Q'ukumatz

According to Mayanist scholar Allen J. Christenson (2007: 52-3n20), the name of the creator deity Q'ukumatz, part of a broadly Mesoamerican spirtual landscape, "may be translated as 'Quetzal Serpent' or, less accurately, as 'Feathered Serpent.' Q'uq' refers to the quetzal bird, Pharomacrus mocinno, one of the most beautiful birds in the world. It inhabits the cloud forests of southern Mesoamerica between 3,000 and 4,000 feet in elevation. Both male and female have brilliantly colored iridescent blue/green feathers on their wings, tail, and crest, while their breasts are a bright crimson. The shade of blue or green depends on the angle of light striking its feathers. The male quetzal’s tail feathers were highly prized by Maya royalty for their beauty and size, often reaching three feet in length. The unique coloration of the bird carried profound religious significance for the Maya. Its predominant blue/green feathers represented sky and vegetation, both symbols of life. Its red breast represented fire, the force that quickens life. Kumatz is a general term for “snake” or 'serpent.' The serpent was a common Maya symbol for regeneration or rebirth because of its tendency to periodically shed its skin to reveal a newer and brighter one. The combination of an avian lord of the skies with a serpentine lord of the earth and underworld gave this god power over all levels of the Maya universe. He is undoubtedly related to the well-known god Quetzalcoatl (Nahua for “Quetzal Serpent) worshiped by the Aztecs of Central Mexico." Renowned scholar Robert M. Carmack (2001a) argues that Q'ukumatz is associated with the male line of K'iche' nobility, but the deity's combination of bird-like and serpentine qualities symbolically conjoin characteristics associated with men (plumage, snake) and women (air and the water from which the deity emerges, alongside Tz'aqol, B'itol and Alom, K'ajolom in the early scenes of the Popol Wuj) (Carmack 2001b).

La deidad Q'ukumatz, uno de los Señores prodigiosos del Popol Wuj y el panteón mesoamericano en sí, es una de las fuerzas más importantes en el texto. Sabe crear y destruir, todo a la vez, en un complejo sistema de balance y equilibrio con los otros dioses, incluyendo, como señala el investigador k'iche' Sam Colop (2008: 14), K'otuja, Kikab' y Kawisimaj. En el contexto del Popol Wuj, en el cual la deidad se nombra Tepew Q'ukumatz, su figura representa, conforme a Colop (2008: 22n5) "una metonomia de Quetzalcóatl. Q'ukumatz (es mi escritura porque Recinos lo escribe Gucumatz). Para mayor claridad, Recinos dice: 'es la versión quiché de Kukulcán 'el nombre maya de Quetzalcóatl' (Recinos, ibidem) y que significa 'majestuosa serpiente emplumada."

Image credit: Simon Burchell (Wikimedia Commons).