given a jatz’om.

  “Did you have any problems leaving the courtyard?”

  “No, Nacon. The citizens have had much to drink and many are leaving and many arriving. The guards are vigilant, but it is difficult for them.” Yochi nodded.

  “Robertson!” I exclaimed, walking over to him. He was bending over, his hands on his knees, breathing hard. “Have you seen the others?”

  He looked up then frowned as he gazed at me with squinted eyes. “Is that really you, Waach?”

  I looked down at my huipil with all its beautifully embroidered colors. “Yes. It’s me. I have to keep my fokin skin covered.” He nodded. “Have you seen the others?” I repeated. He shook his head. “Fok!” I cussed, energetically.

  “Are my Warriors in position?” called out Yochi, looking around.

  “Kaloonte’!”

  “I am no Kaloonte’, Warriors. I am Nacon.”

  “Kaloonte’!” they shouted. Yochi opened his mouth then closed it.

  “I think you’ve been promoted, Yochi,” I laughed. He shook his head. There was a smile on his lips.

  “I suppose I have been, that is until Kish comes.”

  “Another Warrior-slave approaches,” called out Ikan, who had positioned himself a few yards in front of us.

  I was about to move forward, but Yochi put an arm on my shoulder. “Stay,” he ordered. I barely saw the approaching Warrior in the grey distance.

  “Ek Baläm has whistled.” The Warrior shouted.

  “Ek Baläm has whistled. I am not sure if it’s one of mine or one of Iztali’s,”425 puzzled Ikan.

  “What do you mean, Ikan?” He looked at me then Yochi. Yochi nodded. “My Warriors protect the Black Team; Iztali’s Warriors the Red Team.”

  I felt deep emotions swell up in me. I stared at Yochi. “So, Kish is trying to bring out the Red Team. Yet, you didn’t tell me.”

  “It was not my duty to inform you. Also, the only thing Kish told me was that he would make a decision before deploying Ikan’s Warriors. When he and Ikan met, he must have decided to also deploy Iztali’s Warriors to scout for the Red Team.” He looked deeply at me. “Once the Black Team is here, if the Red Team does not arrive, we march.” It was difficult for me to agree, but I nodded.

  The Warrior-slave came running out of the darkness, followed by Choc. That Warrior was also immediately given a jatz’om, while Choc had his hands on his knees, breathing as hard as Robertson did. Choc looked up at me. “Fokmi! Fokmi! Those fokmi-i-s can run.” He shook his head.

  “Have you seen the others?”

  “No.” He kept on breathing hard, looking directly to the ground. I was surprised that Choc had reacted to a two-mile run in that way, ending so short-winded, but then the air in the Underworld was heavy, always carrying fine dust and the smell of sulfur.

  Ikan came over. “My Warrior has told me that they had to leave the Chúumuk Sacbeob not too far from here as two guards were racing back to Xibalba. He had no weapons, so he didn’t kill them.”

  “We will soon be discovered,” grunted Yochi, rubbing his forehead. “I have decided it is time for a strategy change. I will not fight a battle here at the gates. I want us to be on our way befor
e the Death and Demon Guards arrive. If we battle here, we will be outnumbered and our mission will stop here.” He looked at me. “I will take only who comes.” I did not respond. He turned to Ikan. “I need a Warrior.” Ikan called the same Warrior that had just arrived. “Chicahua!426 Take a sk’op and go half way to the residencies. There should be no citizens on the sacbeob, at this time, so if you see anyone advancing they, most likely, are our Warrior-slaves. Just say the password so that they recognize you. Do not stop. As soon as you see the Lords of Xibalba’s guards coming, shoot a ch’ab to our left, just beyond the torches, then race back to us. As soon as the ch’ab falls we will leave; you will find us already on the sacbeob to the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans.” Ichik brought him a sk’op and seven extra ch’abs in a kus,427 and he was quickly down the sacbeob, disappearing into the darkness.” Ikan went back to the other Warriors, waiting for the approach of the other team members and their Warrior-slaves.

  The seconds felt like hours. I knew that we were running out of time for as soon as the ch’ab fell, we would be on our way. There was nothing I could do about it. Yochi, as our Commander, had made the correct decision. It would then be up to the Warrior-slaves to each get their mate to us before we arrived at the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans.

