Defeating Cabracan

THE third prideful one was the second son of Seven Macaw, Cabracan by name.

“I am the wrecker of mountains,” said he.

It was simply because of Hunahpu and Xbalanque that Cabracan was defeated.
Then Huracan, Youngest Thunderbolt, and Sudden Thunderbolt spoke to Hunahpu and
Xbalanque, saying:

“According to my word, the second son of Seven Macaw must also be defeated.
For it is not good what they have done upon the earth. They surpass the sun in greatness
and importance, and this is not as it should be. Thus, lure him away there to the East,
where the sun rises,” said Huracan to the twins.

“Very well, thou lord. It has always been thus, that we do not approve of him.
For he is not lifted up where thou art, thou Heart of Sky,” the boys replied when they
received the word of Huracan.

Now this Cabracan occupied himself as a wrecker of mountains. He would simply
tap his foot a little on the surface of the earth, and straightaway mountains, both small
and great, would tumble down.

Then he was met by the twins:

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

“I’m not going anywhere. I am merely a feller of mountains. I will wreck them as
long as there is sun and light,” he said when he spoke to them.

Then Cabracan spoke again to Hunahpu and Xbalanque:

“Where have you come from? I do not know your faces. What are your names?”
asked Cabracan.

“We have no names. We have just been blowgunning and trapping in the
mountains. We are just poor orphans, for there is nothing that is ours, boy. We just
wander in the mountains, both small and great. There is one great mountain that we saw
that keeps growing until truly high it ascends. It simply rises up, far above the peaks of
all the mountains. We could not catch even one or two birds before its face. Is it really
true that you fell all mountains, boy?” asked Hunahpu and Xbalanque of Cabracan.

“Is it true that you saw this mountain of which you speak? Where is it? You shall
surely see that I will fell it. Where did you see it?”

“There it is in the East, where the sun rises,” said Hunahpu and Xbalanque.

“Good. You lead the way,” the twins were told.

“No, you just take the middle place between us, one on your left and one on your
right hand. We have our blowguns, and if there are any birds, we will shoot them,” they
said.

They rejoiced that they could practice their shooting. But there were no clay
pellets in their blowguns. When they shot them, they merely blew at the birds. Thus
Cabracan was amazed.

Then the boys used a twist drill to make their fire, upon which they roasted the
birds. They covered the skin of one of the birds with quicklime until it was coated with
white earth.

“We will give this to him when he becomes ravenous with hunger. When he
savors the aroma of our birds, he will be defeated. We will put earth on its skin. We will
cook it in earth. In the same way, therefore, he himself will be buried in the earth. This
must be if the great sage, the one to be framed and shaped, is to be sown and to have his
dawn,” the boys said.

“Cabracan shall desire with all his heart to eat what we will cook. This shall be
the desire of the heart of Cabracan,” said Hunahpu and Xbalanque to each other.

Then they roasted the birds until they had been cooked to a golden brown. They
would drip with fat from their skins and give off a fragrant aroma. Thus Cabracan desired
to be fed. His mouth watered. He just gulped and drooled saliva and spittle because of the
fragrance of the birds.

Thus he begged of them:

“What is it that you are eating? Its aroma is truly delicious to smell. Give me a
little,” he said therefore.

Then they gave to Cabracan a bird, and this was his defeat. When he had finished
the bird, they went on their way again until they arrived in the East. There they came to
the great mountain.

But by now the legs and arms of Cabracan had become weak. Never again
would he be strong because of the earth coated on the skin of the bird he had eaten. He
could no longer do anything to the mountains. He did not succeed in causing them to fall
apart.

Then the boys tied him up. They tied his hands behind his back. The boys were
mindful to make sure that his hands were well bound. They also tied his ankles
together. Then they hurled him down into the earth and buried him.

Thus Cabracan was defeated at the hands of Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
Innumerable were their deeds here on the face of the earth.


- Popol Vuh