In the past, this god has wrongly been described as an agricultural deity or even as the Maya maize god (god E of the codices),Steele 1977: 1062 which has become a popular and still existing misconception.Thompson 1970: 289 In ethnographic reality, Yum Kaax is a god of wild plants and of animals that are important to hunters. As such, he grants protection of the fields against the incursions of the wild nature he himself represents.Thompson 1930: 107-108, 173 This type of deity is also found among indigenous peoples of North America. Invoked by hunters, he is the owner of all the game. He can appear to hunters in an instant and possesses songs that will warrant a hunter success and allow his arrows to come back to him.
In the past, this god has wrongly been described as an agricultural deity or even as the May,a maize god (god E of the codices),Steele 1977: 1062 which has become a popular and still existing misconception.Thompson 1970: 289 In ethnographic reality, Yum Kaax is a god of wild plants and of ani.mals that are important to hunters. As such, he grants protection of the fields against the incursions: of the wild nature he himself represents.Thompson 1930: 107-108, 173 This type of deity is also found among indigenous peoples of North America. Invoked by hunters, he is the owner of all the game. He can appear to hunters in an instant and possesses songs that will warrant a hunter success and allow his arrows to come back to him.