The Ballgame in Popul Vuh sap from morning glory flowers to make rubber for different purposes: sandal soles had to be durable, The complicated plot of the Maya oral epic Popul Vuh involves two sets of ball-playing twins: after disturbing the gods with their play, one pair go to the Xibalba (SHE-bal-ba) Underworld (derived from the Mayan word for "fear," "trembling"), where they die at the hands of One and Seven Death, the head lords of Xibalba. The severed head of one of these twins hangs on a tree from which its spittle magically impregnates Lady Blood, who gives birth to the second set of twins, Hunahpu (HOO-nah-pooh) and Xbalanque (sh-bal-on-kay). These Hero Twins, far more skilful than their father and uncle, at first trick the gods of the Underworld repeatedly and then defeat them in the ballgame described in the episode below. Eventually they also die, but because the gods grant them another life, they rise at the end of the narrative to become the sun and the moon, creat- ing the upper world or cosmos. The earliest archaeological evidence of the game comes from the Olmec site of El Manatí, lo- cated 6 miles (10 km) east of San Lorenzo, where a dozen rubber balls dating to around 500 B.C.E. were found. Almost every Maya city-state had a ball court, usually in the shape of an L, with walk around it, located near a major temple. The Maya played this soccer-like game with heavy rubber balls measur- ing 12 or 18 inches (33 or 50 cm) across. The Maya combined the liquid rubber from latex trees with rubber bands to attach blades to shafts had to be resilient, and balls had to be bouncy. Sometimes the ball-makers used a human skull to make a hol- low, less lethal, ball. The game spread throughout the Maya core region and as far north as Snaketown near Phoenix, Arizona, the home of an early Anasazi people who had two ball courts and rubber balls. Since ball courts and bals do not provide enough information to understand how the game was played, anthropologists are closely studying the modern hip ballgames in the few villages near Mazatlán (ma-zat-LAN), Sinaloa (sin-A-loh-a) State in northwestern Mexico, where the game is still played. Two opposing teams of three to five players try to get the ball past the other team's end line. After serving with their hands, they propel the heavy rubber balls with their hips. Although players cover their hips with padding, the hips of modern players develop calluses and often become permanently bruised a deep-black color. We cannot be sure that everyone who played the game knew the story of the Hero Twins, but many players probably understood the game as a contest between two teams, one representing good, life, or the Hero Twins, and the other evil, death, or Xibalba, which was ultimately victorious. This passage from the Popul Vuh describes the first test the twins must endure. Flrst They Entered Dark House And after that, the messenger of One Death brought their torch, burning when it arrived, along with one cigar apiece. ""Here is their torch,' says the lord. They must return the torch in the morning, along with the cigars. They must return them in- tact,' say the lords," the messenger said when "We've defeated them," sald the sentries, but the torch was not consumed-it just looked that way. And as for the cigars, there wasn'tany- thing buming there-it just looked that way. When these things were taken badk to the lords: "What's happening? Where did they come from? Who begot them and bore them? Our hearts are really hurting, because what they're doing to us is no good. They're differ- ent in looks and different in their very being," they said among themselves. And when they had summoned all the lords: he arrived. "Very well," they sald, but they didn't burn the torchInstead, something that looked like fire was substituted. This was the tall of the macaw, which looked like a torch to the sentries. And as for the cigars, they just put fireflies at the tips of those cigars, which they kept lit all night. "Let's play ball, boys," the boys were told. And then they were asked by One and Seven Death: "Very well," they sald, and this was time for their rubber ball, so the ball was dropped in. And after that, they specifled the prize: "What should our prize be?" asked the Xibalbans. "It's yours for the asking," was all the boys said. "We'll just win four bowls of flowers," said the Xibalbans. "Very well. What kinds of flowers?" the boys asked XIbalba. "One bowl of red petals, one bowl of white petals, one bowl of yellow petals, and one bowl of whole ones," said the "Where might you have come from? Please name it," Xibalba said to them. "Well, wherever did we come from? We don't know," was all they sald. They didn't name it. "Very well then, we'll just go play ball, boys," Xibalba told them. "Good," they said. "Well, this is the one we should put in play, here's our rubber ball," said the Xibalbans. "No thanks. This is the one to put in, here's ours," said the boys. "No it's not. This is the one we should put in," the Xibalbans sald again. "Very well," sald the boys. "After all, It's just a decorated one," said the Xibalbans. "Oh no it's not. It's just a skull, we say in return," sald the boys. "No It's not," said the Xibalbans. "Very well," sald Hunahpu. When it was sent off by Xibalba, the ball was stopped by Hunahpu's yoke [hip-pad]. Xibalbans. "Very well," said the boys, and then their ball was dropped in. The boys were their equals in strength and made many plays, since they only had very good thoughts. Then the boys gave themselves up in defeat, and the Xibalbans were glad when they were defeated: "We've done well. We've beaten them on And then, while Xibalba watched, the White Dagger came out from inside the ball. It went clattering, twisting all over the floor the first try," sald the Xibalbans. "Where will they go to get the flowers?" they said in their hearts. "Truly, before the night is over, you must hand over our flowers and our prize," the boys, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, were told by of the court. "What's that!" sald Hunahpu and Xba- lanque. "Death is the only thing you want for us! Wasn't it you who sent a summons to us, and wasn't it your messenger who went? Truly, take pity on us, or else we'll just leave," the boys told them. And this is what had been ordained for the boys: that they should have died right away, right there, defeated by that knife. But it wasn't like that. Instead, Xibalba was again defeated by the boys. "Well, don't go, boys. We can still play ball, but we'll put yours into play," the boys Xibalba. "Very well. So we're also playing ball at night," they sald when they accepted their charge. And after that, the boys entered Razor House, the second test of Xibalba. Souce: Reprinted with the permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc., from POPUL VUH: The Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings, by Dennis Tedlock. Copyright © 1985, 1996 Dennis Tedlock pp. 119-122. were told.

What tricks do the Hero Twins play on the lords of the Xibalba Underworld? How do the Xibalba lords retaliate?