Cuchumaquic
Named Lord of Xibalba in the Popol Vuh's twelve-lords list; paired with Xiquiripat in the blood-pooling pair. Father of Xquic ("Lady Blood"), whose pregnancy by the severed head of Hun Hunahpu produces the Hero Twins. The Xibalba pantheon in K'iche' tradition is a structured chthonic court with twelve named lords ranked under the supreme paired sovereigns Hun-Came and Vucub-Came; Cuchumaquic is in the second-rank pair tier. His role is the genealogical hinge of the Hero Twins narrative: his attempt to execute his daughter for her unauthorized pregnancy, her flight to the surface world, and her arrival at Xmucane's house establish the conditions under which Hunahpu and Xbalanque are born and ultimately defeat the Xibalba court that Cuchumaquic himself serves. The structural irony is canonical Popol Vuh narrative architecture.
Children
Powers
- Sickens and makes people's blood flow (causes hemorrhage)
Relations
- father of: XquicPopol Vuh, Part II (primary)
- paired with: Xiquiripat ("Flying Scab"), co-Lord of Xibalba in the blood-affliction pairing · Maya
- subordinate to: Hun-Came and Vucub-Came (One Death and Seven Death), the supreme paired Lords of Xibalba · Maya
- ally: Hun-CameBlood Gatherer sits, paired with Xiquiripat, in the twelve-lord Xibalban court headed by One Death and Seven Death.Popol Vuh, trans. D. Tedlock (1996), Part 3 (primary)
Sources
- existence: Popol Vuh, Part II (primary)
- paternity-of-Xquic: Popol Vuh, Part II (primary)
- rank-among-Xibalba-lords: Popol Vuh, Part II twelve-lords list (primary)