Kukulkan

Kukulkán is the Mayan name for Quetzalcoatl , here on a relief in Yaxchilán .

Kukulkan , actually K'uk'ulkan , was the feathered serpent , god of resurrection and reincarnation among the Maya . At each equinox his shadow climbs or descends the "el Castillo" stairs ( Chichén Itzá ). He plays an identical role as Quetzalcoatl with the Aztecs .

According to legend, Kukulkan comes from the ocean and may one day return there. A Mayan legend has it that he will return to earth during the end of the world. In Yucatan his name is Kukulkan, in Guatemala he is called Gucumatz .

Kukulkan is also the god of the four elements (water, earth, fire, air), each element is represented by a plant or an animal:

• Air - the vulture
• Fire - the lizard
• Earth - the corn
• Water - the fish.

In Mayan script , Kukulkan can be represented with a bone flute, a jaguar, an eagle, a basin full of blood or a snail.

See also

• Pyramid of Kukulcán

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alfredo Barrera Vásquez et al .: Cordemex, ed Diccionario Maya -. Español - Maya. Mérida 1980.

other names

• Gucumatz
• Gugumatz
• Kucumatz
• K'uk'ulkan
• Kukulcan
• Kulkulcan
• Kukumatz
• Quetzalcoatl ( Aztecs )