B'alam

Señala el destacado lingüista k'iche' Sam Colop (2008: 45n52) que b'alam quiere decir "jaguar," el mayor carnívoro félido de América y una importante figura en el simbolismo político y religioso mesoamericano. Colop cita a Dennis Tedlock (1996: 239), quien asocia el félido con la oscuridad.

According to Mayanist scholar Allen J. Christenson (2007: 94-95n164), b'alam (jaguar), the largest of the predators native to Mesoamerica, is "Known for its ferocity and cunning." Historically, rulers throughout the Mesoamerican world "decorated their thrones with jaguar symbols and wore jaguar pelts to emphasize lordly power. In addition, the jaguar is associated with ritual powers of transformation and prophecy."

Image credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library System, Public Domain.