Mayan mythology is one of the most mysterious in terms of the origin and meaning of its rituals, which are based on offering sacrifices to the Mayan gods. Although the Mayan people took the task of putting their myths on paper, this would not be of much use after the arrival of the Spanish to American lands.
The Spanish burned a large part of the papers containing the mythology of the Mayans, and that is why today there are many gaps in what we know about the beliefs and culture of this particular people.
However, Yes, data is known about the Mayan gods, entities to which this Mesoamerican people worshiped. In this article we will see what are the main Mayan deities that exist and some of their characteristics.
There are three Mayan texts that survived the burning of the Spanish (Popol Vuh, Chilam Balamand The Chacxulubchen Chronicles); They are where most of the information we have so far about this culture and its religion has been extracted. Starting from these documents, below we will review a list of the most influential Mayan gods.
Within the Mayan culture, this god is the only one who possesses life and from whom all other things come, not only the other Mayan gods, but everything that is around us.
He is a dual god, so It also represents everything and nothing The Mayans invoke it through the Sun, where they believe it comes from.
2. Chaac: God of lightning and rain
This Deity is one of the most popular and praised in the Mayan pantheon, given that gifts are attributed to provide abundant harvests He is illustrated as an old man with a reptilian trunk and tongue.
The Yucatan Peninsula, an area plagued by drought, is where this god is most venerated.
3. Itzamná: god of wisdom
This deity is one of the most multifaceted that the Mayans had. She represents the origins of science and knowledge, He is also known as the God of the Sun, ruler of the sky, master of the day and the night
This God is responsible for maintaining a balance between life and death, and promotes chaos so that new creations can exist.
4. Pawahtún: Charger of the Cosmos
Mayan mythology illustrates this deity in two different ways. In one version he is seen as a single old, toothless man with a turtle shell, while in others he is placed as four men who are responsible for supporting the four corners of the universe.
Within the Mayan culture The turtle shell is a symbol of strength and protection since it was in one of them where the Sun and the Moon hid during the destruction of the world.
This deity is the wife of the God of wisdom (Itzamná) and is associated with multiple actions in addition to love. Manual work, vegetation, fertility and medicine are some of the things with which it is associated within the Mayan culture.
The illustration of this goddess consists of an old woman emptying a vessel on the surface of the earth.
6. Kinich Ahau: sun god
Regarding this God there is a debate, since it is said that he originates from two different deities but it is not clear which of them he really comes from. Everything will depend on the region where it is worshiped.
Some claim that it comes from Itzamná, while others say that it comes from Kinich Kakmó. Beyond this dilemma, Kinich Ahau is also considered the god of the sun the patron of music and poetry
7. Yum Kaax: god of corn
This is another of the most praised deities of the Mayans, because they attribute to him the ability to favor hunters in terms of their luck, and to be responsible for the good harvests of the sowers. The Mayans show him as a young man busy with manual work on the land.
8. Kauil: god of fire
The Mayans describe it within their culture as father and mother of humans, fire had a transcendental role in the mythology of the Mayans The inhabitants of this civilization thought that he who mastered the power of fire was capable of controlling the violence within it.
The rituals to this god continue today based on bonfires in which the participants, after having interacted with the fire, leave renewed. He is illustrated as an ambiguous figure with a snake’s mouth and a long nose
9. Ek Chuah: god of cocoa
A God provided with two specific capacities by the Mayan culture. The first is to encourage and favor the planting of cocoa on the land, and the second is to promote conflict as patron of war
He was very popular among street vendors, who worshiped him daily so that their sales were going well.
10. Yum Kimil: god of death
Sovereign of the underworld and the Mayan hell, this malevolent Deity served as a source of inspiration for the illustrations currently given to death in many of its versions, especially the one that represents it as a skeleton.
Yum Kimil, according to Mayan mythology He prowled the homes of the sick to hunt down new victims and take them to hell The way they had to scare him away was by shouting as loud as they could.
