My artistic depiction of the Mayan legend of la Xtabay (ish-ta-BYE, "the female ensnarer"), which begins with two women from a village on the Yucatán Peninsula.

Xkeban (ish-kay-BAHN, is a harlot with a heart of gold) is in the foreground with her flower, the xtabentún, which is a delicate, sweet-smelling blossom, while Utz-colel (oots-col-EL, who is a callous narcissist) is covered by her tzacam, a prickly cactus with pretty but foul-smelling flowers. Suffice to say, it was the "virtuous" and virginal but haughty and callous Utz-colel who became the beautiful but deadly Xtabay, with the help of evil spirits in her envy and rage toward Xkeban; she was certain that it must have been Xkeban's many affairs with men that earned her beautiful, fragrant flowers growing from her grave and she swore that she would live as Xkeban lived and thus gain said lovely, perfumed flowers growing from her grave.

Like the rest of the villagers, Utz-colel/Xtabay remained remarkably blind to the fact that Xkeban was blessed with the sweet perfume and delicate blossoms of the xtabentun not because of her lusty ways but because of her sincere, undiscriminating love, compassion, and selflessness; Xkeban was ready at a moment's notice to help the sick, the unfortunate, animals who had been abandoned because they were “useless”, and even sold the expensive gifts of her admirers to help care better for her wards while Utz-colel scornfully looked down her nose at the unfortunate and could not even be bothered to smile at them. Continually praised by the other villagers for her purity and "virtue" as well as for her beauty, Utz-Colel believed herself superior; Xkeban, who was continually berated and reviled by the same villagers for her promiscuity, was sincerely humble and took the abuse in stride and just continued her selfless kindness.

I want to be as accurate as possible and do the culture justice, and I would like advice on what Mayan women would traditionally wear. I did my best to make both women look Maya, which includes some the traditional Mayan expectations of beauty (sloped forehead, high-bridged nose, slightly crossed eyes, sharpened teeth, etc). And they are standing at the base of a ceiba tree, which is where la Xtabay supposedly lurks when men wander past her. Ironically, only those of virtuous souls can become ceiba trees in death, according to Mayan lore, and Utz-colel/Xtabay is anything but virtuous based on her cold, haughty attitude toward everyone else despite her chastity in life.

Their hairstyle is the ideal for Maya rather than the typical hairstyle; the Maya valued and value long, healthy locks, but the humid heat makes that ideal difficult to maintain for most people. Therefore, hair was braided and/or tucked out of the way. La Xtabay represents that ideal, with her hair loose and flowing to her ankles, and she's usually brushing it with a piece of tzacam or ceiba (both of them are pretty spiny).