Mensäbäk
Lacandon · deity · Lacandon traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Mensäbäk, 'Maker of Powder', is the Lacandon rain god, who blackens the clouds by scattering the soot-like black powder (säbäk) that his helpers grind, so releasing the rain. He is associated with the lake and cliff-paintings at the place that bears his name in the northern Lacandon territory, where he is said to keep the rain and to guard souls marked with the black pigment. The name also appears as Metzabok.
Domains
- rain
- weather
Powers
- bring the rain
- guard the marked souls
Epithets
- Mensäbäk — Maker of PowderDidier Boremanse, Hach Winik: The Lacandon Maya of Chiapas (IMS, 1998) (primary)
Sources
- Mensäbäk is the Lacandon rain god who blackens the clouds with soot and is tied to the lake and rock-paintings that bear his name.: Didier Boremanse, Hach Winik: The Lacandon Maya of Chiapas (IMS, University at Albany, 1998) (primary); R. Jon McGee, Life, Ritual, and Religion among the Lacandon Maya (Wadsworth, 1990) (primary)