Bat House

NEXT they were put inside Bat House, which had only bats inside. It was a house
of death bats. These were great beasts with snouts like blades that they used as murderous
weapons.

When they arrived there, they were to be finished off. They had to crawl inside
their blowguns to sleep so that they would not be eaten there in this house.

Nevertheless, it was because of a single death bat that they gave themselves up in
defeat. It came swooping down. But this was merely a way to manifest themselves when
it occured.

Thus they pleaded for wisdom all that night as the bats made a din with their
flapping wings.

“Keeleetz! Keeleetz!” they said all night long.

At length things quieted a little, and the bats became motionless.
Thus one of the boys crawled to the end of his blowgun. Xbalanque said,
“Hunahpu, do you see the dawn yet?”

“I will go and see for certain if has happened,” he replied.

Hunahpu truly wanted to look out of the mouth of his blowgun to see the dawn.
But when he did so, his head was cut off by the death bat,393 leaving the greater part of
his body behind.

“What? Hasn’t it dawned yet?” asked Xbalanque. But Hunahpu did not move.

“What is going on? Hunahpu wouldn’t have left. What then has he done?”

But nothing moved; only the rustling of wings was heard. Thus Xbalanque was
ashamed:

“Alas, we have given in already,” he said.

At the word of One Death and Seven Death, the head was placed atop the
ballcourt. Thus all the Xibalbans rejoiced because of the head of Hunahpu.


- Popol Vuh