Jacawitz

Jacawitz (also spelt Jakawitz, Jakawits, Q'aq'awits and Hacavitz) was a mountain god of the Postclassic K'iche' Maya of highland Guatemala.Carmack 2001a, p.369. He was the patron of the Ajaw K'iche' lineage and was a companion of the sun god Tohil.Carmack 2001a, p.370. It is likely that he received human sacrifice.Carmack 2001a, p.370. The word jacawitz means "mountain" in the lowland Maya language, and the word q'aq'awitz of the highland Maya means "fire mountain", which suggests that Jacawitz was mainly a fire deity, much like Tohil. In the Mam language, the similar word xq'aqwitz means "yellow wasp" and the wasp was an important symbol of the deity and its associated lineage.Christenson 2003, 2007, pp.198-199.n.553. In the Cholan languages, jacawitz means "first mountain.", linking the god with the first mountain of creation.Christenson 2003, 2007, p.211.n.585.
In the K'iche' epic Popol Vuh, the first people gathered at the mythical place Tollan to receive their gods, and Mahucutah, one of the gathered K'iche' lords, received Jacawitz.Christenson 2003, 2007, p.198. The mid-9th century Stela 8 at the Terminal Classic lowland Maya site of Seibal describes a visitor to the city named Hakawitzil. This is an early spelling of Jacawitz and Mayanists Linda Schele and Peter Mathews have proposed that the event depicted on this stela gave rise to the foundation legends of the K'iche'.Schele & Mathews 1999, pp.190-193. As well as being mentioned frequently in the Popol Vuh, Jacawitz is also mentioned in the K'iche' document Título de los Señores de Totonicapán.Recinos 1998, pp.173, 179.
Jacawitz was one of a triad of K'iche' deities, the other two being Tohil and the goddess Awilix, all three were sometimes collectively referred to as Tohil, the principal member of the triad.Christenson 2003, 2007, p.228.n.646. The concept of a trinity of deities was an ancient one in Maya culture, dating back to the Preclassic period.Christenson 2003, 2007, p.61.n.65.
==Temple of Jacawitz==
The Ahaw K'iche' were the founding lineage of the K'iche' Maya, although they later lost power to the Kaweq lineage; as they lost status within the kingdom, so did their patron god.Carmack 2001a, p.369. van Akkeren, Ruud 2002, p.1. The temple of Jacawitz at the K'iche' capital of Q'umarkaj was one of the three tallest buildings in the city, although it faced away from the main plaza.Christenson 2003, 2007, p.268.n.821. The temple is a large mound south of the plaza, its stonework has been stripped away making its original form uncertain, although a 19th-century plan of the city recorded it as a pyramid.Christenson 2003, 2007, p.269.n.823. This pyramid temple was part of a complex that consisted of a patio enclosed by the temple on the northern side, a palace on the south side and a long building on the east.Carmack 2001a, p.367. The Jakawitz temple complex has not yet been investigated archaeologically.Carmack 2001a, p.367. The 19th century drawings by Miguel Rivera y Maestre suggest that the temple was a narrow building with four or five terraces.Carmack 2001a, p.368.
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Category:Maya mythology and religion
Category:Deities