Loading...
← Back to Deities
Ek Chuaj
Also known as: Black Scorpion, God M, Ek Chuah
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Interactive 3D representation
About Ek Chuaj
Patron of Merchants
Ek Chuaj appears with a black-painted face and a distinctive drooping lower lip. He carries a merchant's pack on his back and a staff, embodying the traveling traders who connected Maya cities.
Lord of Cacao
Cacao was currency in Mesoamerica, making Ek Chuaj both patron of merchants and lord of wealth. Cacao plantation owners held festivals in his honor, sacrificing dogs with cacao-colored markings.
Dual Nature
Despite his association with peaceful trade, Ek Chuaj also had a warlike aspect. Merchants traveled through dangerous territories, requiring divine protection.
Origin Story
Ek Chuaj emerged as the patron of trade when the first merchants traveled between the great Maya cities, carrying cacao and precious goods.
Domains
merchantscacaowartrade routes
Symbols
cacao podmerchant's packblack paintscorpion