Hun-Chowen

deity earth Maya single tradition · 2

According to the Popol Vuh of the Quiché Mayas, Hun-Chowen was an artist and musician who clashed with his half-brothers, the Maya Hero Twins. This conflict led to his humiliating transformation into a monkey. He was less positively valued among the Quiché than in other Maya traditions.

↻ synthesized from 2 sources

When

First attested
1500 CE
Attested period
1500 – 2020
Historical notes
Recorded in the Popol Vuh; transformed into a monkey after conflict with the Maya Hero Twins.

Relationships

sibling of
Hun Batz
enemy of
Maya Hero Twins
syncretized with
Hun-Cheven
child of
Hun-Hunahpu

Expand to full subgraph →

Sources

Source passages

“Among the Quiché Mayas, they were less positively valued: according to the Popol Vuh, Hun-Chowen and Hun-Batz 'One-Howler Monkey' (both artists and musicians) clashed with their half-brothers, the Maya Hero Twins, a conflict which led to their humiliating transformation into monkeys.”

#33150 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5

“According to this source, Hun Hunahpu is the father of the Maya Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque. He is also the father of the twins' half-brothers, the patrons of artisans and writers, Hun-Chowen and Hun-Batz.”

#33172 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001