Tepew

The term tepew is used throughout the Popol Wuj, often in conjunction with specific deities or office holders. Traced back to its Nahuatl etymologies, it is generally translated as "sovereignty" in English (e.g., Christenson 2003: line 7846), though in his prose translation Mayanist scholar Allen J. Christenson (2007: 276n849) argues "The Quiché word tepewal is 'glory, majesty, sovereignty.'" Citing Lyle Campbell (1983: 85), he adds, "Alternatively, the name may be derived from the Nahua tepe (mountain) with an augmentative suffix pul/pol (great, large) yielding “'Great Mountain.'”

La palabra tepew aparece en diversos momentos textuales del Popol Wuj, típicamente en el nombre de alguna deidad o líder político. Según apunta Sam Colop (2008: 157n253), Tepew "es una palabra náhuatl que significa 'conquistador o victorioso.'".