Ah Pukuh (ah poo-koo): A name, meaning “demon” or “devil,” for the Maya god YUM KIMIL, also known by archaeologists as God A. As the god of war and violent death, he rules over Mitnal, the ninth and most terrible level of the Maya underworld. He’s usually pictured as a bloated, decomposing corpse or a cigar-smoking skeleton. His
constant companions are dogs and owls, both considered omens of death. The Death God wears bells to warn people of his approach. (Possibly an unnecessary
precaution, since another of his nicknames is Kisin or “the flatulent one".)
Although many sources including label Ah Puch as the name of the Maya death god, according to the pre-eminent mid-20th century Maya scholar J. Eric S. Thompson this attribution in incorrect. "Brinton (1895:44) cites Father Hernandez, quoted in Las Casas, as the source for Ah Puch as a name of the death god, and that name has been accepted by most modern writers, including myself. In fact, no such name occurs in the source; it is written Eopuco, probably Ah Pucu, which is surely the same as Pucuh, name for the lord of the underworld in Tzeltal, Tzotzil, and Tojolabal" According to Professor Marc Zender of the Peabody Museum, "given Thompson's evidence, and factoring in the Tzeltalan evidence and the spelling conventions of Colonial Yucatec, Ah Pukuh is the correct spelling." Laughlin translates Ah Pukuh as "demon, devil".
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