K'awiil

deity sky Maya single tradition · 5

K'awiil is a closely related deity to Chaac, and personifies the lightning axe. In Yucatec, K'awiil is called Bolon Dzacab.

↻ synthesized from 5 sources

When

First attested
200 BCE
Attested period
-200 – 1500
Historical notes
Classic Maya period

Relationships

aspect of
Chaac
allied with
god L

Expand to full subgraph →

Sources

Source passages

“He often carries a shield and a lightning axe, the axe being personified by a closely related deity, K'awiil, called Bolon Dzacab in Yucatec.”

#32916 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“The Classic Maya god of rulership and thunder, K'awiil, was depicted with a smoking obsidian knife in his forehead and one leg replaced with a snake.”

#33028 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5

“K'awiil (God K). God L is often combined and related with K'awill (also known as god K), the lightning deity who, as an owner of the seeds, was considered a bringer of abundance. More specifically, god L can extend the head of god K, or carry an infant god K in a sling on his back.”

#33164 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“K'awiil, also rendered Kauil, is a symbol of sacred kingship, continuity, and divine order. The K'awiil sceptre embodied divine legitimacy, justice, and the moral obligations of sacred rule under the one supreme Creator.”

#33189 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5