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

Prevodilac: Andjelka Stojanovic Lektor: Ivana Korom

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

Dan za danom, Un i Vukub, braća blizanci,

ran back and forth playing ball.

trče unaokolo i igraju igre loptom.

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

Jednoga dana, njihovu energičnu igru su poremetili bogovi podzemlja

who challenged the twins to a match.

i izazvali blizance na takmičenje.

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

Kada su braća stigla na mesto takmičenja, bogovi podzemlja su ih zarobili i ubili,

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

okačivši Unovu glavu da visi na drvetu kao trofej.

The tree soon sprouted massive fruit,

Ubrzo je sa drveta proklijalo ogromno voće,

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

što je privuklo pažnju jedne od bogovih ćerki.

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

Kada je pokušala da dohvati to voće, Unova lobanja joj je pljunula u šaku

and impregnated her.

i ona je ostala trudna.

Fleeing of her father’s wrath,

Bežeći od očevog gneva,

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

našla je utočište kod svoje svekrve i ubrzo rodila blizance:

Junajpu and Ixb’alanke.

Unapua i Iksbalankea.

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

Nova generacija blizanaca je pronašla opremu svoga oca za loptanje,

which their grandmother had hidden, and began to play.

koju je njihova baba sakrila, i započeli su igru loptom.

Soon enough, the messengers from the underworld

Ubrzo posle toga, glasnici podzemnog sveta

arrived to issue another challenge.

stižu da izdaju još jedan izazov.

Knowing what had happened to their fathers,

Iako su znali šta se njihovom ocu desilo,

the twins nevertheless answered the call,

blizanci su se ipak odazvali pozivu,

trekking through deep caverns

prolazili su kroz duboke pećine

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

i preko reka punih škorpija, krvi i gnoja,

until they reached the great city

sve dok nisu stigli u veliki grad

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

odakle su bogovi podzemlja kontrolisali celu prirodu

and caused suffering for humans.

i stvarali patnju ljudima.

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

Pritisnuli su, tražeći bogove koji su ih izazvali.

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

Bogovi su se sakrili među svojim statuama, da bi zbununili blizance,

but the brothers sent a mosquito ahead of them.

ali braća su poslala komarca ispred sebe.

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

Kada je komarac izbo figure, bogovi su vrisnuli otkrivši se.

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

Naterali su blizance da provedu noć u Kući Tame.

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

Dali su im baklju, upozorivši da moraju da je vrate neizgorelu ili se suoče sa smrću.

As the darkness closed in,

Kada se tama spustila,

the quick-thinking brothers adorned the torch

snalažljiva braća su ukrasila baklju

with red macaw feathers and fireflies.

perjem crvenog papagaja i svicima.

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

Ujutru, bogovi su bili iznenađeni kada su videli upaljenu neizgorelu baklju.

They insisted on playing the game with their own ball.

Insistirali su na igru njihovom loptom.

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

Blizanci su pristali, samo da bi saznali da su bogovi sakrili oružje

inside the ball,

unutar lopte,

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

koja ih je jurila svuda po dvoru, pokušavajući da ih ubije.

The twins survived that first round,

Preživeli su prvi deo igre,

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

ali sada su sigurni da to neće biti samo obično takmičenje.

They played many more rounds,

Igrali su više krugova,

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

i svaki put, blizanci nisu postigli ništa bolje od nerešenog rezultata,

leaving them to face whatever supernatural trial

suočavajući se sa kakvim god natprirodnim sudom

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

koji su bogovi pripremili za njih pre nastavka igre.

They survived the House of Cold by lighting a fire,

Preživeli su Kuću Hladnoće upalivši vatru,

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

i Kuću Jaguara hranivši životinje kostima.

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

Nažalost u Kući Šišmiša, šišmiš odgrize Unapuu glavu.

Certain they now had the advantage,

Imajući sigurnu prednost,

the lords called for another round of the ballgame,

bogovi su tražili još jednu igru loptom,

hanging Junajpu’s head over the court.

okačivši Unapuovu glavu da visi.

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

Brzo razmislivši, Iksbalanke je pozvao životinje ka sebi.

A turtle brought him a chilacayote squash,

Kornjača mu je donela smokvolisnu tikvu,

and he carved it into the likeness of a head.

koju je izrezbario kao glavu.

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

Dok su bogovi bili zauzeti loptom, zamenio je tikvu glavom.

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

Sa Unapuovom glavom ponovo na njegovim ramenima, trudili su se više nego ikad.

Finally, they won the game,

Na kraju su konačno pobedili,

hitting the hanging squash so it shattered on the ground.

pogodivši tikvu koja je visila i razbivši je o zemlju.

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

Znali su da njihovi podmukli domaćini neće dobro prihvatiti gubitak.

To protect themselves, they enlisted a pair of seers.

Da zaštite sebe, angažovali su par vidovnjaka.

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

Naravno, bogovi su spržili braću u pećnici,

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

ali vidovnjaci su se potrudili da se njihovi ostaci bace u reku,

which restored them to life.

što ih je vratilo u život.

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

Braća su kasnije došla kod bogova prerušena u dva uneređena deteta

and began to dance and perform miracles.

i počela da plešu i izvode trikove.

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

Kao završni trik, Iksbalanke se pretvarao da ubija Unapua,

then resurrect him.

zatim ga je vaskrsnuo.

The lords were so delighted that they demanded the same trick

Bogovi su bili oduševljeni, tako da su zahtevali taj trik

be performed on them.

da probaju na sebi.

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

I dalje prerušena, braća su bila presrećna da ipune želju,

and began killing the lords one by one.

i počeli da ubijaju bogove jednog po jednog.

As the surviving lords realized who stood before them

Kada su bogovi koji su preživeli shvatili ko stoji pred njima,

and that no resurrection was forthcoming,

i da nema predstojećeg vaskrsenja,

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

molili su za milost, i blizanci su izgovorili svoju kletvu.

Henceforth, the lords would have no sacrifices

Od sada pa nadalje, bogovi podzemlja neće više žrtvovati nikoga

and no power over the surface world.

i neće imati nikakvu moć nad površinskim svetom.

Their days of terrorizing humans were over.

Njihovim danima terorima nad ljudima je došao kraj.