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Concept
Awilix
Summary
Awilix (/äwiˈliʃ/) (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 Kʼicheʼ capital Qʼumarkaj, with a large temple in the city. Awilix was a Moon goddess and a goddess of night, although some studies refer to the deity as male. Awilix was probably derived from the Classic period lowland Maya moon goddess or from Cʼabawil Ix, the Moon goddess of the Chontal Maya.
Awilix was the goddess of the moon, the queen of the night. She was associated with the Underworld, sickness and death and was a patron of the Mesoamerican ballgame. Her calendrical day was probably ik (moon) in the 20-day cycle of the Maya calendar.
The eagle was the totem animal of the Nijaʼibʼ, and it is presumed that the bird was associated with the lunar aspect of the goddess, with the jaguar associated with her night aspect. Awilix was one of the three principal deities of the Kʼicheʼ, together with Tohil and Jacawitz, and the trinity of gods was sometimes referred to collectively as Tohil, the most important of the three. Alternate origins have been suggested for the origin of the name of the goddess, it has been suggested that "awilix" derives from kwilix or wilix in the Qʼeqchiʼ Maya language, which means "swallow" (the bird). It has also been suggested that the Nijaʼibʼ migrated from the area around the Pico de Orizaba mountain in central Mexico. This area was formerly known as Awilizapan in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, and it may be that the Nijaʼibʼ derived the name of their goddess from their place of origin.
Awilix is mentioned throughout the Kʼicheʼ epic Popul Vuh and is also mentioned in the important Kʼicheʼ document known as the Título de los Señores de Totonicapán. Ixbalanque, one of the Maya Hero Twins of the Popul Vuh, was the incarnation of Awilix.
In Qʼumarkaj the temple of Awilix faced the temple of Tohil across a small plaza.
Official source
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