In an old village on the peninsula lived two sisters whose beauty was admired by all, although their hearts seemed to follow very different paths.
The two sisters
Xkebán was harshly judged for the life she led. Many refused to speak her name with respect, yet she showed compassion to those who suffered. She helped the poor, cared for the sick and took in abandoned animals. In the eyes of the village, her reputation mattered more than her actions.
Utz-Colel, by contrast, was known as a proper and virtuous woman. She followed the rules, carefully maintained her reputation and won the admiration of others. Behind that respectable image, however, she was proud and showed little compassion for anyone she considered beneath her.
The village judged appearances; the legend looked into the heart.
The death of Xkebán
One day Xkebán was no longer seen. No one asked after her until a sweet fragrance began to spread through the village. Following the scent, they found her lifeless body. To the surprise of those who had condemned her, there was no smell of decay, only a sweet fragrance that lingered in the air.
A small fragrant white flower grew from the earth. It was called xtabentún. To later storytellers, the flower revealed the goodness that the village had refused to recognize while Xkebán was alive.
The death of Utz-Colel
Utz-Colel was outraged. She believed that a woman condemned by everyone could not possibly leave such a beautiful fragrance behind. She imagined that when she herself died, an even lovelier flower would rise from her grave.
But tradition says the opposite occurred. Her body gave off an unpleasant smell, and the tzacam appeared over her grave: a beautiful flower born among thorns, yet without the fragrance of the xtabentún.
The comparison awakened an envy that even death could not extinguish. Utz-Colel believed Xkebán's power had come from dark forces and chose to imitate them so she could return to the world of the living.
The birth of the Xtabay
In the most widespread version, Utz-Colel returned as the Xtabay: a woman with long dark hair and a white dress who appears at night, seated beneath a ceiba tree while slowly combing her hair.
Her beauty, song and deceptive perfume attract men who walk alone or whose senses have been clouded by drink. Those who answer her call leave the trail and enter the forest, where the familiar path disappears.
Thus, the woman admired in life became a feared presence after death. The memory of the sister who had been despised lived on in the fragrance of a flower.
A story changed by every voice
Some versions present Xkebán and Utz-Colel as sisters; others describe them simply as two women from the same village. The relationship between Xkebán and the final figure of the Xtabay also changes. This diversity does not weaken the legend; it proves that it is still alive.
The story belongs to the storytelling tradition of the Yucatán Peninsula and remains present in the cultural memory of the Riviera Maya. Xtabay Magazine shares it as oral tradition, not as historical fact or a definitive version.