Introduction
Despite God I’s importance to the Maya world in the Classic Period, he is not well known outside of the academic crowd, unlike Chahk or Itzamnaaj. Part of this likely has to do with his apparent disappearance after the end of the Classic Period, although this may be largely due to an absence of evidence, and it should not be treated as evidence of absence. Like K’inich Ajaw, God I is primarily associated with kings, especially in their moments of accession.

Iconographic Traits
Much of God I’s iconography is shared with other deities, but it is the unique combination of traits that lets God I be somewhat easily identifiable. His facial features include the large and singular T-shaped tooth (sometimes complemented or substituted by an elongated upper lip), the large eye with a curled pupil, feathers attached to his lower jaw, an occasional fish fin on his cheek, three dots in a triangular position below his eye, and a spondulys shell ear. This last trait, the spondylus shell ear, is shared with Chahk, which has led to their identities being confused in the past. God I and Chahk, while they share some aquatic imagery, can be differentiated by their faces; God I has a mostly human face while Chahk has an unmistakable zoomorphic one. Additionally, God I’s body, including his arm, legs, torso, and cheek, can often be marked by LEM ‘shiny’ glyph “god-markings.”

God I also has some interesting headdresses. He can wear the quadripartite bowl as a headdress, either with ot without the zoomorphic monster head below it. This headdress, which is comprised of a bowl marked by a K’IN ‘sun’ glyph containing a piece of paper or cloth, a spondylus shell, and a stingray spine, is very rare to see on polychrome vases, but it does appear on the several Vases of the Seven and Eleven Gods. This quadripartite bowl and monster can even appear when God I is not explicitly present, such as on the main tablet within the Temple of the Cross, the temple dedicated to an aspect of God I at Palenque. The other headdress components that God I wears are much less complicated. One is a waterbird, likely a heron or cormorant, sometimes with a fish in its beak. A depiction from Palenque shows God I wearing the upper beak of a waterbird on his own face (Figure 1H). The other is the Sak Huun, often depicted with the head of the Jester God.

Extended Names and Titles
God I’s main name/head glyph has yet to be fully deciphered, although a few ideas have been suggested. The head glyph can appear with a mi phonetic complement, suggesting that the name ends in an “m”, and the presence of the spondylus shell has led to the idea that chahk may also be a part of God I’s main name (Bassie-Sweet 2021:39). The most common extended name of God I is also not fully deciphered; it includes a hand, possibly read as K’AB, a glyph with the “ajaw” face possibly read as MOK or SAAK/XAAK, ‘maize flower’, and a NAAH ‘first’ glyph (Stuart 2005:121-2, 161).

One of God I’s names that is fully deciphered, though, is Yax Wahyab Xook, which can be read as “First or Blue/Green Sorcerer Shark.” This name is relatively rare, but it does appear as the extended version of God I’s name on the Jade Creation Mask, which describes God I’s accession to rulership over Six Sky under the oversight of Itzamnaaj.

Many Maya cities had patron deities, which were either deities unique to that site or a specific aspect of a well-known deity. Palenque had several of these deities, one of the most important of which was an aspect of God I known as Juun Yeej Winkil, “One Tooth Person,” which makes perfect sense given God I’s iconographic traits.

Additionally, God I is known by one other title: Wak Chan Ajaw. God I gained this title after his accession to rulership of Wak Chan, “Six Sky,” under the oversight of Itzamnaaj. This title appears in a few locations, but the two most notable are the Jade Creation Mask, where this accession event is described, and Quirigua’s Stela C, where Wak Chan Ajaw is said to have overseen the placement of the three cosmic thrones on the creation date of 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk’u.

Glyph Uses
The head glyph of God I has only one main use: it can act as a substitute for the LEM ‘shiny’ glyph in the initial glyph of the Primary Standard Sequence (PSS). Interestingly, this use is not exclusive to God I, as there are several other glyphs that can substitute in the initial glyph of the PSS.

