Kʼawiil is the Mayan god associated with lightning and often depicted with a smoking ax.
Kʼawiil is identified with the Maya deity known in scholarship as God K. He represents lightning, royal power, fertility, creation, and abundance. His distinctive imagery includes a zoomorphic face, large eyes, an elongated upturned snout, and one leg transformed into a serpent. A torch, cigar, or stone celt emerging from his forehead symbolizes lightning or the spark of life.
The “smoking ax” description reflects the way Kʼawiil could be shown as a lightning-bearing object or carried like an ax by rain deities. He was also connected with Maya rulers, who held images of him as symbols of authority and vitality. A common mix-up is Huracán, a lightning-associated figure in the Popol Vuh’s creation story, but Huracán is not the standard answer for the characteristic God K imagery. Kʼawiil’s name is also written Kawil or Kauil in less specialized spellings.