Cizin is a Maya god of death and earthquakes.
He is the most important
Maya death god in the Maya culture. Scholars call him God A.
To the Yucatán Mayas he was
Hun-Came and
Vucub-Came.
He also has similarities to
Mictlāntēcutli
Mictlāntēcutli or Mictlantecuhtli (, meaning "Lord of Mictlan"), in Aztec mythology, is a god of the dead and the king of Mictlan (Chicunauhmictlan), the lowest and northernmost section of the underworld. He is one of the principal gods of the ...
.
Name and etymology
The God Cizin goes by several names like Kisen, Yom Cimil, Kisin, Ah Puch,
Xibalba
(), roughly translated as "place of fright", is the name of the underworld (in ) in Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya death gods and their helpers. In 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the ...
,
Yum Cimil,
Hunhau, Ah Puchah, Au Puch, Cum Hau, Eopuco, Hu Ahau, Tzontemoc, Ahpuch, and Ahal Puch.
He was sometimes called Kimi. Maya today call him ''Yum Cim'' or ''Yum Cimil''.
The name Cizin probably means ''stench''. Cizin comes from the root "ciz" which means ''flatulence''. His name is said to mean Stinking One.
Yum Cimil means ''lord of death'' while Hun Ahau means ''one ruler''. Ah Puch means to melt.
Mythology
He is considered the brother of Nohochacyum and
Bacabs.
According to
Lacandon myth when a person dies Cizin burns the soul on his mouth and his anus. When the soul complains Cizin douses the soul in cold water, causing the soul to complain more leading Cizin to burn them until the soul disintegrates into nothing.
Then, it is believed the soul goes to the god Sucunyum, who spits in his hand to clean the soul, so the soul can go where it likes.
In popular culture
Cizin makes an appearance as a playable god in the 2014 free-to-play
multiplayer online battle arena
Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of Gamer, players compete on a structured battlefield, each controlling a single Player character, character with distinctive abilit ...
video game ''
Smite'' as part of the
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
pantheon by the name
Ah Puch.
[ {{Cite web , title=Ah Puch {{! Horrific God of Decay , url=https://www.smitegame.com/gods/ah-puch , access-date=2021-09-11 , website=www.smitegame.com ]
The 2013 game "9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent Creek" features Cizin as part of its supernatural mystery plot.
Ah-Puch is the main antagonist in the 2018 novel
The Storm Runner by J. C. Cervantes, but a supporting protagonist in the sequels.
The 2021 animated mini-series
Maya and the Three
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
features Ah Puch as a supporting character, voiced by
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from t ...
.
Ah Pook appears in the default Golarion setting of the
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
The ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game'' is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition ''Dungeons ...
as a god of death and destruction. He is primarily known in the continent of Arcadia, analogous to the pre-Columbian Americas.
The name Ah Pook is used as a title for the William Burroughs book
Ah Pook Is Here
References
Death gods
Maya deities
Maya mythology and religion
Underworld gods