Balam-Acab- Maya HeroHero"Jaguar of the Night"

Creation from Maize

After the gods failed three times to make beings who could worship them, Xmucane ground white and yellow maize nine times. From that dough the creators shaped four men: Balam-Quitze and Balam-Acab, Mahucutah and Iqui-Balam. These first men could see everything. They looked out from where they stood and saw the whole world at once, the four corners and the four sides of the sky. Then the gods grew uneasy and dimmed their sight like breath on a mirror.

The Journey from Tulan

At Tulan Zuyva, each founding lineage received a patron deity. Balam-Acab received Awilix, the moon goddess. He carried her on his back through the primordial darkness, fasting and praying as the K'iche' searched for a place to witness the first sunrise. During the migration the peoples who had gathered at Tulan dispersed, speaking different languages. Balam-Acab and his companions led the K'iche' onward.

The First Dawn

At Chi Pixab, the first men burned copal incense and wept when the morning star appeared. The sun rose. The patron gods turned to stone.

Balam-Acab founded the Nijaib lineage with his wife Chomiha. Before departing the world, he and the other progenitors left behind the Pisom Q'aq'al, the sacred bundle containing the spiritual essence of the patron gods. Their sons journeyed east across the sea to receive the insignia of K'iche' kingship.