Tohil (, also spelled Tojil) was a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

of the Kʼicheʼ

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

in the Late Postclassic period of

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...

. At the time of the

Spanish Conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

, Tohil was the patron god of the Kʼicheʼ. Tohil's principal function was that of a fire deity and he was also both a sun god and the god of rain. Tohil was also associated with mountains and he was a god of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

and sustenance. In the Kʼicheʼ epic Popul Vuh, after the first people were created, they gathered at the

mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

Tollan, the Place of the Seven Caves, to receive their

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

and their

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

. The Kʼicheʼ, and others, there received Tohil. Tohil demanded blood sacrifice from the Kʼicheʼ and so they offered their own blood and also that of sacrificed captives taken in battle. In the Popul Vuh this consumption of blood by Tohil is likened to the

suckling Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that bre ...

of an infant by its mother. Tohil may originally have been the same god as

Qʼuqʼumatz Qʼuqʼumatz () (alternatively Qucumatz, Gukumatz, Gucumatz, Gugumatz, Kucumatz etc.) was a deity of the Postclassic Kʼicheʼ Maya. Qʼuqʼumatz was the Feathered Serpent divinity of the ''Popol Vuh'' who created humanity together with the go ...

, and shared the attributes of the feathered serpent with that deity, but they later diverged and each deity came to have a separate priesthood. Sculptures of a human face emerging between the jaws of a serpent were common from the end of the Classic Period through to the Late Postclassic and may represent Qʼuqʼumatz in the act of carrying Hunahpu, the youthful avatar of the sun god Tohil, across the sky. The god's association with

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherei ...

meant that Tohil was one of the first deities that the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

clergy tried to eradicate after the conquest of Guatemala.

Attributes

There is disagreement over the meaning of the name of the deity. It has been interpreted as meaning "

obsidian Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements such as silicon ...

", as deriving from the word ''toh'' ("rain") and as meaning "tribute" or "payment". Tohil was one of a trinity of gods worshipped by the Kʼicheʼ elite, together with

Awilix Awilix () (also spelt Ahuilix, Auilix and Avilix) was a goddess (or possibly a god) of the Postclassic Kʼicheʼ Maya, who had a large kingdom in the highlands of Guatemala. She was the patron deity of the Nijaʼibʼ noble lineage at the Kʼich ...

and Jacawitz. The concept of a triad of deities was ancient in

Maya religion The traditional Maya or Mayan religion of the extant Maya peoples of Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and the Tabasco, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán states of Mexico is part of the wider frame of Mesoamerican religion. As is ...

, dating as far back as the Late Preclassic. The triad of Kʼicheʼ gods were sometimes referred to collectively as Tohil. Tohil has been equated with the

Classic Period Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE – ...

God K. The deity also possesses attributes that suggest a link with

Mixcoatl Mixcoatl ( nah, Mixcōhuātl}, from mixtli "cloud" and cōātl "serpent"), or Camaxtle or Camaxtli, was the god of the hunt and identified with the Milky Way, the stars, and the heavens in several Mesoamerican cultures. He was the patron deity ...

, a hunting god of the

Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

. Tohil was the patron deity of the Kaweq lineage of the Kʼicheʼ. He was associated with a sacred deerskin bundle that was said to embody him, and one of his titles was ''Qajawal Kej'' ("Our Lord Deer"). The deity was associated with thunder, lightning and the sunrise.

Worship

The Kaweq lineage of the Kʼicheʼ built a temple to Tohil at their first capital Jacawitz, identified as the archaeological site of Chitinamit. Jacawitz was overlooked by a shrine to the god placed on a neighbouring peak, this shrine was known as Pa Tohil. Later the Kʼicheʼ built their main temple to Tohil at

Qʼumarkaj Qʼumarkaj ( Kʼicheʼ: ) (sometimes rendered as Gumarkaaj, Gumarcaj, Cumarcaj or Kumarcaaj) is an archaeological site in the southwest of the El Quiché department of Guatemala.Kelly 1996, p.200. Qʼumarkaj is also known as Utatlán, the Nahuatl ...

, their new capital. They made him offerings on the day ''Toh'', one of the days of their 20-day

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a phy ...

cycle. The Kʼicheʼ performed the Great Dance of Tohil in honour of the deity in the month of ''Tzʼikin Qʼij'', prior to the

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...

harvest (which takes place in November). This dance took place at

and involved a gathering of all the principal lineages subject to the

Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj The Kʼicheʼ kingdom of Qʼumarkaj was a state in the highlands of modern-day Guatemala which was founded by the Kʼicheʼ (Quiché) Maya in the thirteenth century, and which expanded through the fifteenth century until it was conquered by Spani ...

