Kai (the Sun)
Wayuu · deity · Wayuu traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Kai (Ka'i) is the Sun in Wayuu cosmology, counted among the primordial beings that Maleiwa set in the sky. In the widely told account, when the creator Maleiwa prepared to withdraw beneath the earth he appointed two watchmen — Kai the Sun to keep vigil by day and Kashi the Moon to keep vigil by night. The Sun is often imagined as the fire or hearth of Maleiwa that warms the world, and its name doubles as the Wayuu word for 'day' in the traditional reckoning in which the day is Kai, the month is Kashi, and the year is Juyá.
Domains
- sun and daylight
Powers
- to watch over the world by day
Relations
- subordinate to: MaleiwaAppointed by Maleiwa as the daytime sentinel of the world before the creator hid himself away.Perrin, Michel (1987). The Way of the Dead Indians: Guajiro Myths and Symbols. Trans. Michael Fineberg. Austin: University of Texas Press. (secondary)
- companion: Kashi (the Moon)Kai and Kashi form the paired sentinels of day and night among the primordial celestial beings.Paz Ipuana, Ramón (1972). Mitos, leyendas y cuentos guajiros. Caracas: Instituto Agrario Nacional. (secondary)
Sources
- Kai is the personified Sun of Wayuu cosmology, one of the primordial celestial beings and the daytime sentinel appointed by Maleiwa.: Perrin, Michel (1987). The Way of the Dead Indians: Guajiro Myths and Symbols. Trans. Michael Fineberg. Austin: University of Texas Press. (secondary); Paz Ipuana, Ramón (1972). Mitos, leyendas y cuentos guajiros. Caracas: Instituto Agrario Nacional. (secondary)