The Hero's Journey
This is the very first step on the hero's journey, when they're moved to do something different from their status quo.
What is the "Call to Adventure"?
After receiving the call to adventure, this is the name of the step where the hero decides to embark on their quest
What is "the Departure"?
This was the action of the first and seventh Hunahpu on their initial journey to Xibalba that resulted in their death, even before they could play ball?
What is "smoking the lit cigars they were given by the Gods"?
Xibalba is the name for what, in the Mayan tradition?
The "Underworld"
This would be considered the call to adventure for the hero twins
What is "when the Lords of Death called the hero twins down to Xibalba to play pok-a-tok"?
This spot on the hero's journey is a comfortable one, when we see them achieve a balance between who they were at the beginning and who they are now that they've grown
What is "New Life"?
This is where we leave the hero, now at peace with their new life.
What is "the Resolution"?
Even though One Hunahpu was killed and reduced to a skull, he was able to "live on" by spitting into the hand of this stubborn woman.
Who is "the Blood Woman"?
What is:
- owls
- caimans
- jaguars
One of the many trials that the hero twins would have endured in Xibalba
- keeping the cigar and torches "lit" overnight
- calling the Lords of Death by their proper names
- getting ants to help with the flower gathering
This phase is when a mentor figure in the hero's life shows up to give them tools and/or inspiration to accept their call to adventure
What is the "Assistance" phase?
The "trials" phase of the hero's journey is when they must do what?
What is "go through a series of tests/challenges to begin their transformation"?
These are the hero twins, born from the Blood Woman after One Hunahpu spit into her hands, known to be more clever than their father and uncle before them.
Who are "Hunahpu and Xbalanque"
This type of beautiful, freshwater "pit" or swimming hole is the way Mayans believed humans could enter and access Xibalba
What is a cenote?
This would be considered one part of the "crisis" phase of the hero's journey for the twins in Xibalba
What is "grinding up the Hero Twins' bones and sprinkling them in the river"?
Yikes! This moment is when the hero must face their fears, doubts, and any of the scary things that rule their life. It is considered the REAL reason for their journey...
The "Treasure & Result" portion of the hero's journey, this is when they receive what?
What is attaining a reward and/or achieving the goal they'd set out to accomplish
By winning against the Lords of Death and surviving their tricks, the hero twins were able to stop what practice that humans had, up until this point, been required to do?
What is giving "blood sacrifices" to the Lords of Death?
A river of blood, a river of pus, and a great city...
What are things you might see in Xibalba?
This is the final trick / action that the hero twins complete to truly conquor the Lords of Death in Xibalba, after resurrecting a dog, a human, and even each other.
What is "kill the Lords of Death but refuse to resurrect them"?
Even though the hero had to face their fears in an earlier stage, this is the stage where they are actually about to face their most difficult challenge of all, although now they're in a better place to do so with the skills, insights, or tools they've accumulated along the way.
What is "the Crisis"?
What is "making a successful return to the ordinary world"?
What are the sun and the moon?
Blood was something that humans were expected to use or give in Xibalba for what purpose?
What is "a sacrifice for the Gods"?
Early on in the hero twins' adventure, this animal would be considered one of their helpers, if not a wise old mentor like is usually found.
What is a rat?