God F: A Deity of War and Violent Death

Buluc Chabtan is a Maya god of war, violent death and human sacrifice, known chiefly from the surviving pre-conquest codices, where in the classification of codex-gods devised by Paul Schellhas he is labelled God F. He is identified by a distinctive black line curling around the eye and down the face, and in the codices he appears in scenes of destruction, shown setting fire to buildings, and wielding spears or a torch, often in the company of the death-god. His domain reflects the reality that warfare and the capture and sacrifice of high-status enemies were bound up with Maya kingship and religion, undertaken as offerings held to sustain the cosmic and agricultural order. Because he is known mainly from the codical imagery and the Schellhas letter-classification rather than from any rich body of narrative, much about Buluc Chabtan beyond his martial and sacrificial associations remains uncertain, and his name and identity are among those still discussed by specialists.