  I spoke quietly to Yochi. “Why the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans?”

  Yochi frowned, still looking straight ahead into the darkness. “You were always one with questions.” He smiled. “I almost lost my head here in Xibalba for asking that same question.”

  I shrugged my shoulders, but decided to go along with the trend of his conversation. “What was the question?”

  “Yet another question.” He looked at me. “I will tell you what happened.”

  “Kish is the Chief Guard of all Xibalba. He personally chose me and my Warriors to scout the Wasteland outside of the city gates. We were to reconnoiter all four major sacbeobs, that of Can-Tzicnal, Hozanek, Hobnil. and the Chúumuk Sacbeob that points to Zac-Cimi’s corner of Yaxché. We were also to scout the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans, the Nim-ja’ Ti’ K’i’ik and the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Puh, but I was to especially observe the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans. I asked Kish why focus on the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans?” Yochi smiled and held his neck. “Kish took out his knife and pressed it against my neck and started to pull it across and I felt blood beginning to drain down my neck. I stood still, ready to receive death as a Warrior must. Then Kish stopped. He looked into my eyes and said, “Only a brave Warrior will stand, face death, and show no fear. Ask me questions only about strategy. Nothing else”. He then wiped the blood from his knife, on his own arm. That was a great honor.”

  “Great honor? He was going to cut your throat.”

  “If Kish had wiped my blood on my own arm, or on a piece of cloth, it meant that he did not value my blood. That he wiped my blood on his own arm meant that he valued me as he valued himself.” Yochi smiled again then lifted his neck. “See. I still carry the scar of his knife. I am now not only his Nacon, but his friend. That is the most I can ask of Kish. That is the most I can ask of any Warrior in Xibalba.” Yochi put his arm on my shoulder. “I hope I am also your friend.” I was about to answer, but he raised his hand. “It was about a uinal later that Kish was sending us out on patrol again when he called me to his side. He told me that the reason why the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans was to be closely guarded, that no one was to go near it except us, was that it was the way to U Wach Ulew. When we get to the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans, I will tell all the Warriors who have made it there. We will face our greatest trial there for the síina’ans of Xibalba are filled with the hate and malice of the Gods of Death and the Demon Lords.”

  “Greatest trial?”

  “Yes! Kish will discuss this later.”

  I nodded, knowing that Yochi would give me no more information on that matter. “I have another question.”

  “Go ahead, Fuck.”

  “I cannot fight well in this woman’s dress. How long will I have to keep it on, and do you know how long the golden color lasts?”

  “You will keep it on until we reach the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans. After that, it doesn’t matter.” Yochi shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know how long the color will last. It is the blessing of the gods and may serve a purpose at the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans. Who knows. When Hunahpu and Xbalanque came out of the K’íilkab Ja, the artisans write and sing that they too had the golden skin. It is said that it fades with time, but it will always be there when Kinich Ahau send’s his fiery beams.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I do not know if what the artisans write and sing is true.”

  “Suppose there is a fight before we reach the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans?”

  “You are a Warrior. You will know what to do.”

  Our conversation was distracted by Ikan’s shout. “Four more approach.” The Warriors immediately tensed, preparing for battle.

  “Ek Baläm has whistled.”

  “Ek Baläm has whistled.”

  Two Warrior-slaves, Taat, and Rhys came out of the grey. I immediately walked up to Taat. He stared at me, frowning, and I laughed. “I wear the huipil to cover my skin.” He nodded. “I am happy you are now with me, Taat.”

  Taat looked up at me. “I am happy I am with you, Paal. It should be no other way.” I felt my eyes moisten and I wanted to hug him, but I couldn’t. It was not the Way of the Warrior.

  I turned to Rhys and nodded. He nodded too. Nothing was needed to be said.

  “Give these Warriors their weapons,” ordered Yochi. I walked over to him as he spoke to the two Warriors-slaves that had just arrived.

  “We met and travelled along together,” said one of them.” To avoid the guards, as much as possible, we moved through the residencies on either side of the Chúumuk Sacbeob then came onto that sacbeob together.”

