Maya Mythology: Origin, Gods, Symbology +32 Myths

Discover with us the Maya Mythology. Get to know all the legends, heroes, animals, places and most popular myths that still survive.

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Mayan Mythology

Maya mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all Maya tales in which personified forces of nature, deities and heroes interacting with them play the main roles.

The myths of pre-Hispanic times must be reconstructed from the iconography. Other parts of the Maya oral tradition (such as animal tales, folktales and many moralizing stories) are not considered here.

Origin of Mayan Mythology

In the Maya narrative, the origin of many natural and cultural phenomena is exposed, often with the moral objective of defining the ritual relationship between man and his environment.

Thus, we find explanations about the origin of celestial bodies (Sun and Moon, but also Venus, the Pleiades, the Milky Way); the mountain landscape; clouds, rain, thunder and lightning; wild and tame animals; the colors of corn; diseases and their curative herbs; agricultural instruments; the steam bath, etc. The following more encompassing themes can be discerned.

The Popol Vuh describes the creation of the earth by a group of creator gods, as well as its aftermath.

The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel tells of the collapse of the sky and the flood, followed by the slaying of the earth crocodile, the raising of the sky and the erection of the five World Trees. The Lacandon also knew the story of the creation of the Underworld.

The Popol Vuh gives a sequence of four efforts at creation: First came the animals, then the wet clay, the wood, and finally the creation of the first ancestors from the corn dough.

To this, the Lacandon add the creation of the main groupings of relatives and their “totemic” animals. A Verapaz myth preserved by Las Casas in his “Apologetic Summary History”, assigns the creation of humanity to artisan gods similar to the Popol Vuh monkey brothers.

The creation of mankind is concluded with the Mesoamerican account of the opening of the Mountain of Corn (or Sustenance) by the deities of the Thunderbolt.

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Heroes and legends

The best known hero myth, included in the Popol Vuh, is about the defeat of a bird demon and the deities of sickness and death by the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque.

Of equal importance is the parallel narrative of a corn hero who defeats the Thunder and Lightning deities and establishes a pact with them.

Although its current dissemination is limited to the Gulf Coast areas, several data suggest that this myth was also part of the Maya oral tradition. Important mythological fragments about the heroic reduction of the jaguars and the acquisition of the jaguar’s power have been preserved by the Tzotzil and Chol Maya.

Stages of Maya mythology

The Maya civilization flourished in Mesoamerica from around 300 B . C . Until the Spanish conquest of the early . D . 1500S .

The earliest known images of Mesoamerican gods were created by the Olmec civilization of Mexico.

The Olmec pantheon probably included rain, corn and fire deities, as well as a feathered serpent god. These figures reappeared in the myths of later Mesoamerican peoples.

Olmec art included images of jaguars and creatures that were part jaguar, part human. The people of the region believed that magicians could become jaguars.

The Zapotec, Toltec and Aztec were among the Mesoamericans who inherited and built upon Olmec traditions.

So were the Maya, who concentrated in the lowlands of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and in a highland region stretching from the present-day states of Tabasco and Chiapas to Guatemala.

The Maya enjoyed their greatest wealth, power and success of all A. re. 300 to 900. Historians call this their Classic period. During this time, the Maya built vast stone cities and ceremonial centers such as Tikal and Palenque.

After the Classic period, the Toltecs from central Mexico came to the Yucatan and eventually merged with the Maya. Their influence shaped the Late Maya civilization at Chichén Itzá and Mayapán.

Gods or deities of Maya mythology

With between 166 and 250 named gods, the Maya had a complex and changing pantheon. They had gods to oversee every human action and every aspect of life: gods for birth and death, for the ball game and games of chance, for travel and merchants, for pregnant women and babies, for youth, age, health and suicide, for wild nature and agriculture, a god of corn and thunder, creator gods and sky gods.

All these gods were also changeable. They could be of one sex or both, young and old, good but sometimes bad, depending on the time and circumstances.

Because of the complexity, it is unlikely that modern minds can fully understand the Maya religion and pantheon.

However, scholars have deciphered enough Maya codices and hieroglyphs to cite the major Maya gods. These gods are listed below, but the list is by no means exhaustive.

Itzamná
Itzamná

Gods

1.Itzamná: He is a creator god, one of the gods involved in the creation of human beings and father of the Bacabs, who defended the corners of the world. He is the god of wisdom, of the sky, night and day.

