Another unpropitious deity was Ek Ahau, the Black Captain, also a war god, being represented (fig. [5]) in the picture-writings as armed
with a spear or an ax. It was said of him that he was a very great and very cruel warrior, who commanded a band of seven blackamoors like himself. He is characterized by his black color, his drooping lower lip, and the two curved lines at the right of his eye. His hieroglyph is a black eye (fig. [5]).
Fig. 5. Ek Ahau, the Black Captain, war deity (note his name glyph, below).
Contrasted with these gods of death, violence, and destruction was the Maize God, Yum Kaax, Lord of the Harvest Fields (fig. [6]). Here we have one of the most important figures in the whole Maya pantheon, the god of husbandry and the fruits of the earth, of fertility and prosperity, of growth and plenty. The Maize God was as well disposed toward mankind as Ahpuch and his companions were unpropitious. In many of the picture-writings Yum Kaax is represented as engaged in agricultural pursuits. He is portrayed as having for his head-dress a sprouting ear of corn surrounded by leaves, symbolic of growth, for which he stands. Even the hieroglyph of this deity (fig. [6]) embodies the same idea, the god's head merging into the conventionalized ear of corn surrounded by leaves.
Fig. 6. Yum Kaax, Lord of the Harvest (note his name glyph, below).
Another important deity about whom little or nothing is known was Xaman Ek, the North Star. He is spoken of as the "guide of the merchants," and in keeping with that character is associated in the picture-writings with symbols of peace and plenty. His one characteristic seems to be his curious head, which also serves as his name hieroglyph (fig. [7]).