Hun Hunahpu

In the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the K'iche' Maya, Hun Hunahpu and his twin brother Vucub Hunahpu are summoned to the underworld of Xibalba after disturbing the lords there with their ballgame. They are defeated through trickery and sacrifice: Hun Hunahpu's head is severed and placed in a calabash tree. His sons, the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque, later avenge him by defeating the lords of Xibalba.

Hun Hunahpu fathered the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who are the central protagonists of the Popol Vuh's narrative. Their mother was Xquic, a maiden of the underworld who became pregnant after Hun Hunahpu's severed head spat into her hand from the calabash tree. The Hero Twins eventually avenged their father by outwitting the lords of Xibalba.

Hun Hunahpu is primarily understood as the central maize deity in K'iche' Maya mythology, representing the cycle of agricultural death and rebirth. His sacrifice and the subsequent birth of his sons symbolize the planting of the maize seed, its descent into the earth, and its sprouting anew. This agricultural symbolism is central to Maya cosmology as expressed in the Popol Vuh.

In the Popol Vuh, Hun Hunahpu and his brother Vucub Hunahpu are playing the Mesoamerican ballgame when the noise angers the lords of Xibalba, who summon them to the underworld. The ballgame is a recurring motif in the narrative, symbolizing the cosmic contest between life and death. Hun Hunahpu's sons, the Hero Twins, also play the ballgame during their own journey to Xibalba.