Juracán

[asakiyume]

Here's something I just learned:

According to some of the chroniclers, particularly Pané and Las Casas, the Amerindians from Hispaniola recognized the existence of an eminently benevolent being. His name has been spelled in different ways, but in Puerto Rico it is commonly written as Yuquiyú. There was also a furious and malevolent being known as Juracán, from whose name the word hurricane is derived, which denotes the Caribbean's extraordinarily destructive storms.
--Fernando Picó, History of Puerto Rico: A Panorama of Its People (Princeton: Marcus Wiener Publishers, 2006), 17.

Coincidentally, we had some fantastical clouds prior to a thunderstorm today. The clouds looked Jovian:

Comments

[nineweaving]

Magnificent!

Nine

[asakiyume]

The sky can be so *exciting*

[heliopausa]

Oh, gorgeous! Nearly mammatus clouds? They look heading that way to me, anyway. :)
I didn't know either of those names, either - nor about the gods in question, nor the etymology of "hurricane" - thank you! (I hope this post wasn't occasioned by a suspicion that anything of that nature is brewing nearby.)

editing to say: No, I see that this was prior to a storm - so I guess it's all over and done. :)

[asakiyume]

Yes, and it was only a thunderstorm, and not even a bad one, despite the drama of the clouds!

[shewhomust]

Great etymology - and perfect illustrations!

[asakiyume]

Thanks--it was such a marvelous sky.

[gale_storm]

Whoof! Thanks for posting those clouds, because ... day-um!