THIS now is the overthrow and death of Zipacna. He was defeated by the twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, whose hearts were offended by the deaths of the four hundred boys at the hands of Zipacna.

Now this Zipacna would spend each day wandering in search of his food, only fish and crabs, which he looked for in the rivers. By night, however, he would carry mountains on his back.

Thus Hunahpu and Xbalanque transformed for him a great crab. For this purpose, they used a bromelia flower, the kind of bromeliad that may be picked in the forests, to make the open claws. For its shell and backside, they used a hollowed-out stone. This shell they placed at the bottom of a cave below a great mountain. Meauan was the name of this mountain where he was defeated.

When the boys came, they found Zipacna by the river:

“Where are you going, boy?” they asked Zipacna.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m just searching for my food,” replied Zipacna.

“What is your food?”

“Only fish and crabs, but I haven’t found any yet. It has been two days since I have eaten, and now I cannot bear the hunger,” said Zipacna to Hunahpu and Xbalanque.

“There is a crab there below the canyon. It is truly a great crab. Why don’t you try your luck with it?” asked Hunahpu and Xbalanque. “Perhaps you will be able to eat it. It merely bit us when we tried to catch it, so we are afraid of it. But he will not go away and you could catch it.”

“Take pity on me. Guide me there, boys,” said Zipacna.

“We do not want to. Just go along yourself. There is no way that you will get lost if you just follow the course of the river until you reach the base of the great mountain. There it will be, situated below the canyon. Just go along over there,” said Hunahpu and Xbalanque.

“Please take pity on me. I will never find it, boys. You go first as my guides. I know where there are many birds that you could shoot with your blowguns,” said Zipacna.

He humbled himself before them, promising to reward them. He wept before them.

“Perhaps you will not be able to catch it. Then you would return like we did. Because not only were we not able to eat it, but it would straightaway bite us. We went in there headfirst on our stomachs, but it became frightened. A little later we went in lying on our backs, but we couldn’t find it again. Thus it would be good if you went in lying on your back,” he was told.

“Very well,” replied Zipacna.

Thus they left, accompanied by Zipacna. At length they arrived below the canyon where the crab was placed, its surface bright red there at the base of the canyon. This was their deception.

“That’s good,” rejoiced Zipacna.

He wanted to put it straight in his mouth because he was truly famished and wanted to eat it. He just wanted to go in headfirst on his stomach. But the crab climbed high up, and Zipacna came back out.

“Didn’t you get it?” he was asked.

“No. It climbed high up and after awhile I couldn’t find it again. Perhaps it would be good then if I went in again lying on my back,” he said therefore.

Then he went back in again lying on his back. He went all the way in until only his kneecaps showed outside. Thus he was completely swallowed up. The mountain then settled down onto his chest so that he could not turn over again. Zipacna became stone. Thus was the defeat of Zipacna at the hands of the boys, Hunahpu and Xbalanque.

Such is the ancient account of the first son of Seven Macaw, the Maker of Mountains, as he was called, who was defeated beneath the mountain called Meauan. It was merely enchantment by which this second prideful one was defeated.

Now we shall tell the tale of another.

- Popol Vuh, The Defeat of Zipacna