anthropos
100.2005: 173-191
Xbalanque’s Canoe
The Origin of Poison in Q’eqchi ’-Mayan Hummingbird Myth
H. E. M. Braakhuis
Abstract. - This article explores the origin of disease and
intrusive magic in the context of Q’eqchi’-Mayan Sun and
Moon myth. The mythological imagery is shown to be intimate
ly connected to the rhetoric of disease-fighting. The Q’eqchi’
theory of disease shares a basic assumption with an earlier
Yucatec tradition, in that sexual excess is seen to provoke the
birth of disease agents. Finally, one of the myth’s core images,
viz. the “Fever Vessel,” is traced back to the Classical Period
of the Mayas. [Mesoamerica, Mayas, disease, iconography,
menstruation, mythology, sorcery]
H. E. M. Braakhuis, Utrecht University, studied anthropology
and ethnohistory at the universities of Amsterdam and Utrecht
with Rudolf van Zantwijk. - Previous articles treat various
problems of Mayan iconography and (hero)mythology; see also
References Cited.
To Mario Enrique de la Cruz Torres
1 Introduction
In the study of Mayan mythology, the Quichean
“Popol Vuh” is usually taken as the definitive
source. In some respects, this is quite justified.
However, it is important to realize that the scope
°f this particular mythological narrative is restrict
ed since it is largely limited to the interactions
°f its two heroes with the powers of the under
world - and that within the narrow framework
°f the ball game. In the everyday life of the tra
ditional Mayas, the powers of nature that grant
fertility occupied the forefront, and man’s “inter
actions with the surrounding landscape” (Wilson
1995) were paramount. These interactions have
traditionally been expressed through another type
of myth, shared by many ethnic Mayan groups
and most completely transmitted by the Q’eqchi’s
(for an overview, see Thompson 1970; 355 ff.). In
this myth, the earth is considered under various
basic aspects, primarily those of an aggressive,
cannibalistic adoptive mother, an authoritarian pa
triarch, and a desirable, nubile daughter. 1 In the
interactions of these figures with the representa
tives of mankind, important rules of ritual conduct
are established.
In the Popol Vuh, sexual union joins an under
world woman with the hero’s father. The relation
ship between the human and the nonhuman spheres
is defined in terms of marriage. In the episode of
the tellurian myth that is the focus of this article,
the earth is alternately viewed as a potential father-
in-law and as a potential wife. The hero attempts
to marry the daughter of the male earth, either
through bridal service, or (as in Q’eqchi’ myth)
through elopement. Stereotypically, the hero’s in
teraction with the earth is instigated by love magic,
acted out by the hero transforming himself in
to a hummingbird and the woman picking it up
(for this sort of magic, see Quezada 1984: 101 f.,
and corresponding notes). Therefore, I will at
times refer to this episode, which also occurs
as an independent tale, as “Hummingbird myth.”
1 I would not agree, therefore, with Wilson when he asserts
(1995: 66) that the female earth (the earth which is culti
vated) does not have “any conceptual distinction from the
individual mountains.”