Tohil

Tohil is the paramount patron deity of the K'iche' people in the later, historical portion of the Popol Vuh. In the darkness and cold before the first sunrise, when the tribes wander from the legendary Tulan, it is Tohil who alone possesses fire and who bestows it upon the founding lineages, above all the Kaweq, demanding in return their allegiance and the payment of blood and human sacrifice. Carried as a wrapped stone bundle through the migrations, his image was ultimately enshrined in a great temple above the K'iche' capital of Q'umarkaj (Utatlan). Tohil is associated with fire, storm, and tribute, and is often set beside the companion patrons Awilix and Jaqawitz of the other ruling houses; scholars link him to the wider Maya deity of rain and lightning.

Domains

• fire
• rain and storm
• patronage and sacrifice

Powers

• grants fire to the tribes
• requires sacrifice and tribute

Epithets

• Tojil — the Payer / Storm-GiverRecinos, Adrian. Popol Vuh. University of Oklahoma Press, 1950. (secondary)

Sources

• Tohil is the chief patron deity of the K'iche' who gives fire to the tribes at Tulan and demands human sacrifice, and whose image the founding lineages carried into the highlands.: Ximenez, Francisco. Popol Vuh manuscript, c. 1701-1703. (primary); Christenson, Allen J. Popol Vuh. University of Oklahoma Press, 2007. (secondary); Carmack, Robert M. The Quiche Mayas of Utatlan. University of Oklahoma Press, 1981. (secondary)