Legends of the Maya

Legends of the Maya is one of the Artifact Collections in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It consists of seven documents, found throughout Kuwaq Yaku, The Hidden City, and the Mission of San Juan.

Alux

 * Location: Mission of San Juan

Mam An Alux, plural Aluxob, is akin to the Maya version of a gnome or leprechaun. They're about as high as an adult's knee, and wear traditional Maya clothing. They are created whenever a farmer builds a little house on his property for them, after which they'll help the corn grow for a period of seven years, making it rain and chasing off predators. They're usually invisible, and in spite of their benefit to the land, they like to play tricks on or frighten humans. Don't call one by name, or you'll summon it from its home - and it won't be happy with you!

Balams

 * Location: Kuwaq Yaku

Mam Balam is the Maya word for jaguar. The Maya idolized jaguars for their majestic beauty and dangerous grace. Villagers would have four Acantuns, idols which they placed at each corner of the village. At night, five Balams, spirit jaguar guardians, would come to the village. One Balam would station itself at each corner, next to an Acantun, while the fifth and smallest Balam would coordinate their protection efforts against evil demons and spirits.

Chechen and Chaca Trees

 * Location: Mission of San Juan

Mam These are two legendary trees which complement one another. The Chechen tree secretes a substance which is poisonous upon contact, and the nectar of the Chaca tree can neutralize that poison before it results in serious burns. The fascinating thing about these trees is that they always grow very near to each other. According to legend, two brothers, warrior princes, fought a battle to the death over the love of a woman, and died in each other's arms. They begged the gods for forgiveness, and it was granted: Kinich, the kind one, was reborn as the benevolent Chaca tree, while Tizic, the hate-filled one, was reborn as the Chechen tree.

The Monkey Twins

 * Location: The Hidden City

Mam Hun-Batz and Hun-Choen were twin brothers, older half-siblings of the more celebrated Maya Hero Twins. Jealous of their brothers, the Monkey Twins would always cheat during football matches, and ruin them with their aggressive tactics. In retaliation, the Hero Twins lured them up a tree - a tree which never stopped growing, preventing Hun-Batz and Hun-Choen from getting down. The Hero Twins convinced them that they could use their belts to climb down, but this turned out to be another trick, and the belts became tails, turning the elder twins into monkeys.

The Paddler Gods

 * Location: The Hidden City

Mam The divine canoe, which carries Maya souls through the underworld and into the sky, is directed by two gods: Old Stingray Paddler sits in the back of the canoe and handles the duties during the day, while Old Jaguar Paddler sits in the front and takes care of the night shift. These two gods symbolize not only light and darkness, day and night, but also the interdependence of all equal and opposite forces.

Votan

 * Location: Kuwaq Yaku

Mam Votan is an ancient Maya god of war and death, so old he is rumored to have been old even before the beginning of time itself. He is usually depicted as having no teeth, and being colored entirely black. Little is known about him, except that he likes to smoke pungent cigars. Interestingly, he is also the god who invented drumming!

World Tree

 * Location: Mission of San Juan

Mam The Maya Tree of Life, also known as Yaxche, plants its roots in the underworld, and then passes through our world as its branches extend all the way into paradise. Lurking somewhere inside the World Tree is Itzam-Ye, a bird god who is said to know all the secrets of the three planes of existence through which the World Tree grows.