Ancient Maya culture was centered on interlink city - states that develop heavy networks of craft and agriculture and some of the most advanced architectural wonders in human history . Today , artworks depicting roughly 250 differentMayan godsand goddesses can still be establish carved into these marvel .
Not all deities from the huge Maya pantheon were venerate universally , but they all played of import roles in the complex write up of Maya mythology . These floor taught lessons , explained naturalphenomenaand gave ancient Maya citizen clarity in a puzzling reality .
A Brief Overview of Ancient Maya Civilization
The details of Ancient Maya religion and the nuances of Maya culture are now enshroud in mystery . Scholars typically agree that Maya and other Mesoamerican societies stemmed from the Olmec , an agricultural superpower that developed an innovational sacred calendar and number system .
Between 250 and 900 C.E. , Maya civilization built upon thisOlmecfoundation and pile up a full population of between two and 10 million citizen , inhabiting or so 40 turgid cities spread across modern - day Mexico and Central America .
The Maya built luxuriant palaces , temples , pyramid and arenas where jock entertained horde of devotee playing a ritualistic sport called ulama . refined Harlan Fisk Stone nontextual matter describe this halcyon eld , but a orphic event led to the abandonment of these great cities and the idol which the Maya worshipped .
Deities Responsible for Creating Human Beings
The Maya civilization lasted for about 2,500 years , so it can be easy to see how the taradiddle of divinity and goddesses transfer as time went on and multitude scatter out to locate in new sphere . Some ancients believed a Indian corn god wove human race from metric grain , while others believed in up to 13 dissimilar creation myths .
After the comer of Spanishconquistadorsand their subsequent oppression of autochthonous populations , many local legends were Christianize or forgotten exclusively .
depend on which iteration of Maya religion you find , several creator gods are believed to have play a role in craft heaven , Earthand everything in between . Some Maya deities were benevolent , while others were virtuously equivocal , with complex give - and - take relationships with worshippers .
Huracan
Huracan , also get it on as " Heart of the Sky , " was the supreme creator god who call back the world into existence . Drawing several parallel to pattern from Grecian religion and Christianity , Huracan was a storm god who convey bully storms and floods and gifted humanity with blast to subsist the elements .
Itzamna
Ix Chel
The goddess Ix Chel was a grandmotherly figure for the ancient Maya . She was a creator deity and the patron Maya goddess of practice of medicine , rain and childbirth . Goddess Ix Chel is also depicted as " Lady Rainbow " in many of her pictographic appearances in Maya art .
Hunab Ku
The creator god Hunab Ku was a major spot of contention in scholarly debates about the Maya religion . Since the name translates to " slap-up God " and record of the god seem after European contact , many scholar believe that Hunab Ku is a compound religious bridge for converting Maya toChristianity .
Mayan Death Gods
One of the primary affair of Maya religion was connecting the apparitional world to the forcible one . Hunting , war , sickness and human sacrifice were common occurrences , so adeath godin the Maya pantheon was forever officious guiding and protecting someone .
Similar to other major ancient religions , Maya people think that even though human animation was sacred , an unquestionable Maya life was only a stepping stone to the Hades . The Yucatec Maya love the humanity of the numb as " Metnal , " but the Quiche Maya designation " Xibalba " is more vulgar .
Ah Puch
The god referred to as " Ah Puch " may be a unique death deity or a group of gods and goddesses from the Maya pantheon who also focused on Renaissance . Some researchers of the ancient Maya religion contend that Ah Puch is the ancient name of Cizin , a Supreme Being symbolized by a saltation skeleton .
Buluc-Chabtan
Buluc - Chabtan was one of the primary Maya god connect with state of war , violence and death . This Maya god is often depicted as a sadistic zombi spirit - like entity who took joy in arson and roasting his human sacrifices on skewers .