Itzamna taught humans the crafts of writing and medicine. He is sometimes identified with the high god Hunab Ku and the sun god Kinich Ahau.

2.Yum Kaax: A nature god, Yum Kaax is the god of wild plants and animals, the god of the forests. He is the god revered by hunters and farmers, who hunt wild animals or dig their fields in his forest.

3. The corn god: The Maya had both a female and male corn god, and a simple vegetative god and a more powerful and tonsured male corn god.

The tonsured corn god personifies corn, cacao and jade. He is a patron god of the scribe, dance and feast arts. Maya kings often disguised themselves as the corn god during the rituals of their life, death and regeneration.

4. Hunab Ku: He is a pre-Columbian god whose name translates as the only god. Scholars are still debating whether Hunab Ku is an indigenous god or a creation of the Spanish. Most believe he is indigenous.

The Spanish focused on Hunab Ku to persuade the Maya of the fundamental belief of Christianity.

5.Kinich Ahau: The sun god of the Maya, sometimes associated with or an aspect of Itzamna. During the Classic period, Kinich Ahau was used as a royal title, carrying the idea of the divine king.

He is also known in Maya codices as God G and is shown in many carvings in Maya pyramids.

6. Ix Chel: She is the goddess of medicine and midwifery, also known as the goddess of children. She is represented as a woman.

7. Chaac: He is the rain god with bulging eyes, of great importance to the Maya. He has a fourfold aspect, with each aspect representing the cardinal directions and colors. Chaac brought clouds, thunder, lightning and most importantly, rain.

8. Kukulkan: He is the feathered serpent god of the Maya. Kukulkan was worshipped by other Mesoamerican cultures such as the Aztecs, where the god was known as Quetzalcoatl.

A Mayan cult grew up around Kukulkan, whose priests helped trade and peaceful communications among the Maya. Human sacrifices were offered to this god.

Animals of Mayan mythology

Animals were popular and powerful symbols in Maya mythology and culture. They were often associated with different deities and their features, very well observed by the Maya, were attributed to these deities.

Maya deities for warfare, for example, were often associated with the jaguar, which was considered a stealthy animal that could easily hunt its prey successfully. Similarly, howler monkeys were considered patrons of the creative arts in Maya culture.

Although the Maya considered many animals associated with the Maya gods, they also hunted them as a source of meat and often offered them as sacrifices during religious rituals. In general, the more difficult an animal was to hunt, the more valued its sacrifice was considered by the Maya.

The Maya attributed many traits they observed in animals such as the jaguar to their deities. Some animals were considered a direct manifestation of the gods, such as the Black Howler Monkey.

The Maya closely observed the animals that existed in Maya cities and surrounding regions. Many of these animals were also offered as sacrifices to the Maya gods.

The Maya also hunted a wide variety of animals as a source of meat. These game animals included iguanas, rabbits and deer, among others.

The black howler monkey

Monos aulladores negros

The Maya considered black howler monkeys as scribes of the gods. They were seen as patrons of artists, scribes and artisans, and of any work related to creative labor.

For this reason, the Maya honored and esteemed them, and in some cases worshipped their long black tails for their extraordinary beauty. Howler monkeys are represented in the existing architecture and art in many Maya cities.

They are often depicted with reverence, and were particularly important in the Maya city of Copan. Black howler monkeys also played a prominent role in the saga of the Heroic Twins, as explained in the Mayan mythology book, Popol Vuh.

There is still a large population of howler monkeys in the Maya regions and in the regions surrounding the Maya ruins.

The jaguar

Jaguars are one of the most recurrent animal motifs in Maya mythology and culture. They were associated with the most powerful Maya gods, especially with the deities related to war.

The Maya believed that jaguars could cross between the two worlds represented by day and night. According to Maya mythology, one of the twin heroes was wrapped in jaguar skin and eventually became a Maya god at the end of his adventures in the underworld.

Maya rulers wore jaguar skins as a sign of the highest honor, and it was forbidden for anyone other than royalty to wear those skins.

Rattlesnakes

The Maya considered certain species of rattlesnakes to have extraordinary powers. Carvings of such snakes have been found in cities throughout the Maya region.

Some Maya cities even had the snake as their official emblem, which parallels a similar use of the snake motif in ancient Egypt.

Maya priests routinely dried and cooked rattlesnakes to make use of their unique powers. They would then use their ground powder as medicine.

