Kisin
One of the many death gods of the Maya people, corresponding to the God A, particularly of the Lacandon people under the name Kisin. This death god specifically was born from a primordial flower like many other gods known as bak nikte'. He rules Yaralum, a similar realm to Metnal or Xibalba, alongside his wife U Na'il Kisin and his brother-in-law Sukunkyum and his wife U Na'il Sukunkyum. The high god, Hachakyum, was attacked by Kisin and so he made a body double for Kisin to attack, unknown to Kisin that he was away making the underworld as a prison for him and a home for Sukunkyum, the brother of Hachakyum. Kisin was swallowed into the earth and to this day remains there, kicking the pillars of the Earth to cause earthquakes and attacking the sun as it travels through. The souls of the dead are judged by Sukunkyum and those found to be wicked in life are given to Kisin to be tortured, who is said to burn and freeze them repeatedly until their soul is extinguished. His equals among other groups were Hun-Came and Vucub-Came, the twin death gods of the Popol Vuh, and in the modern day he can be found under various other names from various scholars. Notably his name may mean 'stench' or 'flatulence', as he is said to smell horrible and is depicted as a rotting corpse or skeleton. In many depictions he can be found dancing comically.
Pantheon: Lacandon Maya
Domain: Death, earth, earthquakes, crime, punishment, afterlife, caves, disease.
Alternate Names: He goes by multiple names from many different scholars. These names include Ah Pukuh, Eopocu, Yum Kimil, Hunhau, Cum Hau, Tzontemoc, Ahal Puch, Kimi, Xibalba, and commonly Ah Puch though this name is never mentioned in any source and is likely a mistranslation.
Character Traits: Kisin is personified as vengeful and angry, constantly at war with others around him, and actively trying to destroy the world.
Visual Traits: He is commonly shown as a skeleton, either dancing or seated, and sometimes with a cigar in his mouth or a sacrificial offering. He is decorated in eyeballs and bones.
Symbolism: Bones, eyeballs, blood, owls, spiders, centipedes.
Sources: 1 2 3 4
