Chamalkan

The name of this deity translates roughly to "snake" in Kaqchikel, but it is clear from the K'iche' text that the lord takes the form of a bat, the animal associated with the Kaqchikel lineage that, according to the K'iche' authors of the Popol Wuj, stole fire from Tojil. Professor Alan J. Christenson (2007: 204fn567), citing Dennis Tedlock (1996: 300n196), suggests that the name of the deity may provide evidence of historic language contact among highland and lowland Maya pueblos. Tedlock argues "that this name should be interpreted as 'Snake Tooth,' derived from lowland Maya Cholan or Yucatec languages: Cha'am (molar) and Kan (snake)."

Earlier, translators Delia Goetz and Sylvanus Griswold Morley (1954: 134n12), working from Adrián Recinos's Spanish-language edition, suggested a broadly Mesoamerican context that links bats and snakes. He writes: "Tzotziha, the house of the zotzils or bats, that is to say of the Cakchiquel, who like the Zotzil of Chiapas also had the bat as a symbol. Chimalcan or Chamalcan, as explained in Chapter 6 of Part III was the name of a serpent, a sacred animal among the peoples of Middle America. Ahpozotzil and Ahpoxahil were the names of the king of the Cakchiquel and of his principal assistant and heir. The Spaniards gave the former, who was governing in 1524, the name Sinacan, from the Nahuatl Tzinacan, which also means "bat." Xahil, which may be translated as "dancer," from xah, "to dance," was the name of the second reigning house, and one of its descendants, Francisco Hernandez Arana, wrote the Memorial de Solold, which contains the history of the Cakchiquel nation."

Although they interpre the name in different ways, these scholars agree on is that the description of Chamalkan in the Popol Wuj evidences a deep rivalry among the K'iche' authors of the text and their Kaqchikel neighbors. When the Kaqchikels aligned with Pedro de Alvarado in the invasion of Guatemala, deeply-rooted historical rivalries among the two Maya nations were once more thrown into sharp relief (see van Akkeren 2003).

Por su parte, cabe notar que el lingüista k'iche' Sam Colop (2008: 148) no comenta el contexto político sino más bien se enfoca exclusivamente en la información histórica tal vez proporcionada por el nombre de la deidad. Escribe, "El nombre chamalkan posiblemente derive de cha'omal 'hermosa' (Coto) y kan, 'serpiente,' en proto-maya."