Known Myths
God I appears in several mythic scenes, the 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk’u creation, his accession to rulership over Six Sky, and the rescue of the Maize God from a shark-like monster. The 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk’u creation scenes take place in the court of God L and appear on the Vases of the Seven and Eleven Gods (K2796, K7750). Here, God I (Figure 1F) appears with the other four T-shaped tooth deities, including K’inich Ajaw, the Bloody-Mouthed God, the Pax God, and the Jaguar War God. These five T-shaped tooth deities may very well represent the Sun and dual aspects of both Mercury and Venus, celestial bodies seen at dawn and dusk, being organized before the current era of time (Crim 2025).

The next scene that God I appears in is his own accession, which may have also happened on the 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk’u date. So far, only one vase has been found depicting this event (Figure 1A, ICV), but a reenactment of this mythic scene found in Palenque’s Temple XIX suggests that this myth was widespread. It takes place in the court of Itzamnaaj, the wise celestial elder, where he oversees God I’s accession to the rulership of the realm known as Wak Chan, “Six Sky” (Boot 2008; Stuart 2005). This is where and when God I gained the title of Wak Chan Ajaw “Six Sky Lord.”

The last mythic scene that God I takes part in is the rescue of the Maize God from a shark-like monster. This event likely takes place in the aquatic underworld and is the first chapter in the mythic resurrection of the Maize God. This scene is depicted both on several painted vessels (K0595) and an incised one (Figure 1G, K1391). God I completes this task with the assistance of several other deities, including the Jaguar War God, the Pax God, and the Bloody-Mouthed God, who share his T-shaped tooth, as well as Chahk (Crim 2026).

There is another myth which is known only from texts at Palenque, and has not been depicted on any known ceramics. This would suggest that it is a more localized myth, but it is important for God I nonetheless. Portions of this local myth can be found in a few of the site’s various temples. Many of these myths occurred in the distant past, some just before the creation date, and some just after. They involve his arrival at Palenque, his defeat of a death god and a mythic crocodile, and his accession to rulership under Itzamnaaj (Stuart 2005:158-174).

Roles and Associations
God I would seem to fit within a category of deities that was primarily important to the ruling class. He is frequently impersonated by different rulers, especially in accession events, as seen in Palenque’s Temple XIX. His iconographic traits are primarily aquatic, with the spondylus shell ear, waterbird headdress, and features, and the occasional fish fin on his cheek. The Maya associated dawn with the eastern sea (Taube 2010:204), which likely explains these aquatic characteristics. In addition, this eastern sea is where the Sun is reborn each day at dawn. This may explain why God I is often depicted wearing the quadripartite bowl, as it is an object associated with offering and sacrifice, something that is required for the daily rebirth of the Sun (Stone & Zender 2011:155, Stuart 2005:167-168). This association with renewal and accession, the eastern sea, and even some shared mythic history with Quetzalcoatl has led to the understanding that God I may very well represent Venus as the Morning Star, something that would also explain God I’s bright characteristics and his seemingly close relationship with K’inich Ajaw.

God I Scenes

Sources
Justin Kerr photograph collection, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, DC.
Bassie-Sweet, Karen
2021 Maya Gods of War. University Press of Colorado.
Boot, Erik
2008 At the Court of Itzam Nah Yax Kokaj Mut: Preliminary Iconographic and Epigraphic Analysis of a Late Classic Vessel. Mayavase.com.
Crim, Alexander
2025 The Vases of the Seven and Eleven Gods: A New Interpretation. IMS Explorer 53, no. 9 (2025): 1, 3–4.
2026 Shark Hunters of the Horizon: Venus, Mercury, and the Rescue of the Maize God. Aztlander 6, no. 1 (2026): 14-16.
Stone, Andrea, and Marc Zender
2011 Reading Maya Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Maya Painting and Sculpture. Thames & Hudson.
Stuart, David
2005 The Inscriptions from Temple XIX at Palenque: A Commentary. The Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute.
Taube, Karl
2010 Where Earth and Sky Meet: The Sea and Sky in Ancient and Contemporary Maya Cosmology. In Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea, edited by Daniel Finamore and Stephen Houston, pp. 202-219. Yale University Press.