Pukuj

Pukuj is the demon or devil, the principle of malevolence in the highland cosmos. He tempts, deceives and sickens the living, and in the origin narrative of the sun he leads the monstrous beings who hunted the child-sun before his ascent to the sky. Sources differ on whether Pukuj denotes a single adversary or a class of demons, for the term is used both ways in Tzotzil and Tzeltal narrative.

Domains

• malevolence temptation
• disease affliction

Powers

• tempt and deceive the living
• hunt the infant sun

Epithets

• Pukuj

Relations

• enemy: Htotik

Sources

• Gossen, Gary H. 1974. Chamulas in the World of the Sun. Harvard University Press.
• Guiteras Holmes, Calixta. 1961. Perils of the Soul. Free Press of Glencoe.