The Popol Vuh recounts how an earlier people were like artifacts shaped from mud and sticks. Heedless of the gods’ wishes, they were replaced by humans created out of maize dough. Humans could now enjoy life, yet, as part of their covenant, they had to reciprocate by praising the gods or offering their own bodies as divine food. At death, humans would repay their debt, returning to the ravenous earth from which their flesh had come. But payment could be deferred by ritual substitutes, known in some Mayan languages as k’ex. Incense, animals, and even elegant prayer did the job temporarily. The most dramatic offering, however, came from the human body, by bloodletting from the mouth, penis, ears, or the surrogate flesh of captives or slaves.
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