Vestiges of the Mayas / or, Facts Tending to Prove That Communications and Intimate Relations Must Have Existed, in Very Remote Times, Between the Inhabitants of Mayab and Those of Asia and Africa

by Augustus Le Plongeon

SIN OR HURKI

is the name of the moon deity; the etymology of it is quite uncertain. Its titles, as Rawlison remarks, are somewhat vague. Yet it is particularly designated as “the bright, the shining” the lord of the month.

Zin in Maya has also many significations. Zin is to stretch, to extend. Zinil is the extension of the whole of the universe. Hurki would be the Maya Hulkin—sun-stroked; he who receives directly the rays of the sun. Hurki is also the god presiding over buildings and architecture; in this connection he is called Bel-Zuna. The lord of building, the supporting architect, the strengthener of fortifications. Bel-Zuna would also signify the lord of the strong house. Zuú, Maya, close, thick. Na, house: and the city where he had his great temple was Ur; named after him. U, in Maya, signifies moon.