ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author offers a reconstruction of the view of the kinds of change that allow for continuation or for substitution based on transference of essence. Transformation of identity happens, according to the Maya view, through the performance of characteristic activity that represents the essence of pre-existing entities. According to a classic Maya conception, the essence of a thing is its distinguishing, marking feature—that which makes a thing what it is. The essence of a thing, according to Classic Maya views, is connected to its function, in terms of its character and communal interaction. Certain item substitutions on the face of it seem to problematize the position of substitution as identity. Numerous scholars have discussed naming conventions connected to the idea of k'ex, such as the idea of the replacement of a grandparent with a grandchild named after them.
