There are at least 200 gods in the Maya pantheon. Important ones include gods of death, fertility, rain and thunderstorms, and creation. Some gods are relatively new ones, first appearing during the Late Postclassic period, while others are much older. Gods were powerful, but not universally admired.
- Itzamna - the creator god.
- Chaac - the rain god.
- Yum Kaax - the nature god.
- Hunab Ku - the one god.
- Ix Chel - the goddess of medicine and childbirth.
- Kinich Ahau - the sun god.
- Ek Chuaj - merchant deity and god of cacao.
- Kukulkan - the serpent god.
What are the names of the Mayan gods and goddesses?
The Mayan Pantheon: Gods and Goddesses
- Itzamna. Itzamna is a creator god, one of the gods involved in creating human beings and father of the Bacabs, who upheld the corners of the world.
- Yum Kaax. A nature god, Yum Kaax is the god of wild plants and animals, the god of the woods. ...
- Maize God. ...
- Hunab Ku. ...
- Kinich Ahau. ...
- Ix Chel. ...
- Chaac. ...
- Kukulkan. ...
- Mayan Religion and Cosmology. ...
How did the Mayans worship their gods?
The Mayans worshiped nature gods, (especially god of sun, rain and corn), a priestly class, the importance of astronomy and astrology, rituals of human sacrifice, and building elaborate pyramidal temples. Sacrifice was conducted using blood-letting performed by the community, but run by a priest. They built their temples for religious reasons.
What are the names of the Maya gods?
The 30 most important gods of Mayan culture
- Hunab Ku. He is the most important god of Maya culture, father of all gods, he is the only one alive and true, and from him all things are born.
- Chaac. ...
- Itzamna. ...
- Pawahtún. ...
- Ixchel. ...
- Kinich Ahau. ...
- Yum Kaax. ...
- Kauil. ...
- Ek Chuah H. ...
- Yum Kimil. ...
Who were the Maya gods?
The most common forms of the deities were animals, plants, and humanoids. Some of the main Mayan gods were Hunab Ku, Chaac (god of rain), Itzamná (wisdom), Pawahtún (loader of the cosmos), Ixchel (love), Kinich Ahau (sun), Yum Kaax (maize) or Kauil (from fire). The Mayans worshiped more than 250 gods.
How many gods did Mayans believe in?
The Maya had a bewildering number of gods, with at least 166 named deities. This is partly because each of the gods had many aspects.
Who was Maya main god?
1. Itzamná Itzamná was one of the most important gods for the Maya: he was the creator, and ruler of day and night. Believed to be largely kind and protective towards humans, he was the one who taught men to grow maize and how to use calendars, as well as being a god of medicine.
Who is the strongest Mayan god?
Itzamna was the most important Mayan god, despite usually being depicted as a large-nosed, toothless old man. But appearances can be deceptive. Itzamna is the god of fire and the son of the creator god Hunab Ku.
Who are the three main Mayan gods?
The Mayan Pantheon: Gods and Goddesses- Itzamná This is one of the most important gods of the Mayan Gods. ... - Chaac. This is the famous Maya rain god. ... - Ix Chel. Ix Chel is known as La Blanca and is one of the most important goddesses in the vast Maya Pantheon. ... - Kinich Ahau. ... - Hun Nal Ye. ... - Ah Puch. ... - Ek Chuah. ... - Kukulcán God.More items...•
How many gods were there in the Maya?
There are at least 200 gods in the Maya pantheon. Important ones include gods of death, fertility, rain and thunderstorms, and creation. Some gods are relatively new ones, first appearing during the Late Postclassic period, while others are much older. Gods were powerful, but not universally admired. Many Maya myths, including those portrayed in ...
What are the gods of Palenque?
Palenque Triad Gods: GI, GII, GIII, special patron gods of Palenque, who appear as single gods in other Maya city-states. Pauahtun: The Skybearer god, who corresponds to the four directions and appears in both single and quadripartite form (God N), and sometimes wears a turtle carapace.
