Ha' K'in Xook (Mayan pronunciation: [ha? k'in ?o:k]), also known as Ruler 6, was an ajaw of Piedras Negras, an ancient Maya settlement in Guatemala. He ruled during the Late Classic Period, from 767-780 AD. Ha' K'in Xook was a son of Itzam K'an Ahk II, and he ascended the throne following the death of his brother, Yo'nal Ahk III. Ha' K'in Xook's reign ended with either his death or his abdication in favor of his brother K'inich Yat Ahk II; archaeologists and Mayanists have not arrived at a clear consensus. Ha' K'in Xook left behind several monuments, including stelae at Piedras Negras and a stone fragment from El Porvenir. In addition, a stone seat known as Throne 1 and erected by K'inich Yat Ahk II records either the death or abdication of Ha' K'in Xook.
Video Ha' K'in Xook
Biography
Reign of Piedras Negras
Ha' K'in Xook, who has also been referred to as Ruler 6, was likely the son of Itzam K'an Ahk II, based on a translation of Stela 23. According to both Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, as well as Scott Johnson, Ha' K'in Xook's name translates to "Water Sun Shark". (His name notably does not feature a turtle glyph, a feature found in all the previous rulers of Piedras Negras, as well as his successor.) He ascended the throne on February 14, 767 AD (9.16.16.0.4, 7 K'an 17 Pop in the Long Count), following the death of his brother Yo'nal Ahk III. The Mayanist Tatiana Proskouriakoff had initially overlooked Ha' K'in Xook's reign, as she mistakenly assigned the title Ruler 6 to a sajal (or lesser Maya leader) of La Mar, based on a misreading of Stela 16.
Not much is known about either Ha' K'in Xook or his predecessor Yo'nal Ahk III, which led Flora Clancy to refer to both their reigns as "shadowy". James L. Fitzsimmons argues that, politically, Ha' K'in Xook was a weak leader, who like Yo'nal Ahk III before him erected only a handful of monuments and did not enforce his power beyond the existing Piedras Negras hegemony. According to the stone monuments that he did raise, Ha' K'in Xook's reign was comparatively quiet, as the only notable event recorded was the burial of a contemporary sajal at San Ignacio, Belize (El Cayo). According to Zachary Nathan Nelson, the reign of Ha' K'in Xook was also relatively free from war, as none of his extant stelae show representation of captives, and records do not indicate any sort of "bellicose action" in the region during his reign.
Death or abdication
Ha' K'in Xook's reign ended on March 24, 780 AD (9.17.9.5.11 10 Chuwen 19 Sip), but the reason why it ended has been a topic of debate. Throne 1, when translated, notes that Ha' K'in Xook "abandoned/transferred rulership" (yaktaaj ajawlel), which American Mayanist Stephen D. Houston interprets to mean that he abdicated so that his brother, K'inich Yat Ahk II, could take the throne. Mayanist David Stuart also noted that the wording on the throne "implies a more active event on the ruler's part", but that "'lose' might be more neutral as far as an interpretation goes."
However, yaktaaj ajawlel is the same wording found on a monument, Zoomorph G, at Quiriguá, Guatemala, which details the death of the ajaw K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat in AD 785. This is possible evidence that, rather than abdicating, Ha' K'in Xook died in 780 AD, and K'inich Yat Ahk II took up rule later. Adding to this hypothesis is the testimony on Throne 1, which notes that K'inich Yat Ahk II later "remembered" Ha' K'in Xook in some way, and that the new king may have even wept at Ha' K'in Xook's memory, according to anthropologist Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos.
Regardless, K'inich Yat Ahk II took up the throne on May 31, 781 AD (9.17.10.9.4 1 K'an 7 Yaxk'in), almost a year after Ha' K'in Xook's reign officially ended. Despite this lengthy gap, there is no evidence that anyone ruled Piedras Negras in the interim.
Maps Ha' K'in Xook
Monuments
Stelae
Ha' K'in Xook raised up several stelae, including Stelae 13, 18, and 23. Stela 23, erected in AD 767, was the first to be raised, and it served as the king's accession monument. This stela details a puluuy utz'itil ("passing of the torch") ceremony for Itzam K'an Ahk II, and, when translated, reads "Ruler 6 [Ha' K'in Xook], child of Ruler 4 [Itzam K'an Ahk II] ... acceded to the rulership", seemingly proving that Ha' K'in Xook was indeed the offspring of Itzam K'an Ahk II. This stela originally featured carvings on all four of its sides, but at some point in the past, it tipped over and crumbled. Mostly only the stela's base and parts of a panel featuring the feet of two individuals remain today.
Erected in AD 771, Stela 13 was Ha' K'in Xook's second monument and features the only extant carving of the ajaw. According to O'Neil, it "captures the essence of the period-ending celebration." This 2.39-metre (7.8 ft) tall stela retains elements of other "niche" stelae, but it also shows innovations and differences from the standard style. It depicts the king dispersing incense, similar to iconography found on Piedras Negras Stelae 2 and 32. Clancy has argued that the iconography on the stela revolves around three motifs: "divination, the quest, and accession". Divination--a motif that had been introduced in the iconography of Piedras Negras by K'inich Yo'nal Ahk II--is shown via the act of Ha' K'in Xook dispersing the incense. The stela also features Ha' K'in Xook wearing a headdress composed of "three knots and forehead scrolls, the projecting Water Lily Jaguar ... and the flexible rectangular emblem made of a thick net and a jaguar pelt". It has been postulated that this headdress was inspired by a similar headdress featured on Stela 5. Clancy argues that this headdress is a representation of "the royal theme of quest", due to its iconographic similarity to other stelae at Piedras Negras.
Not much remains of the king's final monument, Stela 18, which was raised in AD 775. The stela is heavily eroded, but archaeologist Sylvanus Morley claimed that it expressed a Calendar Round date of 6 Ahaw 13 K'ayab (corresponding to a Long Count date of 9.17.5.0.0 or Dec. 27, 775), which is within Ha' K'in Xook's reign.
Stelae 13 and 18 were discovered by Teoberto Maler in 1901 near Pyramid O-13. Stela 13 was possibly erected on a terrace reached by the pyramid's main stairway, and Stela 18 lies in a row on the plaza in front of the aforementioned stairway. Pyramid O-13 was most likely the burial place for Itzam K'an Ahk II, and was revered by Ha' K'in Xook, Yo'nal Ahk III, and K'inich Yat Ahk II as "a dynastic shrine". Stela 23, unlike the others, was erected at the very base of Pyramid O-12.
Other
As mentioned before, Throne 1 details either the death or abdication of Ha' K'in Xook. After the fall of Piedras Negras, the throne--which was not constructed by the king himself, but rather by his successor, K'inich Yat Ahk II--was smashed, likely by Piedras Negras's enemies (although it has since been reconstructed). In addition to on-site remains and relics, an artifact known as the "El Porvenir Fragment" was discovered--as its name suggests--at El Porvenir and bears the name of Ha' K'in Xook.
References
Bibliography
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