Armadillo

The armadillo was a purely meat animal for the Maya. They hunted armadillos in large numbers as a direct source of meat. Armadillo carapace was also used by the Maya for a number of objects, including bowls.

It was also used to create musical instruments, which may explain why the armadillo was often associated with music in Maya culture. The Maya also associated the armadillo with some of their terrestrial deities.

Bats

Murciélago

Bats were considered a morbid animal in Maya culture. They were often associated with night, death and sacrifice. The Maya considered the wing tips of outstretched bats as the eyes of death, considering them linked to the underworld.

Bats also occur in the myth of the Heroic Twins, where the Twins have to face huge bats that eventually cut off their heads. The Maya pantheon had a bat god named Camazotz who resided in the underworld.

Deer

Ciervo

The Maya hunted deer as their main source of meat, yet they revered it as a symbol for their ancestors who hunted, rather than harvested, as the main source of food.

The Maya considered deer the lord of the forest and often sacrificed them as a tribute to the gods. In extant Maya art, deer are also associated with motifs of death as well as authority and power.

Rabbit

For the Maya, rabbits were directly related to the deities of the moon. In fact, the Maya believed that the moon itself was a rabbit. They also associated rabbits with writing and the arts, probably based on the position of the patrons of scribes and creative artists. In some Maya representations, the goddess Moon is shown holding a rabbit in her arms.

Ducks

The Maya considered bodies of water as the path to the underworld. So any aquatic animal in Maya culture was directly associated with the themes of the underworld. This also applied to ducks which were frequently used by the Maya in religious rituals and as a means of warding off demons from the underworld. The Maya also hunted and consumed ducks as a source of meat.

Falcon

Halcón

The Maya considered falcons and related species, such as hawks, as direct messengers of the celestial gods. They were also considered a symbol of power. In the Mayan mythological tale of the Heroic Twins, they are invited by the lords of the Underworld through a falcon.

Mayan Mythology Literature

The oldest written Maya myths date from the 16th century and are found in historical sources from the Guatemalan highlands. The most important of these documents is the Popol Vuh, which contains Quechua creation stories and some of the adventures of the Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque.

Yucatán is another important region; the Yucatecan Books of Chilam Balam contain mythological passages of considerable antiquity, and mythological fragments are found scattered among the chronicles and reports of Spanish colonial times, including Diego de Landa’s Relación de las Cosas de Yucatán and the dictionaries compiled by the early missionaries.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, local anthropologists and folklorists wrote many histories on paper, usually in Spanish or English, and only rarely together with the Maya language text.

Although most Maya stories are the result of a historical process in which Spanish narrative traditions interacted with native ones, some of the stories date back to pre-Hispanic times.

Important collections of myths have been published for the Chol, Kekchi, Lacandón, Tzotzil, and Yucatec Maya, to mention only a few of the most accessible. At the beginning of the 21st century, the transmission of traditional tales has entered its final phase.

Maya Symbols and Symbology

Maya symbols are a rich source of material culture for the Central American civilization and are among the most important archaeological finds that have helped to unite the economy, farming methods, politics and social practices.

Symbols carry the heart of each culture, and the symbols of each culture represent its inner reality to the people of that culture.

Jaguar: A symbol of strength, divinity and general dominion over all things, a great sign of power for the Maya. At night, the jaguar god would rule the Maya underworld, during the day he would roam the morning sky from east to west, and return to the underworld at sunset.

The cosmic forces of day and night fall in the realm of the jaguar. A symbol of imminent dominion in all things celestial, as well as an ultimate sign of confidence and leadership.

Eagle: The eagle represents contemplative thought. When focused on, this Mayan symbol helps to access inner wisdom. Known for its power of clarity, this symbol facilitates clear mental focus.

After a while, focus on the qualities of the eagle representative of the Mayan symbol that will pave the way for higher, or even more telepathic acuity. Eagles are also a symbol of communal and cooperative unity among a diverse group.

Bat: The Mayan word for bat is “zotz”. The bat is representative of the guardian of the underworld. Also a dubious symbol, rich in dualities, worshiped for its dominion over darkness, and a powerful sign to mark against enemies.

The Maya drew a very faint line between our concept of good and evil. The meaning, good and evil is seen in totality rather than marked separation. As such, the bat was worshipped for its dark and light qualities.

Pictured here is the long-nosed bat of Central America. It was common in the area, and was seen in Maya glyphs.

