Xbalanque the Whirlz

NAME: Xbalanque - Mayan Hero God; Moon God

-Pronounced "Shh-ballankay"

Every day when the sun goes down, he tosses the stars across the dark empty heavens.

In Maya mythology, Ixbalanque or Xbalanque was originally a son of Hun Hunahpu and the virgin Blood Moon. His twin was Hunahpu. The two were the Maya Hero Twins and together their story forms a large part of the Popol Vuh, documenting the Mayan creation myth. Xbalanque and his brother Hunahpu were quite inseperable in their lives, together outwitting arrogant gods and the lords of the Mayan underworld, Xibalba. Although it is not explicitly stated in the Popol Vuh, Hunahpu seems to have been the dominant one among the brothers, often the one to do the talking and the planning, although Xbalanque was not merely a hapless sidekick. Xbalanque is credited with saving his older brother's life at least once. Xbalanque ascended to the heavens after his death and became associated with the full moon. Xbalanque is sometimes referred to as the Mayan moon goddess, having switched genders in those versions of the myth.