Abstract
The paper is dedicated to the problem of interpreting the use of some deity names as the specifi c appellations of the Maya kings in the monumental texts of the Classic period (the 3rd to 10th centuries AD), a practice which was quite rare. Although the regnal names of kings were often theophoric too, the names selected by the author differ from them in that they could be written among royal titles. According to the author, this way of using deity names should be considered in the context of deity impersonation rituals. The syntax in the inscriptions where such names are found is similar to the syntax of the impersonation statements that include the special construction consisting of the specifi c “formula of impersonation” ˀub’aahil ˀaˀn followed by a deity name. Besides, those deities whose names are used as royal titles are in themselves closely related to impersonation. The deity ˀUhuk Chapaaht Tz’ikiin K’ihnich ˀAjaw appears several times as one of the king’s appellations, and it is precisely the deity that seems to be impersonated more often than other ones during the Classic period. Another name which can be found as a title, Juˀn ˀAjaw K’uh, belongs to one of the Hero Twins, whose impersonation is linked to the ballgame as shown by both epigraphic and iconographic data. The existence of the “short” form of impersonation statement only consisting of a deity name without the formula of impersonation in the Classic Maya texts may explain the atypical use of deity names among royal titles.
Keywords
Classic Maya, deity impersonation, formula of impersonation, onomastics, royal titles, Maya mythology.
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