Earth: Representative of movement and slow movement. This Mayan symbol reminds us that there are greater forces at work, and our transitions (especially during difficult times) must be made with patience.

The earth symbol, when focused, will help you center yourself as you delve deeper into the movements of your inner thoughts to make the conscious changes you desire.

Night: A symbol of balance and putting things to rest with the goal of peace. Represents putting away problems and allowing them to sit until your spirit is ready to bring them out again for contemplation. Also a sign of surrender.

Night represents the mantle or shadow being lowered so that the subconscious or inner spirit can do its work, while physical actions must be silenced and subdued while this inner work takes place.

Sun: A Mayan symbol of ascension, clarity and consciousness. Focusing on this symbol facilitates enlightenment. The sun was highly valued by the Mayan civilization. It brought about high yielding crops and the sun appeared during the time of greatest productivity.

Internally, the sun produces philosophical productivity. Bringing the sun into our meditations warms our consciousness and allows our divinity to flourish.

This symbol is known as Ahau and can also be interpreted as “teacher”. -It makes sense when consciousness is compared to light. In this case, an enlightened teacher or mentor emits the light of knowledge (awareness).

Myths and Legends of Maya Mythology

The myths and legends of the Maya come from the traditions and religion of an ancient civilization three millennia old that existed in the region of Mesoamerica. Mesoamerica is the region that includes Mexico and Central America.

Mitologia maya

When the Spanish invaded the Maya territories, most of their texts were burned. However, some of these legends managed to survive. Maya mythology sheds some light on the ancient culture and also commemorates the ancestral traditions of the great Maya civilization.

Maya narratives are often presented in such a way that they define the relationship between humanity and its environment. One can find explanations about the origin of the Sun, the Moon and the Milky Way; rain, thunder, lightning, animals, diseases, and so on. These stories, however, have more than one version.

Flat earth and jaguars

The Maya believed that the Earth was flat with four corners and that each corner represented a cardinal direction. And at each corner was a jaguar of different colors called bacabs, which held the sky. The Maya also believed that the universe was divided into thirteen layers and that each layer had its own god.

The legend of the Aluxes

The Aluxes (pronounced ah-lu-shes), were small beings made of clay. Once created, they were offered offerings and prayers to bring them to life.

These creatures were hidden in order to protect their owner in that way. They are agile and light as the wind, so they are hardly seen. Aluxes were loyal to their owners but mischievous with strangers.

When their owners’ property is given to others, the aluxes appear and frighten the children. Therefore, to appease them, the new owners would give them food, honey, corn and cigarettes.

Even today, it is believed that the aluxes protect the Mayan villages and some believe that the aluxes bring light to the world. The Maya also believed that if the aluxes were respected, they in turn would protect the people and their belongings.

The Creation of the Earth

There are several stories about how the Earth was made. One version of the Maya story goes like this. Before the Earth was born, there were only two gods, Tepeu the Maker and Gucumatz the Feathered Spirit.

They shone with bright blue and green feathers, while everything else around them was black. These two came together to create the world. Everything they thought of came to life; when they passed through the Earth, the earth was formed and they passed through mountains, pine trees, valleys, sky and water, and all this appeared. Thus the earth was formed.

Creation of life on Earth

Once the gods Tepeu the Maker and Gucumatz the Feathered Spirit made the Earth, they made beings to take care of their creations and praise them.

Then they created all the creatures that roam the Earth today. However, these animals could not speak no matter how hard they tried. They could only bark, howl, bleat twitter, roar or whine.

The disillusioned gods decided to create better beings, ones that could do proper worship. They made the first race of men from wet clay and gave them life, but they fell apart soon after when they tried to speak.

A second race of men, carved out of wood, was created. The second race of men was stronger and able to walk, talk and multiply. However, these men had no minds; their hearts were empty and they had no memories of their creation.

Moreover, when they spoke it was empty and meaningless, so they could not praise the gods. Therefore, the Tepeu and Gucumatz sent a great flood to destroy them and ordered the animals to attack them and tear them to pieces.

Few of them managed to escape into the forest. They became monkeys and the gods left them there as an example for the next race of men.The gods thought for a long time, but could not find the perfect material to create man.

The animals brought them a pile of corn, which the gods ground into a paste and formed four men. They looked perfect, robust and had minds rich in feelings and thoughts.

Their first act after their own creation was to thank their creators Tepeu and Gucumatz for their lives. The gods were pleased. The new human race could see forever, trees, mountains and even the edges of the Earth. They could see and understand all of the gods’ creation.

