Kinich Ahau
Yucatec Maya · deity · Yucatec Maya traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Kinich Ahau, the 'Sun-Eyed Lord,' is the Yucatec Maya solar deity, shown with squared, crossed eyes, a Roman-nosed profile, filed T-shaped teeth, and the k'in sun-sign marking his body. He crosses the sky by day and sinks at dusk into the underworld, where he is transformed into a jaguar. He corresponds to God G of the codices and was worshipped at Izamal under the avatar Kinich Kakmo, the 'Sun-Eyed Fire Macaw,' said to swoop down at midday to receive offerings. In much of the scholarship he is treated not as wholly independent but as the solar face of the creator Itzamná, with whom he shares aged, celestial attributes.
Domains
- sun
- day
- kingship
Powers
- carry the sun across the sky
Epithets
- Ah Kinchil — the sun-eyed oneLanda, Relación de las cosas de Yucatán, trans. Tozzer (1941) (primary)
- Kinich Kakmo — Sun-Eyed Fire MacawJ. Eric S. Thompson, Maya History and Religion (1970) (secondary)
Relations
- ally: ItzamnáOften understood as the solar aspect of Itzamná.Karl Taube, The Major Gods of Ancient Yucatan (1992), pp. 50-56 (secondary)
Sources
- Kinich Ahau is the Yucatec sun god, recognized by his squared crossed eyes, filed teeth, and the k'in sun-sign, corresponding to codical God G.: Karl Taube, The Major Gods of Ancient Yucatan (1992), pp. 50-56 (secondary); Codex Dresdensis (primary)
- At Izamal a great temple bore his solar avatar Kinich Kakmo, the fire macaw who descended to consume offerings.: J. Eric S. Thompson, Maya History and Religion (1970) (secondary)