Huracan (also Hurakan, in Mayan understandable as Jun Raqan "one legged") was a Mayan god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity.[1] He also caused the Great Flood after the second generation of humans angered the gods. He supposedly lived in the windy mists above the floodwaters and repeatedly invoked "earth" until land came up from the seas.
His name, understood as 'One-Leg', suggests god K of Postclassic and Classic Maya iconography, a deity of lightning with one human leg,[2] and one leg shaped like a serpent. God K is commonly referred to as Bolon Tzacab and K'awiil or Kauil. The name may ultimately derive from huracan, a Carib word,[3] and the source of the words hurricane and orcan (European windstorm).
Alternative spellings are Hurakan, Harakan, Jurakan. Related deities are Tohil, Bolon Tzacab, 'Heart of Heaven' (in the Popol Vuh), Cocijo in Zapotec mythology, and Tlaloc in Aztec mythology.
Huracan was also mentioned in Grace Nichols' poem Hurricane Hits England where she makes references to the Caribbean gods.
See also
Notes
References
- Freidel, David A.; Linda Schele and Joy Parker (1993). Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path. New York: William Morrow & Co.. ISBN 0-688-10081-3. OCLC 27430287.
- Miller, Mary; and Karl Taube (1993, 2003). An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27928-4. OCLC 28801551.
- Read, Kay Almere; and Jason González (2000). Handbook of Mesoamerican Mythology. Oxford: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-85109-340-0. OCLC 43879188.
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