, and as is described in the Kʼicheʼ chronicle ''

Título de Totonicapán The ''Título de Totonicapán'' (Spanish for "Title of Totonicapán"), sometimes referred to as the ''Título de los Señores de Totonicapán'' ("Title of the Lords of Totonicapán") is the name given to a Kʼicheʼ language document written aroun ...

'', they were expected to bring tribute, slaves and sacrifices. The

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

of Tohil were known as ''Aj Tohil'' and were selected from the ruling Kaweq lineage of Qʼumarkaj. During their ceremonies to Tohil, the Kʼicheʼ would offer

quetzal Quetzals () are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family. They are found in forests, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus ''Pharomachrus'' being exclusively Neotropical, while a single species, the eared q ...

feathers to the god. Writing at the end of the 17th century,

Francisco Ximénez Francísco Ximénez (November 28, 1666 – c. 1729) was a Dominican priest who is known for his conservation of an indigenous Maya narrative known today as the ''Popol Vuh''. John Woodruff has noted that there remains very few biographical ...

described the tradition that upon the temple

human sacrifices Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...

were tied before the representation of Tohil, where the priest would open the victim's chest and cut out his heart. After sacrifice, the victim's body was probably hurled down the front stairway of the temple where his head would be severed to be placed on a skull rack that was located in front of the temple. Equivalents to Tohil were worshipped by other groups closely related to the Kʼicheʼ. These included Belehe Toh of the Kaqchikels and Hun Toh of the

Rabinal Rabinal is a small town, with a population of 15,157 (2018 census),Citypopulation.de
Population of cities & to ...

, this last name meaning "One Rain", a calendrical date. The Kaqchikel and the Rabinal did not merely think their own patrons were ''equivalent'' to Tohil, they claimed that they were the same deity under a different name. The Kʼicheʼ themselves claimed in the Popul Vuh that their patron Tohil was the same as

Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl (, ; Spanish: ''Quetzalcóatl'' ; nci-IPA, Quetzalcōātl, ket͡saɬˈkoːaːt͡ɬ (Modern Nahuatl pronunciation), in honorific form: ''Quetzalcōātzin'') is a deity in Aztec culture and literature whose name comes from the Nah ...

of the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

Temple of Tohil

The Temple of Tohil at Qʼumarkaj was the tallest structure in the city. The rubble core of the building still stands but the stone facing has been looted. The temple was originally a pyramid with stairways on all four sides, the summit shrine faced towards the rising sun in the east. This form of radial pyramid temple was built by the Maya since the Late Preclassic with examples at many archaeological sites such as

Tikal Tikal () (''Tik’al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre- ...

Copán Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. This ancient Maya city mirrors the beauty of the physical landscape in which it flourished—a fer ...

and

Chichen Itza Chichen Itza , es, Chichén Itzá , often with the emphasis reversed in English to ; from yua, Chiʼchʼèen Ìitshaʼ () "at the mouth of the well of the Itza people" was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Termin ...

, among others. According to

John Lloyd Stephens John Lloyd Stephens (November 28, 1805October 13, 1852) was an American explorer, writer, and diplomat. Stephens was a pivotal figure in the rediscovery of Maya civilization throughout Middle America and in the planning of the Panama railroad. ...

, who visited the site in the 1830s, the temple base measured square and it stood high. At that time the radial stairways were more-or-less intact. The temple was originally covered in painted

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

, with the decoration including the painted image of a

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

Modern worship

Deerskins, the symbol of Tohil, are to this day venerated in many highland Maya communities and are used in dances. In the modern village of Santiago Atitlán in the

Guatemalan highlands The Guatemalan Highlands is an upland region in southern Guatemala, lying between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the south and the Petén lowlands to the north. Description The highlands are made up of a series of high valleys enclosed by mount ...

, a traditional Maya priesthood performs rites to a powerful deity addressed as "''King Martin, Lord of the Three Levels, Lord of Rain, Lord of Maize, and Lord of all the Mountains''". This priest blesses deerskins prior them being worn, with head and antlers attached, during the Dance of Martin on November 11 prior to the maize harvest. King Martin is probably a

blend A blend is a mixture of two or more different things or substances; e.g., a product of a mixer or blender. Blend Blend may also refer to: * Blend word, a word formed from parts of other words * ''Blend'' (album), a 1996 album by BoDeans * B ...

of Tohil and his deerskin bundle with the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

St Martin of Tours, whose feast falls on the same day. In

Rabinal Rabinal is a small town, with a population of 15,157 (2018 census),Citypopulation.de
Population of cities & to ...

, Tohil was merged with

St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

while still retaining many of his characteristics.Van Akkeren 1999, p.288.

Notes

References