Vucub Caquix- Maya CreatureCreature · Monster"False Sun"

The False Sun

Vucub Caquix, Seven Macaw in the K'iche' tongue, was a monstrous bird-demon who ruled the dark era before the true sun rose. His teeth were made of jewels and his eyes gleamed like precious metals. His nest was adorned with gold and silver. When he spread his wings, light poured from his plumage, and he proclaimed himself the sun and the moon. The early humans who lived in that sunless age worshipped him. But his light did not warm the earth or make plants grow.

The Twins' Attack

The Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, waited beneath a nance tree where the bird-demon came to feed. When he descended, they shot him with their blowguns. Hunahpu's shot struck Vucub Caquix's jaw, shattering it and sending him tumbling from the tree. But the enraged monster seized Hunahpu's arm before he fell and tore it from the socket.

Vucub Caquix retreated home, nursing his shattered jaw and displaying Hunahpu's arm as a trophy. The twins enlisted two elderly gods, Zaqui-Nim-Ac and Zaqui-Nima-Tzis, who disguised themselves as traveling healers and presented themselves at Vucub Caquix's dwelling. They offered to cure his jaw. The suffering monster accepted.

The Humiliation and Death

The false healers told Vucub Caquix the cure required extracting his teeth and replacing his eyes. He consented. They pulled the jeweled teeth and set white corn kernels in their place. They scooped out the metallic eyes and packed the sockets with ground corn. As each tooth came out and each eye went dark, Vucub Caquix's glory faded. Without his splendor he was just a bird. He died.

The twins recovered Hunahpu's arm and reattached it. The false sun was gone.