The Rite to Take the Office of Ajpop among the K’iche’s of Q’umarkaj

Abstract

This article aims to present how the rite of ascent to power carried out by the rulers of Q’umarkaj, at Guatemala Highlands, was structured, offering an interpretative study of the ceremonial. Based on the analysis of indigenous and Spanish documents, it is concluded that the rite could have been made up by five stages, during which, two future responsibilities of the ajpop were highlighted: the worship of Tojil and the making of wars of conquest, because they received emblems related to this god and war. The relevance of this article is that it deals with a specific subject concerning the K’iche’s that has not been sufficiently studied: a proposal regarding how the rite was structured and a possible interpretation.