Maya Pantheon: The Bacabs

The cardinal directions, and their symbols

The Maya believed that the Earth was flat and that it was carried by a great turtle, the Bacabs were four brothers said to be the offspring of the Moon goddess Ix Chel, and the creation/Sun god Itzamna, however there is some speculation that they are four different aspects of one single deity. They stood at the four corners of the Earth, keeping the thirteen layers of the sky from crashing into the Earth and the nine layers of the underworld. They represent the four cardinal directions and their associated colours:

A representation of the Ceiba Tree

Zac Cimi stands in the west and their related colour is black, Hozanek guards the south and is linked to the colour yellow, Hobnil takes the east and is associated with the colour of red, and Can Tzicnal looms in the north and connected with the colour white. In between them all, is the fifth cardinal direction drawing towards the centre of the world, and at the centre sits the Ceiba Tree (World Tree) which reaches through the Earth into both the sky and underworld.

Maya Pantheon: Ix Chel

The Lost History of Aztec & Maya, pg. 60

Ix Chel is the Mayan goddess of the Moon and is connected to fertility. It is speculated that there are two aspects to her character, typical of the duality running through much of the Maya belief system; the image of a sensuous young woman, and that of an aged hag. This extreme contrast drawn from many different inscriptions and artefacts, however, has lead archaeologists to believe that the young woman and elderly lady could possibly be two separate goddesses, referred to as Goddess I and Goddess O respectively.

Her connotations with the Moon means that her totem animal is the rabbit, a creature often seen on the face of the moon in many cultures. She is often depicted with a snake on her headdress, and some have speculated that her hair is actually made of snakes. While Ix Chel’s primary role is that of the Moon goddess, she also presides over Water, Weaving and Childbirth – protecting mothers through labour.

Ix Chel can be translated to ‘She of the Pale Face’, a denotion to the moon, or ‘Lady Rainbow’. Contrary to the usually positive connotations we know of today, the rainbow was a sign of bad omen to the Maya, heralding destruction and viewed as ‘“flatulence of the demons” which [arose] from dry wells.’

She is an integral part of the Maya creation myth, being the mother of all other gods (with the exception of Itzama) and also birthing the bacabs.

Maya Pantheon: Itzamna

The Mayans have fascinated me since, in one art lesson, we had to design our own Maya tattoos. There was something about the shapes used that pulled me into the quest for knowledge, however it’s only now that I have found time to research and search for resources. I thought that it would be apt to begin my search with their creation god, Itzamnà.

Pronounced Eetz-am-NAH he is the most pre-eminent god in their pantheon. The creator of the world, writing, and medicine (however this attribute wasn't adopted until the Post-Classic period), and ruled not through strength or power, but through his own divine knowledge. It is said that Itzamnà taught the Maya how to write, as well as how to use the calendar, and even bestowed knowledge of maize and cacao plants upon them.

The Lost History of Aztec & Maya, pg. 60

Itzamnà is often depicted as an elderly, and learned man with the symbols of night on his headdress or forehead. Because of his connotations with writing and his wise appearance, he is the patron and protector of scribes and priests.

Ix Chel and  Itzamnà are said to have birthed the other gods, as well as the bacabs who hold up the four corners of the sky.

His name has many meanings and interpretations including, but not limited to, ‘dew’, ‘stuff of the clouds’, ‘divination’, and ‘foretell’ in various different languages. He also has many other names as the supreme god of the pantheon; he is often referred to as Kukulcan (who is in turn closely associated with the Aztec god Quetzalcòalt),and Itzam Cab Ain (Iztam Earth Caiman), however archaeologists prefer to refer to him simply as God D. 

Another aspect of the god’s identity comes from the World Tree, (the tree linking all sections of the Maya realms – Sky/Heaven, Earth, Xibalba). Itzam Yeh (the Bird of Heaven) often sits upon the World Tree and is simultaneously a counterpart, and a manifestation of the god himself.

Important portrayals of  Itzamnà can be found at Copan, Palenque, and Piedras Negras in the form of Alter D, House E, and Stela 25 respectively.

My main sources are here and here.