The Maya myth of the morning star

Translator: Alrilo Witwicky Reviewer: Ade Indarta

Chak Ek’ rose from the underworld to the surface of the eastern sea

Chak Ek' bangkit dari dunia bawah menuju permukaan laut timur

and on into the heavens.

hingga ke langit.

His brother K’in Ahaw followed.

Saudaranya K'in Ahaw mengikuti.

Though Chak Ek’ had risen first, K’in Ahaw outshone him,

Meskipun Chak Ek' muncul dulu, K'in Ahaw mengalahkannya,

and the resentful Chak Ek’ descended back to the underworld

dan Chak Ek' yang marah kembali ke dunia bawah

to plot against his brother.

merencanakan perlawanan pada saudaranya

In Mayan mythology, Chak Ek’ represents Venus and K’in Ahaw represents the sun.

Di mitologi suku Maya, Chak Ek' mewakili Venus dan K'in Ahaw mewakili matahari.

Known as both the morning and the evening star,

Keduanya dikenal sebagai bintang pagi dan malam,

Venus moves through the sky, sometimes visible before sunrise,

Venus bergerak di langit, terkadang tampak saat fajar,

sometimes after sunset, and occasionally not at all.

kadang saat senja, dan terkadang tidak sama sekali.

The ancient Maya identified this roughly 584 day cycle

Suku Maya kuno mengidentifikasi kira-kira dalam siklus 584 hari

more than a thousand years ago

lebih dari seribu tahun lalu

and it still accurately predicts when and where Venus will appear in the sky

dan prediksinya masih akurat kapan dan di mana Venus tampak di langit

around the world.

di seluruh dunia.

Five of these cycles make up almost exactly eight years,

Lima siklus terbentuk selama hampir delapan tahun,

and the Maya also recognized this larger cycle.

dan suku Maya juga mengakui siklus yang lebih besar ini.

They assigned Chak Ek’ five different forms,

Mereka menggambarkan Chak Ek' dalam lima bentuk berbeda,

one for each cycle of Venus, that were repeated every eight years.

untuk tiap siklus Venus, yang berulang dalam delapan tahun.

Within the 584 day cycle, Venus is visible in the evening sky for 250 days,

Dalam siklus 584 hari, Venus tampak pada langit senja selama 250 hari,

then disappears for 8 days before reappearing as the Morning Star.

kemudian menghilang selama 8 hari sebelum muncul lagi sebagai Bintang Fajar.

The ancient Maya ascribed particular significance to this point in this cycle:

Suku Maya kuno beranggapan tiap siklus memiliki arti tertentu:

the first time Venus appears before sunrise after being invisible.

pertama kali Venus muncul saat fajar setelah tidak tampak.

On this day, Chak Ek’ rose again from the underworld,

Pada hari itu, Chak Ek' bangkit lagi dari dunia bawah,

wielding a spearthrower and darts.

membawa tombak dan anak panah.

To bring discord to the world,

Untuk membawa perselisihan ke dunia,

he decided to attack his brother and his brother’s allies.

dia memutuskan menyerang saudaranya juga sekutunya.

His first target was K’awiil, god of sustenance and lightning.

Target pertamanya adalah K'awiil, dewa pangan dan kilat.

Rising in the late rainy season, Chak Ek’ aimed his spear and struck K’awiil,

Muncul pada akhir musim hujan, Chak Ek' membidikkan tombak dan menyerang K'awiil,

causing damage to the food and a period of chaos in the social order

menyebabkan kerusakan pangan serta kekacauan tatanan sosial

hingga K'awiil terlahir kembali.

until K’awiil was reborn.

584 days after attacking K’awiil,

584 hari setelah menyerang K'awiil,

Chak Ek’ turned his attention back to his brother, the Sun.

Chak Ek' mengalihkan lagi perhatiannya pada saudaranya, sang Matahari.

Each night, the Sun took the form of jaguar

Tiap malam, sang Matahari menjelma menjadi jaguar

and journeyed through the underworld.

dan berpergian ke dunia bawah.

Chak Ek’ speared the jaguar sun as it rose at dawn towards the end of the dry season.

Chak Ek' menombak matahari jaguar saat fajar sebelum terbit di akhir kemarau.

The Sun was wounded, plunging the world into a period of chaos and warfare.

Sang Matahari terluka, menjerumuskan dunia dalam kekacauan dan peperangan.

Chak Ek’s third victim was the god of maize,

Korban ketiga Chak Ek' adalah dewa jagung,

who provided sustenance for all humankind.

yang menyediakan makanan bagi seluruh umat manusia.

Chak Ek’ speared him at the time of the harvest.

Chak Ek' menombaknya saat panen.

He was buried in the underworld, and maize—the staple of life—

Dia dikubur di dunia bawah, dan jagung --pokok kehidupan--

was no longer available to Earth’s inhabitants.

tidak tersedia lagi bagi penduduk Bumi.

But the maize god emerged after three months in the place of new beginnings–

Tapi dewa jagung muncul lagi setelah tiga bulan di tempat baru--

the eastern cave known as Seven Water Place– bringing food once again to earth.

di gua timur yang disebut Tempat Tujuh Air -- membawa makanan ke bumi.

When the turtle Ak Na'ak rose in the sky to mark the summer solstice,

Ketika Kura-kura Ak Na'ak muncul di langit menandai titik balik matahari kemarau,

Chak Ek’ claimed his fourth victim.

Chak Ek' mengklaim korban keempatnya.

With the death of this good omen, the Sun, the food supply, and the people

Dengan kematian pertanda baik, Matahari, persediaan pangan, dan manusia

were buried within the earth, and the forces of chaos reigned.

yang dikubur dalam tanah, serta kekacauan merajalela.

But out of the chaos rose a new order established by Hun Ajaw,

Tetapi kekacauan memunculkan tatanan baru yang didirikan oleh Hun Ajaw,

one of the hero twins known to all

salah satu dari pahlawan kembar yang terkenal

for having vanquished the lords of the underworld.

karena menaklukkan penguasa dunia bawah.

A new race of humans was created, made from maize.

Ras manusia baru muncul tercipta dari jagung.

This state of balance was not to last, however.

Kondisi yang seimbang ini pun tak bertahan lama.

Chak Ek’s fifth and final victim was a mysterious stranger from the west,

Korban kelima dan terakhir Chak Ek' adalah orang asing misterius dari barat,

and his death in the heart of the dry season

dan kematiannya di tengah kemarau

shook the order established by Hun Ajaw.

menghancurkan tatanan yang didirikan Hun Ajaw.

The gods, the lords, and the maize were buried in the underworld.

Para dewa, penguasa, serta jagung dikubur kembali di dunia bawah.

But this victory for Chak Ek’ would also prove temporary.

Tapi kemenangan Chak Ek' hanyalah sementara.

The two brothers, Venus and the Sun, were caught in an endless cycle

Kedua saudara, Venus dan Matahari, terjebak dalam siklus tak berujung

as they battled for supremacy, re-enacting the same five struggles,

saat mereka bertanding untuk keunggulan, memerankan kembali kelima perjuangan,

while the world alternated between order and chaos

sementara itu dunia berganti antara tatanan dan kekacauan

with the rising of the Morning Star.

dengan munculnya Bintang Pagi.