Zipacna ("Stands So Far" Series)

Sources: wikipedia, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/415/the-mayan-pantheon-the-many-gods-of-the-maya/

We may have discovered why the red pens were...taken? Transformed? Writing in an unknown language appeared in the margins of many of the papers and books in the library, in red pen. None of it was written by the librarian on duty, we confirmed, and thus far no one has been able to identify the language, though we’ve been making educated guesses. We haven’t even been able to recognize the writing system used, though there are similarities to hieroglyphs. If you know anything that might help, or wish to aid in the translation efforts, please talk to your supervisor.
 

Zipacna is one of the few denizens of Xibalba with some very specific stories told about him—and, surprisingly, he was, in fact, provoked. Most of the Lords of Xibalba would probably go on a murderous rampage to protect their own ego. Zipacna wasn’t completely without fault in the situation, but he wasn’t the one who escalated a simple disagreement.

Zipacna’s neighbors, the Four Hundred Boys, asked him to help build a hut for them, flattering the giant crocodile or caiman deity, because even with their number they were unable to carry the supplies. (Some versions of the story say Zipacna offered in order to show off, but either way, the Four Hundred Boys should certainly have been a little less easily provoked.) Zipacna, being the strongest deity, was easily able to do it, but mocked his neighbors for their inability as he did so. In response, the Four Hundred Boys plotted to kill him, as one does in Mayan society or the American South when one’s honor has been called into question. They attempted to flatten him in a hole they asked him to dig; in response, sensibly, he faked his own death. They held a party celebrating their murder and new home, which the still-alive Zipacna brought down on top of them, killing them all and transforming them into the star constellation, the Pleiades.

The Hero Twins were not particularly convinced by this case of self-defence and decided to finish the job for revenge, distracting Zipacna with his appetite for all-you-can-eat crab and/or sex and then triggering an avalanche over him. He did not escape his fate of being crushed, in the end, and the addition of ‘possibly it was sex’ might have been a late Christian addition, since the description seemed particularly focused on the idea that any amount of desire will necessarily lead to one’s destruction and themes of emasculation (such as the idea that ‘not taking charge’ as a man is inherently immoral).

The exact truth behind this tale, while interesting and relevant to our knowledge, does not change the end result. Zipacna was one of the deities killed by the Hero Twins, and is such is one of the Lords of Xibalba trapped within Xibalba. He is considered the strongest of the Mayan deities and very possibly created the mountains by breaking the ground itself.

Zipacna, while not one of the deities of intelligence, is usually capable of some planning and is not simply a typical deity of strength that relies on strength only, making his behavior on this occasion an aberration. While even familial relation is hardly enough to earn loyalty for Mayan deities, though, the fighting observed was unusual, suggesting that both he and his brother were under some sort of spell or outside influence.