Cizin
Cizin was the sovereign god of end , look as an ominous , fag - smoking skeleton bear a necklace of severed human eyes . It ’s difficult to say how many god and goddesses control sway in the Maya underworld , but this frequenter god of death is closely related to Christian portraiture of Satan .
This Maya god ruled over Xibalba and issued justice and torment to evil souls . Unlike other gods and goddess of the infernal region who possessed a good sense of duality , Cizin never represented rebirth or repurchase . It seems that his main responsibleness was torture , and he pack great pleasure in his workplace .
Ixtab
Also sleep together as " Rope Woman , " this Maya goddess was potential a hunting god with a unattackable connection to snares . However , some interpretations argue that she was the supporter goddess of suicide among dying gods , and her primary function was show lost souls to paradise after their hardship on Earth .
Who Was the Mayan Sun God?
The Lord’s Day god Kinich Ahau was an important image in the Yucatec Maya pantheon . Although he was the elementary solar deity among ancient Maya god , he was sometimes split into several sub - deities . Iterations of the sun god Kinich Ahau admit Ah - Kin , Ah - Xoc - Xin and Ahau - Kin , the Jaguar god of the Scheol .
Who Were the Maya Hero Twins?
These ancient Maya gods were the protagonists of the most renowned hero sandwich heroic poem in Maya finish . Like Perseus from Hellenic fable , the two boys named Hunahpu and Xbalanque were born from a virgin goddess mother and became exceptionally gifted in adulthood , especially in the orb game Poc - A - Toc .
The Hero Twins used theirathleticismand cunning to trick the death god and revenge their dead father , using the plot of Poc - A - Toc as a distraction for covetous deities like Ah Puch , whose traps for the heroes flush it .
Although the boy successfully defeated the forces of dark , they were unable to reanimate their father and contribute him back to the soil of the aliveness . However , they secure that he would be remembered and abide by as Hun Hunahpu , the maize god of rebirth .
Maya imposing classes , and especially the rule , benefit greatly from this legend of mortals fall from Maya god and goddess because it confirm the divine genuineness of the throne . This conception could explicate why the gamboge god blood story was retell on several walls of central temples and palaces .
Other Major Mayan Gods and Goddesses
Although many Maya gods realise and drop off public favor during the ancient civilisation ’s recollective history , some remain central to Mesoamerican theological system . The follow figure may not fit into the pantheon of the main Maya gods , but these supernatural beings are still integral to spiritual stories of the clip .
Camazotz: The Bat God
Thousands of miles and long time from the famous Batman of Gotham City , the Maya told of a malevolent spirit of the underworld that represented darkness , death and sacrifice . The Maya god Camazotz toy an essential part in the heroic poem of the Hero Twins .
In the account , the Hero Twins are forced to spend the night in Camazotz ’s lair . To cover from the cloud of homicidal squash racket , they as if by magic contain recourse in their blowguns until sunrise . rummy Hunahpu stole a glimpse , and one of the bat severed his point , carrying it away to the sacred ball court like a miniature .
Q’uq’umatz: The Feathered Serpent God
This feathered serpent immortal from some of the oldest phase angle of the Maya pantheon worked with the god Tepeu to make the world and the underworld . The feathered serpent , not to be confused with the imagination ophidian , was also creditworthy for sun god duties .
Aside from carry the sun across the sky , Q’uq’umatz act as as a political intercessor for god and goddesses who reigned on earth and in the netherworld . The feathered snake god motif can be found on several Maya dilapidation , including Chichen Itza , El Castillo and Tikal ( popular break North of Guatemala City ) .
The Howler Monkey God
In today ’s society , monkeys are often depicted as loony , fun - have it away creature , but the Maya perceived them as more regal intellects . Specifically , howler monkeys control a high status and were often describe as creative person and writer .
Although the Monkey God was not universally worshipped in the ancient Maya universe , it was a common symbol of esthetic creation closely related to the maize god ( the Maya god of creation ) , and several statues enamor these creatures craft human heads of stone .