What is the name of the god with the ornamented nose?
Huracan, also spelled Hurakan, is known as U K'ux Kaj ("Heart of the Sky") in the Popol Vuh; K'awiil in the classic period; the "god with the ornamented nose" and God K to scholars. He is the one-legged creator god and idol and the Maya lightning god.
What is the name of the god of lightning?
Raxa Ka Kulaha, "Green Lightning," "Raw Lightning," or "Sudden Thunderbolt". Huracan is considered the god of fertile maize, but he is also associated with lightning and rain. Some Maya kings, such as Waxaklahun-Ubah-K'awil at Tikal, took his name and dressed as K'awiil to express his own power.
What are the gods of the Jaguar?
Jaguar Gods: Several deities associated with jaguars and the sun, sometimes illustrated as a person wearing the cloak of a jaguar; includes Jaguar God of the Underworld, associated with Tikal; Jaguar Baby; Water Lily Jaguar; Jaguar Paddler.
Who is the bat god in Popol Vuh?
Camazotz. The bat-god Camazotz, or Zotz, is featured in a story in the Popol Vuh, in which the Hero Twins Xbalanque and Hunahpu find themselves trapped in a cave full of bats, great beasts with "snouts like blades that they used as murderous weapons.".
Who is the goddess of the rainbow?
Chac Chel ("Rainbow" or the "Great End") is known as Goddess O , an old and powerful woman who wears spotted jaguar ears and paws —or perhaps she is an older version of Ix Chel. Unlike modern western mythology which perceives rainbows as beautiful and positive omens, the Maya considered them the "flatulence of the deities," and were thought to arise out of dry wells and caves, sources of sickness.
What were the Mayans' main gods?
Among the most important Mayan deities in many citieswas Chac, who was believed to bring down rain and thunder. Kinich Ahau was the Mayan sun godwho was believed to move the sun in the sky and help the seasons turn.
What were the Mayans' beliefs?
Mayans had a number of beliefs regarding the nature and shape of the Earth. In some Mayan traditions, earth was depicted as of square shape with four directions. The analogy of a maize field was used to represent this view of the Earth.
What did the Mayans believe about the ballgame?
And professing their firm belief in this myth, Mayans staunchly associated their actual ballgames with notions of underworld and symbolism related to life and death. Symbols of underworld were usually drawn on the floor of the Mayan ball courts.
Why did the Mayans offer sacrifices?
In times of distress, Mayans believed that human sacrifices would please the gods and alleviate the danger, so they offered human sacrifices in larger numbers. The victims were typically slaves who were killed in ritual sacrifices and offered to the gods as a tribute. Creation of the World.
Why didn't the Mayans look into mirrors?
Interestingly, mirrors were considered a medium through which the spirits from the underworld could escape . This is why Mayans generally didn’t look into mirrors and had many superstitions about them. Mayan Underworld Myths. Mayans had a number of myths associated with the underworld.
What are the Mayan myths?
Mayan Underworld Myths. Mayans had a number of myths associated with the underworld. According to them, the ballgamebegan with the saga of the Hero Twins who undertook a number of adventures in the underworld.
What did the Mayans believe about the creation of the world?
Creation of the World. Mayans believed that world had been created a number of times before but was destroyed each time. According to them, the last such destruction took place as a result of a huge deluge and the collapse of the sky. The flood drowned everything on Earth.
Why is the Mayan religion not understood today?
Much of the Mayan religion is not clearly understood today because of its complexity and rich pantheon of deities. Scholars have been able to decipher some of the major elements of Mayan religion, but other elements may never be known.
How many gods were there in the Mayan world?
To the Mayans, the world was flat with four strong gods at each of the corners representing the cardinal directions. Above the earth was heaven with its 13 layers, each represented by a god. Below was Xibalba or the underworld, a cold, unhappy place divided into nine layers, each with its own Death Lord. When a Mayan died of natural causes, his spirit went to the underworld where it had to work its way up through the layers to get to the supreme heaven. Women who died in childbirth, those who died as a sacrifice and sacrificial victims of the ball court went to the supreme heaven immediately after death.
