Revue Magazine 2010-11 (November)

According to tradition the quetzal’s red breast color was caused from taking
part in the struggle between Spanish conqueror Pedro de Alvarado and the
great Mayan Chief Tecún Umán.
Resplendent Quetzal cont. from page 74
BLOOD OF THE DEAD
Standing there I wondered whether old
Rosendo had any idea of the role the
quetzal had played in the history of his
people. According to tradition, the quetzal
took part in the struggle between Spanish
conqueror Pedro de Alvarado and the great
Mayan Chief Tecún Umán.
After Alvarado’s mercenaries had slain
30,000 Maya on the battlefield near Xelajú
(Quetzaltenango) innumerable quetzals flew
down to earth and settled on the bodies of
the warriors. All through the night, keeping
deathwatch, the quetzals covered the bodies
of the slaughtered Indians.
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At dawn the birds flew into the sky again,
but different than before: Their breasts had
soaked up the blood of the dead, and since
that day the quetzal has been red underneath.
Later that morning I was writing up some
notes and I decided to try and sketch what
the quetzal’s display flight had looked like,
knowing that getting good photographs of
it would be next to impossible.
As I looked at my drawing it dawned on me
that the figure of the quetzal, flying straight
up into the sky with tail feathers rippling
behind, looked oddly reminiscent of the
Greek caduceus: two serpents intertwined
about a staff and topped ...continued on page 96