Hunab Ku Creator god. The greatest deity in the pantheon, no
image is created of Hunab Ku since he is considered to be without form.
His son is the iguana god, ITZAM NA, and he may have become the Mayan
counterpart of the Christian god.
Hunapu Creator god. According to the sacred text Popol Vuh, the
son of HUN HUNAPU and the twin brother of Ix Balan Ku. Tradition has it
that, like his father, he was decapitated in a historic struggle with
the underworld gods and subsequently became the sun god, while his
sibling is the apotheosis of the moon.
Hunhau - God of death. Mayan (Yucatec and Quiche, classical
Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. One of the several “lords of death” listed in
the codices who rule the underworld, Mictlan. Hunhau is generally
depicted with canine attributes, or with the head of an owl.
Huracan - Creator god. [Guatemalan highlands]. Having created the
world, he fashioned the first humans from pieces of maize dough. The
counterpart of the Yucatec HUNAB KU.
Ih P’en Chthonic fertility god. Mayan (classical Mesoamerican)
[Mexico]. The deity concerned with the growth of plants, and consort of
the bean goddess IX KANAN. He is also god of family life, property and
other wealth. The couple are invoked as a single personality with the
sacrifice.
Ikal Ahau Chthonic god of death. Mayan (Tzotzil, classical
Mesoamerican) [Mexico]. Perceived as a diminutive
figure who lives in a cave by day but wanders at night attacking people
and eating raw human flesh. He is also considered to inhabit Christian
church towers in Mexico and is probably personified by vampire bats.
Itzam Cab - Chthonic earth god. The earth aspect of the
creator god ITZAM NA. He is also a god of fire, and hearthstones are
called “head of Itzam Cab.” Sticks of firewood are his thighs, flames
his tongue and the pot resting on the fire his liver. In his vegetation
aspect he is depicted with leaves of maize sprouting from his head.
ITZAM NA (iguana house) ORIGIN Mayan. Creator god. KNOWN PERIOD
OF WORSHIP circa AD 300 until today.
Vienna Codex - The principal god in the Mayan pantheon
according to the Vienna codex. He lives in the sky
and sends the rain. Also a god of medicine and a fire god. By tradition
the Maya believed that the world was set within a vast house, the walls
and roof of which were formed by four huge iguanas standing upright but
with their heads bent downwards. Each reptile has its own direction and
color. Itzam Na is not invoked in the rites of modern
Yucatan peasants but, at one time, was the subject of a ritual which
involved daubing the lowest step of a sanctuary with mud and the other
steps with blue pigment (the color peculiar to rain gods). At Chichen
Itza sacrifice was regularly made to a huge crocodile believed to be the
personification of the god.
Ix Chebel Yax Mother goddess. Goddess of weaving and
patroness of weavers, whose tutelage is shared with IX CHEL.
Ix Chel Moon goddess. Also the goddess of childbirth and
medicine and of rainbows. A consort of the sun god. She has a major
shrine as Cozumel and small figurines of the goddess have been
conventionally placed beneath the beds of women in labor. Such women are
considered to be in great danger at times of lunar eclipse when the
unborn child may develop deformities. Ix Chel is a guardian against
disease and the Quiche Indians regard her as a goddess of fertility and
sexual intercourse. A goddess of weaving, believed to be the first being
on earth to weave cloth, she was employed in this craft when she first
attracted the attention of the sun god. She carries her loom sticks
across the sky to protect her from jaguars. Under Christian influence
she has been largely syncretized
with the Virgin Mary.
Ix Kanan Vegetation goddess. The guardian of the bean
plant. Her consort is the maize god IH P’EN. The couple
are invoked at sowing time when turkeys and chickens are sacrificed.
Ix Zacal Nok (lady cloth-weaver) Creator goddess. The consort of
the sun god Kinich Ahau and also the inventor of weaving. She may
represent another aspect of the mother goddess COLEL CAB.
Ixtab Goddess. Tutelary goddess of suicide victims.
Kai Yum (singing lord) God of music. He lives in the sky and is
attendant on CACOCH, one of the aspects the Mayan creator god. Depicted
as a brazier shaped like a pottery drum.
Kakupacat (fiery glance) War god. Said to bear a shield of
fire with which he protects himself in battle.
Kucumatz - Supreme god. An androgynous being who created all
things out of itself. Comparable with KUKULCAN.
Kukulcan Creator god. Kukulcan is, in origin, a Toltec god who
was adopted by the Mayan culture and who corresponds closely with the
Aztec deity QUETZALCOATL. He is chiefly concerned with reincarnation,
but is also responsible for the elements of fire, earth and water. He is
depicted with various attributes, maize for earth, and a fish for water.
Mam God of evil. A much-feared deity who lives beneath the earth
and only emerges in times of crisis. Depicted in the form of a flat,
life-sized piece of wood dressed as a scarecrow and set upon a stool. He
is offered food and drink during Uayeb, the period of five unlucky days
at the end of the year, after which the figure is undressed and
unceremoniously thrown away. During Uayeb devotees fast and refer to the
god as “grandfather.”
Manohel-Tohel - Creator god. The deity concerned specifically
with the creation of mankind, giving mortals body and soul and leading
them from the caves into the light.
Menzabac. He sprinkles black dye on the clouds, which causes them
to generate rain. Believed to live on the edge of a lake. Also a fever
god and a keeper of good souls.
Ohoroxtotil (god almighty) Creator god. The creator of the sun and
the deity who made the world inhabitable for mankind by destroying the
jaguars which once infested it.
Oxlahun Ti Ku Sky gods. The collective name for a group of
thirteen celestial deities who are probably still invoked by
Mesoamerican Indians today.
Poxlom God of disease. Apparently perceived as a star in
the sky or a ball of fire. He may also be depicted as a fertility god
shelling maize or as a fisherman, doctor, musician or hunter. An image
of the god was discovered in the Christian church.
Totilma’il (father-mother) Creator being. An androgynous
personality who represents the ancestral source of creation.
Tzultacah (mountain valley) Chthonic and thunder gods. A
group of deities who combine the features of earth and rain gods.
Although there are considered to be an indefinite number of Tzultacahs,
only thirteen are invoked in prayers. They live in, and may personify, springs and rivers, but
each is the owner of a specific mountain. They are attended by snakes
which are dispatched to punish mankind for wrongdoing.
Non-poisonous varieties are sent to discipline against minor offenses,
rattlesnakes for more serious depravity.
Yum Cimil God of death. Depicted with a skull head, bare ribs and
spiny projections from the vertebrae, or with bloated flesh marked by
dark rings of decomposition. He wears bell-like ornaments fastened in
the hair. Sacrificial victims were offered to the god by drowning in the
sacred pool or cenote.
Yum Kaax Vegetation god. The deity concerned with the growing
and harvesting of maize, but also of husbandry in
general. Depicted as a youthful figure with an ear of corn in his
headdress.
Zipakna Earthquake god. Usually coupled with the god
KABRAKAN and identified as a creator of mountains which Kabrakan
subsequently destroys.
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