Kukulkan, God of Wind and Hurricanes

by Kelsey Ketch, posted in Research

Mayan Name: Kukulkan; Gucumatz
Aztec Equivalent: Quetzalcoatl
Associated Animal: Feathered serpent
Role: Wind, Hurricanes

Kukulkan is the god of wind and hurricanes. He is often depicted as a plumed serpent, but can take human form as well. Little is known about the myths surrounding Kukulkan. There is more information about his Aztec counterpart, Quetzalcoatl, who is also the god of learning, science, agriculture, crafts, and the arts. However, scholars are uncertain if the Mayan myths of Kukulkan resemble the Aztec myths of Quetzalcoatl.

The feathered serpent deity dates back to the time of the Olmecs, around 15th to 5th Century BC. The earliest surviving representation being a craving of a beaked snake with a feathered chest. The feathered serpent was also worshipped by the Toltec as an earth and water deity. The deity was introduced to Yucatan by the Putun Maya in the 10th Century AD. He’s cult dominating the Postclassic Period.

In legend, Kukulkan was also a crypto-historical Maya or Maya-Toltec leader, who brought Mexican civilization to the region. Particularly the ancient Maya city-state of Chichen Itza. Kukulkan was said to have come by sea, from the west, traditionally around 987 AD.

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