THE MAYAN
PANTHEON
CHAC
Mayan god Chac was
the god of rain. He was
a benevolent god for
the Mayans who often
sought his help for
their crops. Chac was
associated with
creation and life.
ITZAMNA
The ruler of heaven, day, and
night, he frequently appeared
as four gods called Itzamn s,
who encased the world.
Itzamna was also a culture hero
who gave humankind writing
and the calendar and was the
patron deity of medicine.
Often called "Stinking One“, he is the
Mayan earthquake god and god of
death, ruler of the subterranean land of
the dead. He lives beneath the earth in a
purgatory where all souls except those
of soldiers killed in battle and women
who died in childbirth spend some time.
Suicides are doomed to his realm for
eternity. Cizin is often depicted on
pottery and illustrated in the codices in
the form of a dancing skeleton holding a
smoking cigarette. He is also known by
his death collar, the most prominent
feature which consists of disembodied
eyes dangling by their nerve cords. After
the Spanish Conquest, Cizin became
merged with the Christian devil.
CIZIN
Yumil Kaxob
The Maize god is representative of the
ripe grain which was the base of the
Mayan agriculture. In certain areas of
Mesoamerica, like Yucatan. The Maize
god is principally shown with a headdress
of maize and a curved streak on his cheek.
He is also noticeable from other gods
through his youth. Despite this youth, the
Maize god was powerless by himself. His
fortunes and misfortunes were decided
by the control of rain and drought. The
Rain god would protect him. However, he
suffered when the Death god exercised
drought and famine.
HUNAHPU
One of the
Hero Twins of
the the Maya
creation story
XBALANQUE
(pronouced schpah-len-kay)
One of the
Hero Twins
of the the
Maya
creation
story
TO VIEW A VIDEO ON THE MAYA
HERO TWINS, CLICK ON THE LINK
BELOW:
http://mayangods1.blogspot.com/2009/04/hero-twinsand-mayan-legends.html
YOUNG MOON
GODDESS
Patron of
fertility
and love
IX CHEL
Ix Chel, the "Lady Rainbow," was the old
Moon goddess in Mayan mythology. The
Maya people lived around 250 AD in what
is now Guatemala and the Yucatan in
Mexico. Mayans associated human events
with phases of the moon.
Ix Chel was depicted as an old woman
wearing a skirt with crossed bones, and
she had a serpent in her hand. She had an
assistant sky serpent, whom they believed
carried all of the waters of the heavens in
its belly. She is often shown carrying a
great jug filled with water, which she
overturns to send floods and powerful
rainstorms to Earth.
MONKEY-MAN SCRIBE
The monkey scribes seem to be inverted
reflections of the Hero Twins. They too are
twins and the older brothers of the Hero
Twins. Their names were Hun Batz
(howler monkey.) and Hun Chuen (spider
monkey) , and they were gifted artists and
musicians.
Hun Batz and Hun Chuen tormented and
abused their younger brothers, the Hero
Twins. But one day the younger twins
outsmarted their brothers, luring them
into a tree from which they were unable
to descend. That is how they became
monkeys.
The monkey twins were gifted,
industrious, and licentious. They were the
patron gods of writing, dance, the visual
arts, and calculating.
AHAW K’IN
Ahaw K’in was the Sun god. He
was the patron god of the city
Itzamal. Supposedly, he visited
the city at noon everday. He
would descend as a macaw
and consume prepared
offerings. Ahaw K’in is usually
shown with jaguar-like features
(ex. filed teeth). He also wears
the symbol of Kin, a Mayan
day.
The god of Travelers
and Merchants.
Ekahau