Huracan (also Hurakan, Harakan and Jurakan), in Mayan understandable as Jun Raqan "one legged", often referred to as U K'ux Kaj 'Heart of Sky')[1] was a K'iche' Mayan god of wind, storms, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity.[2] 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 of Postclassic and Classic Maya iconography, a deity of lightning with one human leg,[3] and one leg shaped like a serpent. God K is commonly referred to as Bolon Tzacab and K'awiil or Kauil. The name may ultimately derive from huracan, a Carib word,[4] and the source of the words hurricane and orcan (European windstorm).
Related deities are Tohil, Bolon Tzacab, Cocijo in Zapotec mythology, and Tlaloc in Aztec mythology.
Huracan is referred to in Grace Nichols' poem Hurricane Hits England where she makes references to the Caribbean gods.
Notes[]
References[]
- Christenson, Allen J. (2003, 2007). "Popul Vuh: Sacred Book of the Quiché Maya People" (PDF online publication). Mesoweb articles. Mesoweb: An Exploration of Mesoamerican Cultures. http://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- Freidel, David A.; Linda Schele and Joy Parker (1993). Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path. New York: William Morrow & Co.. ISBN 0-688-10081-3.
- Miller, Mary; and Karl Taube (1993, 2003). An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27928-4.
- Read, Kay Almere; and Jason González (2000). Handbook of Mesoamerican Mythology. Oxford: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-85109-340-0.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Huracan. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. |