The twins who tricked the Maya gods of death - Ilan Stavans episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 12, 2026 · 6 MIN

The twins who tricked the Maya gods of death - Ilan Stavans

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Dive into the Maya myth of twins Junajpu and Ixb’alanke as they descend into the underworld to play the gods in a ballgame.--One day, twin brothers Junajpu and Ixb’alanke discovered their father’s hidden ballgame equipment and began to play. Hearing their vigorous game, the lords of the underworld sent a messenger to challenge the boys to a match. Despite the danger, the twins nevertheless answered the call, making the trek to the great city of Xibalba. Who would emerge victorious? Ilan Stavans shares the Maya myth.Lesson by Ilan Stavans, directed by Arvind Singh Jeena and Nikhita Prabhudesai.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-twins-who-tricked-the-maya-gods-of-death-ilan-stavansDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-twins-who-tricked-the-maya-gods-of-death-ilan-stavans#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.totemcreative.in----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Jonathan Bates JBZ, Aria Smith, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Camehira, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Jayson Gasper Ayson, Maxwell Ramsby, Dmitry Yuryev, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Juan Pablo Rodriguez Morales, ANNE FINE, Gerardo Castro, Siddharth Toshniwal, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, Aravind C V, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, LvL042, Abdulmohsin Almadi, Andrew Brodski, AJ Lyon, Anandha Krishnan, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Christopher McVay, Carlo Solaroli, Javier Aldavaz, Ivan Yeung and Brian Elieson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The twins who tricked the Maya gods of death - Ilan Stavans

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