The twins who tricked the Maya gods of death - Ilan Stavans

Translator: Noelia Bernárdez Alonso Reviewer: Xusto Rodriguez

Day after day, the twin brothers, Jun and Wuqub,

Día tras día, os xemelgos Jun e Wuqub

ran back and forth playing ball.

corricaban xogando á pelota.

One day, their vigorous game disturbed the lords of the underworld,

Un día, o seu xogo enérxico importunou os señores do inframundo,

who challenged the twins to a match.

que desafiaron os xemelgos a un partido.

But when the brothers arrived, the lords trapped and killed them,

Porén, cando os irmáns chegaron, os señores atrapáronos e matáronos.

hanging Jun’s head from a tree as a trophy.

Como trofeo, penduraron a cabeza de Jun dunha árbore.

The tree soon sprouted massive fruit,

Pouco despois, a árbore deu unha froita enorme,

which caught the attention of one of the lords’ daughters.

que chamou a atención da filla dun dos señores.

When she reached for it, the skull of Jun spat on her hand

Cando a foi coller, o cranio de Jun cuspiulle na man

and impregnated her.

e deixouna preñada.

Fleeing of her father’s wrath,

Fuxindo da ira do seu pai,

she sought refuge with her mother-in-law and gave birth to twin sons:

refuxiouse coa súa sogra e pariu dous fillos xemelgos:

Junajpu and Ixb’alanke.

Junajpu e Ixb’alanke.

The second generation of twins discovered their father’s ballgame equipment,

A segunda xeración de xemelgos descubriron o equipo para o xogo de pelota do seu pai,

which their grandmother had hidden, and began to play.

que a súa avoa agochara, e puxéronse a xogar.

Soon enough, the messengers from the underworld

Deseguida chegaron os mensaxeiros do inframundo

arrived to issue another challenge.

para lles propoñer outro desafío.

Knowing what had happened to their fathers,

Malia saberen do que lle ocorrera ao seu pai,

the twins nevertheless answered the call,

os xemelgos aceptaron o reto.

trekking through deep caverns

Percorreron fondas cavernas

and across rivers filled with scorpions, blood, and pus,

e cruzaron ríos ateigados de escorpións, sangue e pus

until they reached the great city

até chegaren á gran cidade

from which the lords of the underworld controlled every aspect of nature

desde a que os señores do inframundo controlaban todos os aspectos da natureza

and caused suffering for humans.

e lles causaban sufrimento aos humanos.

The twins pressed on, searching for the lords who had challenged them.

Os xemelgos perseveraron e seguiron buscando os señores que os desafiaran.

The lords had hidden among statues of themselves to confuse their guests,

Os señores agocháranse entre estatuas de si mesmos para confundilos,

but the brothers sent a mosquito ahead of them.

mais os irmáns mandaron un mosquito diante deles.

When it stung the figures, the lords cried out, revealing themselves.

Cando este picou as figuras, os señores berraron e reveláronse.

They forced the twins to spend the night in the House of Darkness.

Obrigaron os xemelgos a facer noite na Casa da Escuridade.

They gave them a torch, but warned they must return it unburnt or face death.

Déronlles unha tea e advertíronos de que, se a devolvían queimada, mataríanos.

As the darkness closed in,

A medida que a escuridade os cercaba

the quick-thinking brothers adorned the torch

os irmáns, que eran moi espelidos, adornaron a tea

with red macaw feathers and fireflies.

con plumas de guacamaio vermello e lucecús.

Come morning, the lords were shocked to see the torch lit, but unburnt.

Ao amencer, os señores ficaron impactados ao veren a tea acendida e sen queimar.

They insisted on playing the game with their own ball.

Insistiron en usar a súa propia pelota para xogaren.

The twins agreed, only to find that the lords had hidden a weapon

Os irmáns aceptaron, mais descubriron que os señores esconderan unha arma

inside the ball,

dentro da pelota,

which chased them around the court, trying to kill them.

que os perseguiu pola cancha tentando matalos.

