Chaak

Cháak (Classic Maya: Chaahk)

Maya god of rain and thunder, who strikes the clouds with his stone axe

Chaak, written Chaahk in Classic Maya texts, is the Maya god of rain, thunder and lightning. In Yucatec, cháak is also the everyday word for rain and thunder. Devotees look to him for the rains that let maize grow and for the waters of the cenotes, on a limestone plain where few rivers run. He is one god and also four, one for each direction.

His masks crowd the stone facades of Puuc cities such as Uxmal and Kabah, and he appears on painted vessels and in the codices. Today Yucatec Maya communities still hold ch'a chaak, the rain-calling ceremony, when rain is late. Led by h-men, it offers prayer and food and also calls on Catholic saints. Many ceremonies are community practices, not open to visitors.

See the gallery

Maya Chaac, Unknown date. Wikimedia Commons (public domain), Unknown authorUnknown author

How to recognise Chaak

Long, curling noseLook for a long, pendulous, trunk-like nose, his most distinctive feature; scholars read it as a lightning bolt, a stream of water or a tapir's snout, and the question is still debated.
Fangs and round eyesHis head is not human: large round eyes and protruding fangs, and in Classic painting a fish-like mouth with one projecting front tooth.
Shell ear ornamentA shell hangs at his ear in the Classic style, a standard marker of Chaahk.
Scaled bodyA human body marked with reptilian or amphibian scales, with a scale pattern on the undersides of the legs, gives the look of a wet, aquatic creature.
Stone lightning axeHe wields a hafted stone axe, which he strikes against the clouds to make thunder and rain; the axe is personified as the related being K'awiil.
Serpents, shield and frogsA shield often accompanies the axe, serpents may coil around him or stand for lightning, and frogs and toads are his heralds.
Directional coloursThe four Chaaks carry the colours of the directions: red for east, white for north, black for west and yellow for south.

Names and titles

Red Chaak of the EastChak Xib Chahk, 'Red' Chahk; the red may be colour, direction (east) or both, as the red sunrise
Chahk of the First RainA Classic hieroglyphic text names the Chahk of the 'First Rain', the start of the lowland rains in May to June
The Four ChaaksChaak is one and also four, one for each cardinal direction with its colour
Palace of the MasksKabah's Codz Poop facade is covered with an estimated 250 Chaak masks
Calling the RainCh'a chaak literally means 'rain calling', the ceremony Yucatec Maya hold to ask for rain