Ah Puch, from Dresden Codex This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...
In Maya mythology, Ah Puch was the God of death and King of Metnal, the underworld. He was depicted as a skeleton or corpse adorned with bells, sometimes the head of an owl; even today, some Mexicans and Central Americans believe that an owl's screeches signify imminent death... as the following saying, in local Spanish, indicates: Maya mythology refers to the pre-Columbian Maya civilizations extensive polytheistic religious beliefs. ... Many cultures have incorporated a deity of death into their mythology or religion. ... The ninth level of the Mayan underworld. ... // In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly dead souls go. ... Families Strigidae Tytonidae An owl is a member of any of about 220 (222 currently known) species of solitary, mainly nocturnal birds of prey in the order Strigiformes. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ...
Cuando el tecolote canta... el indio muere (When the great owl sings, the Indian dies)
It is also known as Hun ahau (where the first /a/ is sometimes omitted if the words are pronounced continuously).
Ah Kin was a powerful deity, and he played a role in the agricultural life of the Maya, the foundation for their economic prosperity in the early years.
AhPuch was depicted with a death's head, bony ribs and a spinal cord made visible by starvation and suffering.
AhPuch was associated with gods and with the owl, a bird that Maya believed called their names before summoning them to the grave.
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