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Mythos Atlas

Mesoamerican Pantheon

Ah Puch

Also known as God A, Cizin, Kisin, Yum Cimil

Illustration of Ah Puch, a deity of the Mesoamerican Pantheon
Illustrative imageIllustration of Ah Puch. Generated with an AI image model; not a historical artifact. About our images
  • death
  • underworld
  • disaster
  • decay

The Maya god of death and ruler of Metnal, the lowest level of the underworld. Depicted as a skeletal figure with exposed bones and decay, Ah Puch represents the terror of death.

About Ah Puch

The Lord of Death

Ah Puch is the fearsome god of death and chief lord of Xibalba, the Maya underworld. His appearance is horrifying: a skeletal figure with exposed bones, rotting flesh, and bells that announce his approach.

Names of Death

The death god is known by many names: Ah Puch (The Decomposing One), Cizin/Kisin (The Stinking One), Yum Cimil (Lord of Death).

Ruler of Xibalba

Ah Puch rules Xibalba (Place of Fear), the Maya underworld, alongside other death lords. The Popol Vuh describes the Hero Twins' journey through Xibalba and their triumph over its lords.

Owl Messengers

Ah Puch's messengers are owls, birds of ill omen. The hoot of an owl near a house foretold death.

Origin story

Ah Puch has existed since the beginning, for death is as old as life itself. He rules Xibalba alongside other death lords, receiving and testing the souls of the dead.

Across traditions

Parallel figures

Figures who play a role like Ah Puch's in other traditions.

Worship and cult

Temples, festivals, and practices recorded for Ah Puch

Death god of the Maya books. You do not invite him. Cult evidence is fear, death glyph, and the lords of Xibalba, not a parish festival.

Sacred sites

  • No attested temple in the surviving record

In the atlas

Where Ah Puch appears

Sources and further reading

Source notes

These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.

  • Popol Vuh

    Catalog date: c. 1550 CE (recording ancient traditions)

Appears in

Ancient and classical works featuring this figure.

  • Popol VuhAnonymous K'iche' Maya

    Skeletal death-sovereign representing the lords of the underworld (One Death and Seven Death) (Parts II-III)

About this entry

By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. . Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.

Parallels are editorial comparisons across traditions: a shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.

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Genealogy

Family tree

Ah Puch's parents, consorts, children and rivals, as recorded in the atlas.

Open the full tree