Kaqulja Jun Raqan

Alan Christenson (2007: 70n62) charts a similarly complex etymology, noting "The etymology of this god’s name is too complex and obscure to give a definitive translation. In its simplest interpretation, Juraqan means “One Leg.” Belief in a one-legged god was widespread throughout Precolumbian Mesoamerica. An important example was the Maya god K'awil (God GII of the Palenque Triad, who was often depicted with one anthropomorphic foot and the other a serpent), associated with kingship and the sky. Raqan, however, may also refer to the length or height of an object. The following line uses the name to refer to a bolt of lightning as a long flash of light. Coto interprets raqan as something “long or gigantic in size.” According to Dennis Tedlock’s Quiché collaborators, “leg” may also be used as a means of counting animate things, in the same way that we refer to the counting of “head” of cattle. “One Leg” might therefore mean “one of a kind” (D. Tedlock 1983a, 138). The god’s name would thus refer to his unique nature as the essential power of the sky. In addition, the homophonous word huracán was used along the Gulf Coast of Mexico and the West Indies to refer to powerful swirling winds. The modern English hurricane may be derived from the Taino version of this word (Recinos 1950, 83 n. 7; Hunt 1977, 242; D. Tedlock 1996, 223). This interpretation is consistent with the god’s nature as the “heart of the sky,” the eye of the hurricane forming the divine axis around which time and creation revolve in endless repetitive cycles of birth and destruction."

After a thorough morphoemic analysis, Christenson (2007: 71n65) reflects on the symbolic properties of the three-pronged creator god. Thunderbolt Hurricane (Juraqan), Youngest Thunderbolt (Ch'i'pi Kaqulja), and Sudden Thunderbolt (Raxa Kaqulja) "comprise the power of the sky, symbolized by various aspects of the thunderbolt. Thunderstorms combine the elements of water (rain) and fire (lightning), which Quichés see as essential to all life. Lightning is also considered the force that fertilizes the earth and promotes the growth of crops. In modern Quiché society, lightning is believed to be the inspirational force of the sky. Modern aj q'ij priests take note of sensations within their bodies, which they call “lightning in the blood,” and interpret them as revelatory messages (B. Tedlock 1982, 133-147). Although Quiché gods are normally named in pairs, there are occasional appearances of a trinity, as in this case. The principal gods of the three ruling Quiché lineages were Tohil, Auilix, and Hacavitz (see p. 223). Quiché temples generally had three entrances (for reconstruction drawings of such temples, see Carmack 1981, 270, 273). The idea of a trinity in Maya cosmology may be very ancient. The largest of the Maya centers built prior to the birth of Christ was El Mirador, located in the central Petén rain forest of Guatemala. Characteristic of its temples was a unique triadic pattern consisting of huge platforms, each surmounted by three pyramids."

Dennis Tedlock (1996: 224, note 65) offers a concise gloss, one that emphasizes unique aspects of thunder that appear in Maya cosmology. He writes, "The term for thunderbolt is kaqulja [caculha], referring to a shaft of lighting (with accompanying thunder), as contrasted with koyopa, referring to sheet lighting seen in the distance (without visible shafts or adubile thunder). Thunderbolt is a fitting addition to the name Hurrican (or 'one-legged') not only because hurricanes bring violent thunderstorms, but because lighting that strikes the ground is typically concentrated in one main shaft."