Camazotz Means ‘Death Bat’ In K’iche’ Mayan Language
(AncientOrigins.net) – “Camazotz, (meaning ‘death bat’ in the Kʼiche’ Mayan language of Guatemala) originated deep in Mesoamerican mythology as a dangerous cave-dwelling bat creature. A cult following for the creature began amongst the Zapotec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico and the figure was later adopted into the pantheon of the Maya Quiche tribe and the legends of the bat god were later recorded in Maya literature.
In the Maya culture , the bat god Camazotz is linked to death. Camazotz is also the name of a monstrous creature which inhabited a cave called “the house of bats” in the Popol Vuh . Most scholars believe that Camazotz was inspired by the common vampire bat, but others have suggested that it was based on a giant vampire bat that (probably) went extinct sometime during the Pleistocene or Holocene periods.”
The Origin Of Camazotz
(History101.com) – “The ancient bat god seems to have first made an appearance in Mexico around 100 A.D. where he gained a literal cult following among the Zapotec tribe. The Zapotecs associated bats with death and the night for reasons that would have made a great deal of sense at the time. After all, bats were always inhabiting the caves around what was known as the Sacred Cenotes, which ancient Mesoamericans believed was a path to the underworld.
Seeing them flying out of what you believed to be hell would probably be enough to spook anyone into adopting a pretty shakey view of the mysterious winged creatures. From such late-night bat encounters, legends of a bat god were eventually born and began to make their rounds among various tribes of native Mesoamerican peoples. Commonly depicted holding a sacrificial knife in one hand and a human heart in the other, Camazotz was not really destined to be a god of the warmhearted variety.
Camazotz’s name literally means “death bat” in the Kʼicheʼ language. The Kʼiche’, a Mayan people, are the original inhabitants of the Guatemalan Highlands, where their lush culture flourished long before the age of Spanish conquest. Scholars believe that they fused the tale of the bat diety with that of their fire god in order to create the truly terrifying Camazotz. Much of the surviving history and traditions of the K’iche’ can be found in a text they produced which is called the Popol Vuh.”
