The Mayan God Huracan, the Deity of Storms
Huracan was the Mayan god of wind and storms. He had an important role in Mayan mythology since he was thought to have participated in the events that led to the birth of the world and of humanity.
Anyway, his figure in this story, and in Mayan religion in general, is somehow different from those of the other gods, since he was more often seen as the spirit of the natural elements he represented, rather than as an entity having human characteristics.
His iconography often depicted him with only one leg, the other having the form of a snake, and with a branching nose.
Huracan Mayan god: Origin of the Name
It seems that the name “Huracan” comes from the Quiche language, one of the idioms spoken by the tribes collectively referred to as Maya. In particular, it would be a combination of the word “jura”, which means “one”, and “kan”, which signifies “leg”.
According to this theory, Huracan’s name would therefore mean “having one leg”. This translation is supported by the fact that the Mayan god Huracan was often represented as having only one human leg, the other one being substituted by a snake.
The Mayan god Huracan
History of the Mayan god Huracan and Most Important Myths Related to Him
As we said in the introduction, the Mayan god Huracan had a fundamental role in the creation myths of the Mayan religion.
The most popular version of this important account is the one contained in the Popul Vuh, which is a document collecting many pieces of information on the history and religion of one of the tribes forming the people collectively known as Mayas, i.e. the K’iche’ people. Let’s see this story in detail.
The Mayan god of wind and the creation of the Earth and of Mankind
According to this creation myth, in the beginning, only two divinities existed, and nothing more. Their names were Tepeu and Gucumatz: because of the events that are going to unfold, they were also referred to as “Creators” and “Forefathers” by the Mayas.
At a certain point in time, the Creators decided that they needed the existence of other creatures who could adequately worship them.
As soon as they agreed on this, the Mayan god Huracan, the spirit of storms and wind, physically started the creative process, responding to the Creators’ wishes and intentions. First of all, the Earth was created. Soon after, the animals were born.
The Creators ordered the animals to worship them, but they were incapable of doing it properly, due to their impossibility to talk and to their poor reasoning abilities. It was clear that other beings were needed.
The creation of other creatures of mud and wood
Therefore, the Creators tried to make more intelligent creatures out of the mud. Once again, they asked them to speak and praise them, but instead, they fell apart because the mud was too weak a material.
Understanding that a more stable frame was needed, the Creators turned to wood. The wooden people so created were actually stronger than their mud ancestors, and were able to multiplicate, too.
Anyway, their minds were dull, and their hearts were empty: they were still unable to remember their creators, and incapable to prove feelings of gratitude towards them. The Creators decided to put an end to this second failed attempt, so they ordered the items belonging to the wooden people and the animals to attack and kill them.
In addition, the Mayan god Huracan provoked a flood to accelerate this process.
Despite this, some of the wooden people managed to survive in the forest: the Creators decided to spare them so that they could help educate the next generation of men, which would hopefully be the final one.
The final generation
It is told that these surviving manikins turned into monkeys: in fact, monkeys are similar to men but lack their reasoning and spirit. Since also the wood had proven to be a bad material to craft men, the creation of humankind came to a stall.
According to some versions of the myth, it was the Mayan god Huracan, once again, the one who took the Creators out of this impasse. He searched the Earth he had created, considering different substances; in the end, he understood that corn could have the right characteristics to forge a worthy race of men.
He obtained dough from the corn and crafted four prototypal men from it. The creators, once again, tested the creatures: they were pleased to see that they adored them deeply for having created them.
They were actually even too perfect: their vision and understanding could compete with those of the Creators themselves. The latter, therefore, decided to impair the men, limiting their senses and minds: yet, the creatures were still very grateful.
Content of the final result, the Creators crafted four women and gave them to the men as companions: these eight beings were, therefore, the fathers and mothers of humankind. This myth also underlines the importance that corn had for Mayas and Mesoamerican people in general.
Powers of Huracan Mayan God
As the god of storms and similar events, Huracan was thought to be in charge of Nature and its forces. As such, he was seen as an extremely powerful and dangerous god, capable of punishing humankind casting on them terrible natural disasters.
Symbols of the Mayan god Huracan and Their Meanings
The symbols tied to Huracan encapsulate his awe-inspiring power and fundamental role in the Mayan cosmogony.
Mayan god Huracan symbol: the Lightning Bolt
The Mayan god Huracan, being a storm and fire god, is symbolically represented by lightning and a curved lightning bolt, embodying his control over these natural forces. The symbolism of lightning is a testament to his creation and destructive powers.
According to the Popol Vuh, a sacred book of the K’iche’ Maya, Huracan employed lightning bolts to destroy and recreate the world, making lightning an emblem of his cosmic authority.
Mayan god Huracan symbol: the Fire
Huracan’s other symbol, fire, further underscores his transformative capabilities. Fire, to the Mayans, was a dual entity – a source of light and life but also a force of destruction and renewal. This echoes Huracan’s role in the world’s creation, destruction, and rebirth.
Mayan god Huracan: The Serpent Leg
The main symbol of Huracan seems to be his serpent leg. Let’s see in greater detail what could be its meaning.
As in many other cultures, snakes were seen as symbols of regeneration by the Mayas.
Therefore, when attributed to the Mayan god Huracan, the snake probably refers to his most positive prerogatives, i.e. his power to bring fruitfulness to the earth by rain and lightning. Mayas, in fact, believed that also lightning was important to make the land fertile.
Additional Mayan god Huracan Facts
Like other deities in the Mayan pantheon, also Huracan could be associated with other Mesoamerican divinities.
He could be linked to Tezcatlipoca, the important Aztec god of the night sky, as well to Cocijo, the Zapotec deity of lightning, or to Tohil, the patron god of the K’iche’ people, who was associated with fire, the sun, and the rain.
It is interesting to note that the influence of Huracan’s figure is still present in our culture since it seems that the English word “hurricane” actually comes from Huracan’s name.
