Editing Xibalba (section)

==Structure==
Xibalba was a large palace and a number of individual structures or locations within Xibalba are described or mentioned in the ''Popol Vuh''. Chief among these was the council place of the Lords, the five or six houses that served as the first tests of Xibalba, and the Xibalban [[Mesoamerican ballgame|ballcourt]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.library.umaine.edu/hudson/palmer/Maya/ballgame.asp|title=Maya Ballgame|first=William|last=Palmer III|publisher=University of Maine, Fogler Library|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726134518/https://library.umaine.edu/hudson/palmer/Maya/ballgame.asp|archive-date={{date|July 26, 2020}}}}</ref> Also mentioned are the homes of the Lords, gardens, and other structures indicating that Xibalba was at least a great city.

Xibalba seems to be rife with tests, trials, and traps for anyone who came into the city. Even the roads to Xibalba were filled with obstacles: first a river filled with [[scorpion]]s, a river filled with blood, and then a river filled with [[pus]].<ref name="PV2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Ancient_religions/Central_america/popol_vuh.htm|title=Popol Vuh|website=www.meta-religion.com}}</ref> Beyond these was a crossroads where travellers had to choose from among four roads that spoke in an attempt to confuse and beguile.  Upon passing these obstacles, one would come upon the Xibalba council place, where it was expected visitors would greet the seated Lords. Realistic [[mannequin]]s were seated near the Lords to confuse and humiliate people who greeted them, and the confused would then be invited to sit upon a bench, which was actually a hot cooking surface.  The Lords of Xibalba would entertain themselves by humiliating people in this fashion before sending them into one of Xibalba's deadly tests.

The city was home to at least six deadly houses filled with trials for visitors. The first was Dark House, a house that was completely dark inside. The second was Rattling House or Cold House, full of bone-chilling cold and rattling hail. The third was Jaguar House, filled with hungry jaguars. The fourth was Bat House, filled with dangerous shrieking bats, and the fifth was Razor House, filled with blades and razors that moved about of their own accord. In another part of the ''Popol Vuh'', a sixth test, Hot House, filled with fires and heat, is identified. The purpose of these tests was to either kill or humiliate people placed into them if they could not outwit the test.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mythweb.com/teachers/why/other/hero_twins.html|title=Hero Twins|publisher=Mythweb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421074205/http://www.mythweb.com/teachers/why/other/hero_twins.html|archive-date={{date|April 21, 2021}}}}</ref>