The president of Mexico published a photo of a local cryptid
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador posted on his official Twitter account a photo of a strange creature sitting in a tree. This photo, he writes, was taken by an unnamed engineer several days ago.
This creature is known as “Alux” and is mentioned in Mayan folklore, including its image in Mayan ruins. The image is of poor quality and it is difficult to see anything in it normally. It can only be seen that the creature has a head in a white halo with two burning eyes, an arm and a leg with a knee.
The second photo, published by Obrador, shows a bas-relief representing the same creature. These ruins are located in the Mayan city of Ek Balam in the Mexican state of Yucatán.
According to the Associated Press, Obrador has a long history of reverence for the culture and beliefs of indigenous peoples. Engineers and workers are building a tourist train on the Yucatan Peninsula, which is the president’s favorite project. This photo was probably taken there.
An alux is a type of sprite or spirit in the mythological lore of certain Mayan peoples of the Yucatán Peninsula and Guatemala, also called Chanekeh or Chaneque by the Nahuatl people.
Aluxo’ob are designed to be small, just knee-length, and similar in appearance to miniatures of traditionally dressed Mayan people. Tradition holds that aluxob are generally invisible, but are capable of assuming physical form for the purposes of communication and fear of humans, as well as for gathering.
They are usually associated with natural features such as forests, caves, rocks and fields, but they can also be attracted somewhere through offerings.
