Yúcahu[1] —also written as Yucáhuguama Bagua Maórocoti, Yukajú, Yocajú, Yokahu or Yukiyú— was the masculine spirit of fertility in Taíno mythology.
[5] "They call him Yúcahu Bagua Maórocoti" is the earliest mention of the zemí taken from the first page of Fray Ramón Pané's Account of the Antiquities of the Indians.
[6] As the Taíno did not possess a written language, the name is the phonetic spelling as recorded by the Spanish missionaries, Ramón Pané, and Bartolomé de las Casas.
Now bored, Yucáhu roamed and noticed four gemstones that lied in the ground, which he took and converted into the celestial star beings, who reproduced and spread throughout the universe, where they guide the deities.
This was contrasted greatly by the goddess Guabancex (more commonly, but erroneously, known as Juracán) whose fierce nature was regarded as responsible for persuading other zemis in order to bring forth chaos and who was associated with the more aggressive Caribs.
Adaptations of traditional Taíno religion are practiced by a number of neo-Taíno groups, featuring Yúcahu as part of their pantheons.
[11] As with other mythologies, Taíno religion and the good/evil (in this case Yúcahu/Juracán) dichotomy has been adapted for comic books, in particular being central as the source of supernatural superpowers in Edgardo Miranda Rodríguez's La Borinqueña.
[12] Preceding the impending passing of hurricanes Irma and Maria over Puerto Rico during the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, artistic representations depicting an updated model of Yúcahu (as the sentient embodiment of El Yunque, distinguished by a humanoid form composed by the forest's vegetation) became widespread in social media as a method to boost the population's morale.