Patron deity of the Cauec, Tam, and Iloc lineages; the name sometimes covers the patron deities of the Greathouse and Lord Quiche' lineages as well, Auilix and Hacauitz. Apparently the name is composed of Toh one of the twenty day names of the 260-day calendar, and -il, "having the quality of"; Toh may be related to Cholan tohokna, "the way in which clouds join," and tohmel, "thunder" (C.), but the classic Maya predecessor of Tohil at Palenque carries the name Tahil, meaning "Torch Mirror" or "Obsidian Mirror"(S.). Tahil is shown with a burning torch sticking out of the mirror on his forehead; Tohil is a giver of fire, pivoting inside his own sandal like a fire drill. The one-leggedness suggested by the fire drill together with the fact that Tohil can cause great rainstorms, identify him as an aspect of Hurricane (see above). The stone whose genius or spirit familiar was Tohil was carried in a backpack by Jaguar Quitze, founder of the Cauecs, when he left Tulan Zuyua. He placed this stone on a mountain that came to be called Patohil, literally "At Tohil," apparently located above or near Concealment Canyon, here the god Auilix was placed. A temple dedicted to Tohil was later built at Rotten Cane (see Great Monument of Tohi); those bringing tribute to Rotten Cane, which was probably payable on days named Toh, gave offerings to Tohil before they made their presentations to the Quiche' lords. The present character of the day Toh seems to reflect its past connection with tribute. One of the divinatory mnemonics for the meaning of this day is tohonic, "to pay," indicating that the client owes offerings to the gods and the ancestors. In visits to shrines, daykeepers use Toh days to make up for delinquent ritual obligations.
The following comes from a service at Tohil's Place, conducted by don Mateo, as remembered by Dennis Tedlock: "And then he says and furthermore, and here he takes up candles of tallow, not smooth and innocent candles made of wax but sticky candles made of the fat of slaughtered pigs, Come hither, Mary Black Butterfly, he summons a mountain west of here, or the lady who rules that mountain, she's Mary Black Butterfly, half her name from the one we call the Virgin, the other half she shares with Black Butterfly Grandson of Many Hands, the man who c ut off the head of Peter Pallid's white hourse, and another mountain, World of Don Manuel, every mountain a microcosm, World of Don Juan, and all along don Mateo lights whole bunches of tallow candles, he lets them burn lying down on the holy ground and we put down our candles too, World of Don Pascual, a mountain whose summit shrine has the Pascual Rock, carved with eyes and nose and mouth, arms crossed like a pair of candles, World of Don Diego, wherever that may be, and a giant, Golden Earthquake, Shining Earthquake, the lord within another mountain, the one who had his ankles tied to his wrists by Marksman and Little Jaguar Deer, and on with the names of every mountain, every world in Guatemala if don Mateo only knew them, and Red Sparkstriker, White Sparkstriker, whose ax of flint strikes lightning that moves in the blood of daykeepers, who predicted Black Butterfly's defeat by Peter Pallid, who never got baptized any more than he ever got petrified, red daimon who gives riches in dreams and dark places, who reveals the locations of stones with mouths . . ."
After that, a great downpour began, which cut short the fire of the tribes. And hail fell thickly on all the tribes, and their fires were put out by the hail. Their fires didn't start up again. So then Jaguar Quitze and Jaguar Night asked for their fire again:
"Tohil, we'll be finished off by the cold," they told Tohil.
"Well, do not grieve." said Tohil. Then he started a fire. He pivoted inside his sandal.
Popul Vuh (Tedlock), P. 172