Huracan (; es, Huracán; myn, Hunraqan, "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

, storm,

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused the Great Flood after the second generation of humans angered the gods. He supposedly lived in the windy mists above the floodwaters and repeatedly invoked "earth" until land came up from the seas. His name, understood as 'One-Leg', suggests

god K In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

of Postclassic and Classic Maya iconography, a deity of lightning with one human leg, and one leg shaped like a serpent. God K is commonly referred to as Bolon Tzacab and

Kʼawiil Kʼawiil, in the Post-Classic codices corresponding to God K, is a Maya deity identified with lightning, serpents, fertility and maize. He is characterized by a zoomorphic head, with large eyes, long, upturned snout and attenuated serpent foot. A ...

or Kauil. The name may ultimately derive from ''huracan'', a Carib word,Read & González 2000, p.200. and the source of the words ''

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

'' and ''orcan'' (

European windstorm European windstorms are powerful extratropical cyclones which form as cyclonic windstorms associated with areas of low atmospheric pressure. They can occur throughout the year, but are most frequent between October and March, with peak intensit ...

). Related deities are Tohil in Kʼiche mythology, Bolon Tzacab in

Yucatec Yucatec Maya (; referred to by its speakers simply as Maya or as , is one of the 32 Mayan languages of the Mayan language family. Yucatec Maya is spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula and northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic commu ...

mythology, Cocijo in Zapotec mythology, and Tezcatlipoca in Aztec mythology.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Huracan Maya gods Characters from the Popol Vuh Creator gods Sky and weather gods Fire gods Wind deities earth deities

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