Kʼawiil, in the Post-Classic codices corresponding to God K, is a

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 ...

deity identified with power, creation, and lightning. He is characterized by a zoomorphic head, with large eyes, long, upturned snout and attenuated serpent foot. As a creator god, K'awiil usually has a torch, stone celt, or cigar coming out of his forehead that symbolizes the spark of life. One of his legs does not end in a foot but in a snake with an open mouth, from which another being can emerge. As lightning and power personified, K'awiil is often carried like an axe by rain gods or as a sceptre by Maya rulers.

Names

From the correspondence between Landa's description of the New Year rituals and the depiction of these rituals in the

Dresden Codex The ''Dresden Codex'' is a Maya book, which was believed to be the oldest surviving book written in the Americas, dating to the 11th or 12th century. However, in September 2018 it was proven that the Maya Codex of Mexico, previously known as th ...

, it can be inferred that in 16th-century Yucatán, Kʼawiil was called ''Bolon Dzacab'' 'Innumerable (''bolon'' 'nine, innumerable') maternal generations', probably a metaphor for fertility as well as the power of creation. God K's name in the Classic period may have been the same, or similar, since the numeral 'nine' is repeatedly found included in the deity's

logogram In a written language, a logogram (from Ancient Greek 'word', and 'that which is drawn or written'), also logograph or lexigraph, is a written character that represents a semantic component of a language, such as a word or morpheme. Chine ...

. However, based on epigraphic considerations, the Classic Maya God K is now most often referred to as ''Kʼawiil''. Hieroglyphically, the head of God K can substitute for the syllable ''kʼa'' in ''kʼawiil'', a word possibly meaning 'powerful one', and attested as a generic deity title in Yucatec documents. This substitution has given rise to the idea that, inversely, the title ''kʼawiil'' as a whole should be considered a name specifically referring to God K.

Narratives and scenes

Lightning plays a crucial role in tales dealing with the creation of the world and its preparation for the advent of mankind. In the cosmogony of the

Popol Vuh ''Popol Vuh'' (also ''Popul Vuh'' or ''Pop Vuj'') is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people of Guatemala, one of the Maya peoples who also inhabit the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, ...

, three Lightning deities identified with the 'Heart of the Sky' (among whom '' Huraqan'' 'One-Leg') create the earth out of the primordial sea, and populate it with animals. Bolon Dzacab plays an important, if not very clear role in the cosmogonical myth related in the Book of

Chilam Balam The Books of Chilam Balam () are handwritten, chiefly 17th and 18th-centuries Maya miscellanies, named after the small Yucatec towns where they were originally kept, and preserving important traditional knowledge in which indigenous Maya and ea ...

of Chumayel, where he is identified with wrapped-up seeds. Wielding lightning, the rain gods once opened up a sacred mountain, making the maize seeds therein available to mankind. Kʼawiil also figures in an enigmatic Classic scene known only from ceramics (see fig.2), showing an aged ancestor or deity emerging from the serpentine foot of the lightning god, apparently to mate with a nude young woman of decidedly aristocratic allure entwined by the serpent. Not impossibly, the meaning of the scene is ritual, rather than mythological. K'awiil also features prominently in the stucco reliefs of the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico, where rulers and nobles hold infant forms of K'awiil. This infant form of the god (unen k'awiil) was also one of the three patron deities of Palenque (GII of the so-called Palenque Triad).

Functions

The illustrated k'atun cycle of the Paris Codex suggests that the presentation of the head of Kʼawiil – perhaps holding the promise of 'Innumerable Generations' – was part of the king's ritual inauguration and accession to the throne. As lightning, k'awiil was also raw power and basic to creation as well as destruction. Holding k'awiil was a sign not only of the king's abilities in war and politics but also his power to bring agricultural abundance (particularly with regard to maize and cacao seeds). Therefore, k'awiil is often depicted with a sack of grains, sometimes accompanied by the expression ''hun yax(al) hun kʼan(al)'' 'abundance'.

''K'awiil'' sceptre

Classic-period Maya artists portrayed the ''K’awiil'' sceptre not as a mere stone object, but as a living, animate bearer of legitimacy—an active participant in the sacred rituals of rule. ''K'awiil'', also rendered ''Kauil'', is a symbol of sacred kingship, continuity, and divine order. While the word has been translated in Poqom and Kaqchikel as "idol" or "false god," this reflects colonial and linguistic distortions, not the true function of ''K'awiil'' in classical Maya civilization. Rather than representing idolatry, the ''K'awiil'' sceptre embodied divine legitimacy, justice, and the moral obligations of sacred rule under the one supreme Creator. The ''K'awiil'' sceptre symbolizes a physical representation of divine kingship, akin to how ''k'uhul'' embodies the "invisible, inherent essence of godhood."Wright, M. A. (2011). ''A Study of Classic Maya Rulership'' (Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Riverside). https://escholarship.org/content/qt6pb5g8h2/qt6pb5g8h2_noSplash_acc079cd1ba843db7f2864c60cbcdf73.pdf The ''K'awiil'' sceptre was occasionally taken by individuals outside of royalty. At Caracol Stela 5, dating to A.D. 613, Knot Ajaw is depicted with a pair of miniature figures or dwarves at his feet, each holding a ''K'awiil'' sceptre. In its earliest form, ''K'awiil'' was prefixed with ''yax'', meaning 'unripe' or 'young.' At Yaxchilán, the ''K'awiil'' sceptre was held on various occasions and at different times throughout the year.

Yaxun Bʼalam IV Yaxun Bʼahlam IV, also called Bird Jaguar IV, was a Maya rulers, Mayan king from Yaxchilan. He ruled from 752 until 768 AD, continuing the period of prosperity started by his father Itzamnaaj Bahlam III, Itzamnaaj Bʼahlam III. He had to struggl ...

is the only known ruler to have danced with the ''K'awiil'' sceptre on his day of accession. The sceptre can also be found in

Palenque Palenque (; Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamha ("big water" or "big waters"), was a Maya city-state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD ...

and Copan. The K'awiil sceptre was a central focus in some polities, while being virtually overlooked in others. Quirigua's dynastic founder, " Tok Casper," was the first to receive the K'awiil sceptre (''cham k'awiil'') in Quirigua during his accession. Although not inherently an accession statement, the ''K'awiil'' sceptre is often utilized in this context. It later became the preferred expression used by Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat in

Quiriguá Quiriguá () is an ancient Maya civilization, Maya archaeological site in the Departments of Guatemala, department of Izabal Department, Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately along the lower Motagua ...

to signify his own accession after he overthrew his overlord Uaxaclajuun Ubʼaah Kʼawiil in 738.Riese 1986

References

Bibliography