Awilix () (also spelled Ahuilix, Auilix and Avilix) was a

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

(or possibly a

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

) of the Postclassic Kʼicheʼ

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

, who had a large kingdom in the highlands of

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. She was the patron

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

of the Nijaʼibʼ noble lineage at the Kʼicheʼ capital

Qʼumarkaj Qʼumarkaj ( Kʼicheʼ: ) (sometimes rendered as Gumarkaaj, Gumarcaj, Cumarcaj or Kumarcaaj) is an archaeological site in the southwest of the El Quiché department of Guatemala.Kelly 1996, p.200. Qʼumarkaj is also known as Utatlán, the Nahuat ...

, with a large temple in the city. Awilix was a

Moon goddess A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be foun ...

and a goddess of night, although some studies refer to the deity as male. Awilix was probably derived from the Classic period lowland

Maya moon goddess The traditional Mayas generally assume the Moon to be female, and the Moon's perceived phases are accordingly conceived as the stages of a woman's life. The Maya moon goddess wields great influence in many areas. Being in the image of a woman, sh ...

or from Cʼabawil Ix, the Moon goddess of the

Chontal Maya The Chontal Maya are a Maya people of the Mexican state of Tabasco. "Chontal", from the Nahuatl word for ''chontalli'', which means "foreigner", has been applied to various ethnic groups in Mexico. The Chontal refer to themselves as the Yokot'an ...

Etymology and symbolism

Awilix was the goddess of the moon, the queen of the night. She was associated with the

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

, sickness and death and was a patron of the

Mesoamerican ballgame The Mesoamerican ballgame (, , ) was a sport with ritual associations played since at least 1650 BC by the pre-Columbian people of Ancient Mesoamerica. The sport had different versions in different places during the millennia, and a modernized ...

. Her calendrical day was probably (moon) in the 20-day cycle of the

Maya calendar The Maya calendar is a system of calendars used in Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and in many modern communities in the Guatemalan highlands, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico. The essentials of the Maya calendar are based upon ...

. The eagle was the totem animal of the Nijaʼibʼ, and it is presumed that the bird was associated with the lunar aspect of the goddess, with the

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

associated with her night aspect. Awilix was one of the three principal deities of the Kʼicheʼ, together with Tohil and Jacawitz, and the trinity of gods was sometimes referred to collectively as Tohil, the most important of the three. Alternate origins have been suggested for the origin of the name of the goddess, it has been suggested that "awilix" derives from or in the Qʼeqchiʼ Maya language, which means "

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

" (the bird). It has also been suggested that the Nijaʼibʼ migrated from the area around the

Pico de Orizaba Citlaltépetl (from Nahuan languages, Náhuatl = star, and = mountain), otherwise known as Pico de Orizaba, is an active volcano, the highest mountain in Mexico and Table of the highest major summits of North America, third highest in North Ame ...

mountain in central

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. This area was formerly known as Awilizapan in the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

language of the

Aztecs The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the ...

, and it may be that the Nijaʼibʼ derived the name of their goddess from their place of origin. Awilix is mentioned throughout the Kʼicheʼ epic Popul Vuh and is also mentioned in the important Kʼicheʼ document known as the '' Título de los Señores de Totonicapán''. Ixbalanque, one of the

Maya Hero Twins The Maya Hero Twins are the central figures of a narrative included within the colonial Kʼicheʼ document called Popol Vuh, and constituting the oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the Kʼ ...

of the Popul Vuh, was the

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

of Awilix.

Temples of Awilix

In Qʼumarkaj the temple of Awilix faced the temple of Tohil across a small plaza. It was on the east side of the plaza with a stairway giving access from the west. Investigations at the temple have revealed that eagle imagery was predominant. The high priest of Awilix was chosen from the Nijaʼibʼ lineage and was called the ''

Ajaw Ajaw or Ahau ('Lord') is a pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Maya political title attested from epigraphy, epigraphic inscriptions. It is also the name of the 20th day of the ''tzolkʼin'', the Maya divinatory calendar, on which a ruler's ''kʼatu ...

Awilix''. According to a drawing made by Rivera y Maestre in the early 19th century, the temple of Awilix was not as tall as the temple of Tohil. This structure was apparently the second most important temple in Qʼumarkaj. Originally this temple was formed of a large rectangular platform supporting a smaller platform and a temple structure on the east side. A wide stairway climbed the west side of the temple, it was flanked on the lower level by two large

talud-tablero Talud-tablero is an architectural style most commonly used in platforms, temples, and pyramids in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, becoming popular in the Early Classic Period of Teotihuacan. ''Talud-tablero'' consists of an inward-sloping surface or ...

panels. The exterior stonework of the building has been completely stripped away. There were four principal phases of construction and there is evidence that the temple had been repaired various times prior to the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...

. The floor under the third phase of construction had been painted dark green. Archaeological investigations found fragments of incense burners underneath the first building phase. The temple is similar in form to a temple mound on the west side of the first plaza in Iximche, the postclassic capital of the Kaqchikel Maya. Structure 4 at Zaculeu, the capital of the Mam Maya, is a temple-palace combination situated on the southeast side of one of the main plazas and was likely to have been a temple of Awilix. This temple-palace is Kʼicheʼ in style and has been identified with the Nijaʼibʼ lineage of the Kʼicheʼ, being very similar to the Temple of Awilix at Qʼumarkaj. The structure consists of a central pyramidal base flanked by two attached range structures. The pyramidal base is topped by a shrine containing three rooms, the final room of the three is circular. The temple has three steep stairways flanked by

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

s. The main stairway ascends directly from the plaza, those on either side are

perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

to the main stairway. The balustrade of each stairway terminates at the top in a vertical panel. The temple facade is in good condition although the roof of the temple is missing. The range structures are unequal in size and each contains a single long room atop a low platform. The facade of each of these rooms once possessed a row of columns although only stumps remain in situ.

Modern worship

The modern descendants of the Nijaʼibʼ in Momostenango revere rival

syncretised Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...

forms of the goddess, who are said to be the lovers of the town's patron saint Santiago ( St. James).Fox & Cook 1996, p.814.

In popular culture

Awilix is featured as an assassin of the Maya pantheon in Smite. She is one of two Maya goddesses in the game.

Notes

References