The gods decided they knew too much and took away some of their vision. Men could now only see things close to them, and so their greater understanding of the world weakened. Despite this, men still praised the gods.

The gods made four women for these men. These eight humans were the ancestors of all Quiché men today.

Heaven, Earth and the Underworld

The Maya believed, like many people, that the heavens were above and the underworlds below and the human world was in between.

There are 13 layers stacked above the Earth – the heavens. The Earth itself rested on a turtle or reptile floating in the ocean. Four brothers known as Bacabs raised the heavens. Below the Earth is the realm called Xibalba – the underworld with nine layers.

The three realms are linked by a giant tree, whose branches reach up to the sky and roots to the underworld. The gods and the souls of the dead travel through the worlds along this giant tree.

Legend of the Dwarf in Uxmal

Long ago, there lived an old woman in the ancient city of the Maya. She was the oracle of the city. She could not have children. Therefore, she asked the god Chic Chan to bring her the shell of a large turtle.

Several months later, a little green dwarf with red hair was born. One day the dwarf decided to make a large gourd that would function as a kind of rattle. There was a prophecy that said that the people who played a similar instrument would become the new king.

This infuriated the king who was ruling at the time, which led him to challenge the dwarf to a double game.

The king made the dwarf face three tests. For the first test, the king asked the dwarf the number of trees in his palace and the dwarf succeeded in this test.

For the second test, the dwarf was told to bring a male turkey that could lay eggs. The next day, he brought a male that appeared to be pregnant to prove that it was impossible to do the same with a turkey. He won points from the judges.

For the third and final test, the king asked Saiya to put a walnut tree on his head and then break it with a spear point. The dwarf also passed this test and challenged the king to do the same. The king, unfortunately, died because of his pride. Thus, the dwarf was declared king.

As king, he built the famous temple called “the governor’s house”. He built a house for his mother which he called “the house of the old mother”. Both buildings can be seen at the Mayan ruins of Uxmal.

Religious traditions of Maya mythology

The traditional religions of the Maya, in which astrology and ancestor worship played an important role, were based on a belief system that included the world, the heavens and an invisible underworld called Xibalba.

When Spanish missionaries introduced Catholicism to their regions, the Maya tended to add it to their existing religion, creating a unique brand of “folk Catholicism”.

Rituales de la mitología maya

Their traditional gods that belonged to the natural world, such as corn, rain and the sun, became associated with Christian saints, and various rituals and festivals were transmuted into church-approved forms.

The Maya religion was polytheistic, and they worshipped more than 165 gods. They were like humans. The gods were born, grew up and died.

The gods would do other human activity that was considered acceptable. This included: creating, planting and harvesting corn, performing divination, conducting business, fighting wars, forming alliances, and intermarrying. This behavior led the gods to have interrelated jobs within their hierarchy.

The Maya religion believed that most people’s souls were defeated to spend their lives in the underworld. Even the souls of rulers ended up there. Only those who died in childbirth or were sacrificed would have escaped the underworld.

Sacrifice was carried out by the shedding of blood (ritualized cutting) performed by the community, but directed by the priest. The underworld is full of evil gods, represented as jaguars, the symbol of the night. The jaguar was also shown on the helmets of the kings.

The Maya believed that each person had a companion animal that shared his or her soul. They were called “Way’ ob”. The Mayan religion said that one could transform himself into his animal companion.

Each king had a jaguar as his spirit animal companion, and they were often depicted with jaguars in Maya art. Most Maya had one animal companion, but some of the powerful Maya priests might have more than one.

Sacred places of Maya mythology

The Maya were known for their calendars and astronomical buildings. These were used during their religious rituals. Similar to the Egyptians, the Maya built pyramids as temples for religious reasons.

The main difference in shape is that Mayan pyramids have a flat top to build temples on top.

The best known pyramid is El Castillo or Temple of Kukulkan in the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, in the Mexican state of Yucatan.

Kukulkan
Kukulkan

The Maya built two types of pyramids, and one type was intended to be climbed. These pyramids were used during human sacrifices, which would please the gods.

These pyramids were sacred and were often built with steps too steep to climb, or with a false door.

When these pyramids were used, a priest used the dangerous steps and approached the gods. Each pyramid usually had two or four steps, often including a platform between the steps near the center. This platform was probably also used during the rituals of the priest kings.

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