Central America
This entry was originally published in the World History Encyclopedia and was written by Joshua J. Mark. It is shared in line with the Encyclopedia’s policies under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Xumucane and Xpiayoc
The parents of Hun Hunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu, grandparents of the Hero Twins, most ancient of the gods of the Maya pantheon, and the divine couple and first Daykeepers who helped to create human beings. According to the Quiche Maya, after the thirteen creator gods failed in their attempt to make human beings, they consulted with the much older gods, Xumucane and Xpiayoc to find out what they were doing wrong. They asked the ancient couple if wood could be a proper medium for the fashioning of humans. The two Daykeepers consulted the sacred calendar and said that wood seemed a workable material but, when the wooden humans were made, they were unacceptable. They could walk and talk but had no respect for the gods and could not consult the calendar; so the gods destroyed them in a great flood. Xumucane then ground white and yellow corn (maize) and washed her hands, saving the water to brew a sacred broth which gave life to the humans who were created from the maize, thus beginning human life on the earth. Xumucane is the great grandmother and Xpiayoc the great grandfather of all human beings. She is known as the divine mid-wife responsible for all births and he is the divine matchmaker in charge of arranging all marriages. As the first two Daykeepers they are closely associated with the sacred calendar.