Kʼawiil, in the Post-Classic codices corresponding toGod K, is aMaya deity identified with power, creation, and lightning.[1] He is characterized by a zoomorphic head, with large eyes, long, upturned snout and attenuated serpent foot.[2] 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.[1]
From the correspondence betweenLanda's description of the New Year rituals and the depiction of these rituals in theDresden Codex,[3] it can be inferred that in 16th-century Yucatán, Kʼawiil was calledBolon 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'slogogram.
However, based on epigraphic considerations, the Classic Maya God K is now most often referred to asKʼawiil. Hieroglyphically, the head of God K can substitute for the syllablekʼa inkʼawiil, 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 titlekʼawiil as a whole should be considered a name specifically referring to God K.[4]
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 thePopol Vuh, three Lightning deities identified with the 'Heart of the Sky' (among whomHuraqan '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 ofChilam Balam of Chumayel, where he is identified with wrapped-up seeds.[5] 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).
The illustrated k'atun cycle of theParis 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.[1] 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 expressionhun yax(al) hun kʼan(al) 'abundance'.[6]
Classic-period Maya artists depicted the K'awiilsceptre not as a mere stone object, but as a living, animate participant in the rituals portrayed.[7] K‘awiil might merely represent the concept of aneffigy, as the termkauil translates to "idol, false god" in thePoqom andKaqchikel languages. It could symbolize a general physical representation ofdivinity, akin to howk'uhul embodies the "invisible, inherent essence of godhood."[8][9] The K‘awiil sceptre was occasionally taken by individuals outside of royalty. AtCaracol 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.[10] In its earliest form, K‘awiil was prefixed withyax, meaning 'unripe' or 'young.' AtYaxchilán, the K‘awiil sceptre was held on various occasions and at different times throughout the year.[11]Yaxun Bʼalam IV is the only known ruler to have danced with the K'awiil sceptre on his day of accession.[9]
The sceptre can also be found inPalenque andCopan. K‘awiil 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.[9] Although not inherently an accession statement, the K‘awiil sceptre is often utilized in this context. It later became the preferred expression used byKʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat inQuiriguá to signify his own accession after he overthrew his overlordUaxaclajuun Ubʼaah Kʼawiil in 738.[12][13]
