Awilix

According to Allen Christenson (2007: note 552, page 198), "In the Quiché language, this would read 'you are watched over/cared for/commissioned.' Throughout the text, the Quichés promise to watch over and care for their gods, providing them with offerings, sustenance, and worship (p. 290; lines 8344-8346, 8379-8388). Tedlock suggests that it may be derived from the Kekchi, kwilix/wilix, “swallow” (the bird) and reads the full name as Lord Swallow (D. Tedlock 1996, 297 n. 152). More recently, Akkeren (personal communication) has suggested that the Nihaib lineage originally came from the Pico de Orizaba area, known anciently by its Nahua name Awilizapan. It is possible that Awilix, the patron deity of the Nihaib derived the name of their god from this region and its principle mountain which bore the same name."

Carmack (198: page 50) cites Edmondson (1965), claiming that Awilix is a shortening of "C'abawil Ixchel," and says, "[l]ike the Gulf Coast peoples the Quichés associated this goddess with the moon," implying that Awilix is female.