Why was maize important to the Mayans?
Maize was of such central importance to the Mayans that the life-cycle of the maize plant is at the heart of their religion as is the Maize God himself. All of Mayan life was intimately bound up in cycles, which tied in to the centrality of the Mayan calendars.
What god brought thunder and lightning?
Chaac. Chaac is the goggled-eyed rain god, of prime importance to the Mayans. Chaac has a four-fold aspect, with each aspect representing the cardinal directions and colors. Chaac brought clouds, thunder, lightning and most importantly, rain.
What was the spiritual essence of the Mayans?
These spiritual essences were to be honored and recognized. The gods were the supreme spiritual forces, but even the spiritual essence of a tree or a frog deserved respect. Every Mayan had a spiritual guide, a Wayob that could appear as an animal or in a dream in order to help that person through life. Thus, to the Mayans, the entire world they ...
What did priests do with the solar calendar?
Priests determined the days propitious for religious rituals and ceremonies.
Did scholars decipher the Mayan gods?
However, scholars have deciphered enough of the Mayan codices and hieroglyphics to cite the major Mayan gods. These gods are listed below, but the list is not comprehensive by any means.
Bark paper
The blood from the bloodletting ritual was collected on bark paper. The paper was then burned, and the smoke was believed to carry the blood to the gods.
Bloodletting
This limestone carving from the Mayan city of Yaxchilan depicts a bloodletting ritual.
Mayan queen
This limestone carving shows a Mayan queen performing a bloodletting ritual. She pulls a thorny rope through her tongue and collects the drops of blood on bark paper.
King Shield Jaguar
King Shield Jaguar is shown here wearing a jaguar headdress as a symbol of power and holding a flaming torch.
What was the Mayan religion?
Mayan religion was formed during the pre-classic period of Mayan civilisations since it was during this period that the foundations of the civilisation were laid down. A lot of mural paintings and petro-graphical texts giving information about the Mayan religion have been found from the late pre-classic and the classic eras. Besides, there are also various hieroglyphic books dating from the post-classic period. At different stages of the civilisation, certain aspects of religion were added or removed but most of the core beliefs remained the same.
How many gods were there in the Mayan religion?
Mayan Religious Beliefs. Mayan religion had more than 150 gods in their pantheon and a diverse range of beliefs were attached with each one of them. The gods were just like humans in that they were born, grew, and died. According to Mayan beliefs, humans after death went to underworld except those who died in childbirth or sacrifice.
What is the underworld called in the Mayan religion?
According to Mayan beliefs, every human who died went to the underworld which has several layers. The underworld was called Xibalba and was ruled by several death gods and their helpers.
What were the Mayan customs?
Religious Customs and Rituals. A diverse range of rituals, customs, and beliefs were included in Mayan religion. For instance, Mayans believed that the world was created and destroyed in a cyclical manner and at the end of each cycle gods destroyed the world to create it anew. The Mayan Long Count calendar was used to keep track ...
What was the structure of the Mayan religion?
The structure of the Mayan religion, just like Mayan society, was hierarchical with priests acting as mediators between the gods and the ordinary people. It was the priests who performed important rituals, including that of human sacrifice, during the religious festivals and ceremonies.
What is the name of the death gods in the Underworld?
The underworld was called Xibalba and was ruled by several death gods and their helpers. These were the twelve gods or rulers known as Lords of Xibalba . Two of the most important of these death gods are Hun-Came meaning “One Death” and Vucub-Came meaning “Seven Death”.
What type of pyramids did not have flat tops?
One type was with flat tops where temples were constructed. These were the grand pyramids at the top of which religious rituals were performed, including human sacrifice. The other kind of pyramids did not have flat tops and were considered sacred. These pyramids were not supposed to be touched.
