Cucumatz is one and the same with the Nahuatlacan—or, more properly speaking, Toltecan Quetzalcohuatl. The name is compounded from two Kiché words signifying “Feathered Serpent,” and its meaning in the Nahuatl is precisely the same. Concerning the nature of this deity, there is probably more difference of opinion than in the case of any other known to comparative mythology. Strangely enough, although unquestionably an alien in the mythology of the Aztecan branch of the Nahuatlacâ, he bulks more largely in the myths of that people than in the legends of the Kichés. To the Aztecâ he seems to have appeared as a half-friendly Baal, to worship or revile according to the opportunism of national fortune. If he were here to be dealt with as his importance demands the limits of this monograph would speedily be surpassed. Although unquestionably the same god to both Mexicans and Kichés, he had acquired a significance in Aztecan eyes quite out of all proportion to his Kiché or Mayan importance. To the Aztecan mind he was a culture-hero, unalterably associated with the sun, and with the origins of their civilisation. To the Toltecs he was the “Man of the Sun,” the traveller, who, with staff in hand, symbolised the daily journey of the Sun-god. In all likelihood Quetzalcohuatl was evolved upon Mexican soil by the Toltecs, perhaps adopted from some older cultus by them. He was at least worshipped sedulously by aboriginal or pre-Aztecan tribes in Anahuac. Mr. Payne writes:[2] “The fact that the worship of Quetzalcohuatl under the name of Cuculcan or Gucumatz was extensively prevalent in Yucatan and Central America, while no trace is found of the worship of Tezcatlipoca, strongly suggests that the founders of the Central American pueblos (the Toltecs) were, in fact, devotees of Quetzalcohuatl, who preferred exile and adventure in strange lands to accepting a religious innovation which was intolerable to them.”
That Quetzalcohuatl was not an aboriginal Maya-Kiché deity is proved by the relative importance granted him by a people—the Aztecâ—to whom he was alien; and that they regarded him as the aboriginal god of Anahuac par excellence is indisputable.
Hurakan, the winged creative power, is the wind of the tempest.[3] In the “Popol Vuh” he is designated “The Heart of Heaven.” He is parallel with if not identical to the Aztecan deity Tezcatlipoca, who in his variant of Yoalli-ehecatl (the Wind of Night) was supplicated by the Aztecâ as the life-breath.[4] Elsewhere we have hinted that Tezcatlipoca may have been an ice-god.[5] Mr. Payne sees in him an elaboration of the vision of death in a polished “scrying”-stone, which seems possible but scarcely probable. Hurakan was in all likelihood derived from an original deity of the Antilles.[6] The term “hurricane” is said to have originated from the name of this god, and although the direct evidence for this is scanty, other circumstances place the connection beyond reasonable doubt. Hurakan is also alluded to in the “Popol Vuh,” as “The Strong Serpent,” and “He who hurls below,” referring to his presence in the lightning. Brinton is of opinion that the name Hurakan signifies “giant,” but the sequence of proof is not altogether convincing. Hurakan had the assistance of three demiurges, named respectively Cakulha-Hurakan (lightning), Chipi-Cakulha (lightning-flash), and Raxa-Cakulha (track-of-the-lightning).
Hun-Ahpu and Xbalanque, who appear in the first myth proper—that of the destruction of Vukub-Cakix, are certainly “of the gods,” but seem to be only demi-gods. They are constantly alluded to as “young men.” Brasseur de Bourbourg, who saw in the Vukub-Cakix myth the struggle between the Toltecs and the invading Nahuatlacâ, believed these hero-gods to be equivalents of Tezcatlipoca and Nanahuatl, but the resemblance appears to exist merely in the martial character of the deities, and is hardly noticeable in other details. Hun-Ahpu would appear to signify “The Master,” but Brinton translates the name as “Magician.” It may have a reconciliatory translation as “Adept.” A variant is the name of his father Hun-Hun-Ahpu, “Each-one-a-Magician,” and some confusion is apparent in the Vukub-Cakix myth between the two names; but as the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg so justly observes, “these names are so symbolic in character that their absolute elucidation is impossible.” Xbalanque signifies “Little Tiger.”
“The gods of the Kichés were legion,” but the foregoing list embraces practically all the deities proper with whom we have to deal in the “Popol Vuh.”
The Vukub-Cakix Myth
The outstanding point of interest in the myth of Vukub-Cakix and his two sons is its terrestrial significance. That they were of the earth as truly as were the Jotuns of Scandinavian mythology there can be no doubt. Like the Jotuns or the Titans, Vukub-Cakix and his progeny are made from the earth, and the parent giant is a living representation of its surface. Xpiyacoc and Xmucane remove his emerald teeth, and replace them with maize grains—surely a mythical interpretation or allegory of the removal of the green virgin turf of the earth, and its replacement by the maize seed. It is further worthy of notice that the maize is placed in Vukub-Cakix’s mouth by divine beings. In the third book of the “Popol Vuh” it is stated that the gods gave maize to man. It was, indeed, brought to earth from heaven by the sacred animals.