The twins survived that first round,

Os xemelgos sobreviviron á primeira rolda.

but by now they were sure this would be no ordinary match.

Para daquela xa se decataran de que non sería un partido calquera.

They played many more rounds,

Xogaron moitas roldas máis

and each time the twins scored no better than a tie,

e non eran quen de conseguir máis ca un empate,

leaving them to face whatever supernatural trial

o que os obrigaba a se enfrontar ás probas sobrenaturais

the lords set for them before picking up the game again.

que lles poñían os señores antes de retomaren o xogo unha vez máis.

They survived the House of Cold by lighting a fire,

Sobreviviron á Casa do Frío acendendo un lume,

and the House of Jaguars by feeding bones to the beasts.

e á Casa dos Xaguares dándolles ósos ás bestas.

But in the House of Bats, a bat bit off Junajpu’s head.

Porén, na Casa dos Morcegos, un morcego arrincoulle a cabeza a Junajpu.

Certain they now had the advantage,

Coa certeza de que xogaban con vantaxe,

the lords called for another round of the ballgame,

os señores esixiron unha rolda máis

hanging Junajpu’s head over the court.

e colgaron a cabeza de Junajpu sobre a cancha.

The quick-thinking Ixb’alanke called the animals to him.

O astuto Ixb’alanke invocou os animais.

A turtle brought him a chilacayote squash,

Unha tartaruga tróuxolle unha cidra caiota

and he carved it into the likeness of a head.

e el tallouna coa forma dunha cabeza.

While the lords chased the ball, he swapped it with the head.

Mentres os señores seguían a pelota, cambiouna pola cabeza de verdade.

With Junajpu’s head back on his body, the twins played harder than ever.

Coa cabeza de Junajpu de volta no corpo, os xemelgos xogaron mellor ca nunca.

Finally, they won the game,

Ao final, gañaron o partido

e bateron na cabaza pendurada, que escachou contra o chan.

hitting the hanging squash so it shattered on the ground.

The twins knew their treacherous hosts would not take the loss well.

Os xemelgos sabían que os seus anfitrións non ían encaixar ben a derrota.

To protect themselves, they enlisted a pair of seers.

Para se protexeren, conseguiron a axuda un par de videntes.

Sure enough, the lords burned the brothers in an oven,

Efectivamente, os señores queimaron os irmáns nun forno,

but the seers made sure their remains were thrown in the river,

mais os videntes aseguráronse de que se tirasen os seus restos ao río,

which restored them to life.

o cal os devolveu á vida.

The brothers then came before the lords disguised as two disheveled children

Logo, os irmáns presentáronse ante os señores disfrazados

and began to dance and perform miracles.

de rapaces desaliñados e comezaron a bailar e facer milagres.

For their final trick, Ixb’alanke pretended to kill Junajpu,

Para o seu truco final, Ixb’alanke finxiu matar a Junajpu

then resurrect him.

para despois resucitalo.

The lords were so delighted that they demanded the same trick

Os señores estaban tan satisfeitos que lles esixiron

be performed on them.

que fixesen o mesmo truco con eles.

Still in disguise, the brothers were only too happy to oblige,

Aínda disfrazados, os irmáns accederon con gusto

and began killing the lords one by one.

e comezaron a matar os señores un por un.

As the surviving lords realized who stood before them

Cando os señores que aínda vivían se decataron de quen estaba perante deles

and that no resurrection was forthcoming,

e de que non os esperaba resurrección ningunha,

they begged for mercy, and the twins spoke their curse.

empezaron a pedir clemencia e os xemelgos maldicíronos.

Henceforth, the lords would have no sacrifices

A partir daquel día, os señores non obterían sacrificios

and no power over the surface world.

nin terían poder ningún na superficie.

Their days of terrorizing humans were over.

Os días de aterrorizar os humanos chegaran á súa fin.