  “So, you had no problems leaving the courtyard?”

  “No, Nacon.”

  “On your way here, did you see or hear any of the guards coming?”

  “No, Nacon.”

  “Did you meet Chicahua? I sent him back to the halfway point to the city?”

  “Yes, Nacon. As we were passing where he was hidden by the land, he shouted, “Ek Baläm has whistled.”

  “Ek Baläm has whistled,” we shouted back and we heard him no more.”

  “So, you did not see him.”

  “No, Nacon,” they both answered, their faces expressionless.

  “Then both of you could have received his ch’ab and what would have happened to your mates, those you protect?”

  Iuitl428 and Mazatl429 bowed their heads to Yochi, accepting the reprimand. “We will deal with this once we are out of Xibalba,” he said. The Warrior-slaves hit their chests.

  “The ch’ab has fallen,” shouted Ichik, urgency in his voice.

  “Then we must go,” answered Yochi.

  “But Teul and Choco have not yet arrived,” I said, still hoping for a delay.

  “You are here. They are Warriors and they each have a Warrior with them. Warriors,” he shouted, looking sternly at me. “Leave no weapons behind except those the dead already carry. Ko’one’ex!”

  Seven naked slaves came out of the darkness carrying additional weapons. The Warriors who were standing in place of the Xibalba Guards gave the remaining dead guards weapons to the slaves then picked up their own short bate’s and to’bal-ribs.

  “Who are those slaves?” I asked Yochi.

  “They are slaves in Xibalba, but on U Wach Ulew they were Warriors from a distant kingdom in the northern lands of Can-Tzicnal. Some of my Warriors are also from that land. They died the death of Warriors as they attacked and fought us in our kingdoms. All Warriors from the distant lands were made slaves in Xibalba, as was the wish of the Lords. I think that the northern kingdoms do not honor the Lords of Xibalba. Kish chose from among them and trained them secretly as we planned our escape. They are loyal to him without question. On this miss
ion, they remain slaves as we need them to carry the things slave bear and also our extra weapons, but they will be freed and become Warriors again, once we have left Xibalba.”

  “Suppose we have to fight? Will they?”

  Yochi looked at me as if my question was unnecessary. “More questions, Fuck? Then they will fight.” He looked to everyone about him. “Warriors! Until Kish returns, I am Kaloonte’. Ichik, Ikan, and Fuck are Nacons of their Warriors. Check your weapons. The slaves will give you lej-xajäbs. We must all wear lej-xajäbs as, at times, we will have to leave the sacbeob. Now let’s go to the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans. Our fate awaits us there.” All the Warriors beat their chests seven times.

  We started down the Chúumuk Sacbeob, away from the city of Xibalba. I was frustrated and angry, knowing that I was deserting Teul and Choco. With respect to Anderson, Hulse, Taylor, Clarke, Parham, and Bas, I could only hope that Kish and their Warrior-slaves would get them to the Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans in time. There was nothing I could do. If I resisted, Yochi would probably slam his short bate’ onto my head and I would then be carried by one of the Warriors. I would not make Yochi have to do that. As Choj had told me at Ox Witz Ha, Think only of winning the game. The ballgame was over. Think only of leaving Xibalba.

  Yochi’s six Warriors led us, each carrying a short bate’ and to’bal-rib. Ikan and three Warrior-slaves followed, each carrying their jatz’om. Ikan still had two Warrior-slaves out, those with Teul and Choco, and there was Chicahua. Yochi and I were next, Yochi armed with his short bate’ and to’bal-rib, me with my machete and knife under my huipil. Behind me were the slaves carrying the additional weapons and other supplies. Following them were Ichik and his six warriors, each armed with a sk’op and a maquahuitl. There were thirty-five of us, if I included Teul, Choco and the two Warrior-slaves, and Chicahua. If Kish, the Red Team, their Warrior-slaves and their Nacon, Iztali, came, that would add another fourteen. Seven plus seven. That would bring a total of forty-nine. Seven times seven. I did not know how many guards Xibalba had, but I had seen many and all had been trained by Kish. That was worrying.