Itzamná ( Mayan pronunciation: [it͡samˈna] ) is, in Maya mythology , an upper god and creator deity thought to reside in the sky. Itzamná is one of the most important gods in the Classic and Postclassic Maya pantheon . Although little is known about him, scattered references are present in early-colonial Spanish reports ( relaciones ) and dictionaries. Twentieth-century Lacandon lore includes tales about a creator god ( Nohochakyum or Hachakyum ) who may be a late successor to him. In the pre-Spanish period, Itzamná was often depicted in books and in ceramic scenes derived from them. Before the names of the Maya deities were deciphered, Itzamná was known as "god D", and is still sometimes referred to as "god D" by archeologists.
34-887: J. Eric S. Thompson originally interpreted the name Itzamná as "lizard house", itzam being a Yucatecan word for iguana and na meaning "house". However, Thompson's translation has gradually been abandoned. While there is no consensus on the exact meaning of the name Itzamná, it may be significant that itz is a root denoting all sorts of secretions (such as dew, sap, and semen) and also sorcery. The otherwise unattested, agentive form itzam could thus mean "asperser" or "sorcerer". Although one finds god D's Classic name glyph commonly rendered as "Itzamnaaj", this reading still awaits confirmation. The early colonial sources variously connect, and sometimes identify, Itzamná with Hunab Ku (an invisible high god), Kinich Ahau (the sun deity), and Yaxcocahmut (a bird of omen). The most reliable source on Itzamná, Diego de Landa , mentions him several times in
68-469: A chilam being a priest who gives prophecies and balam a common surname meaning ʼ jaguar ʼ. Some of the texts actually contain prophecies about the coming of the Spaniards to Yucatán while mentioning a chilam Balam as their first author. Nine Books of Chilam Balam are known, most importantly those from Chumayel , Maní , and Tizimín , but more have existed. Both language and content show that parts of
102-462: A high priest , and hieroglyphically identified as the god of rulership. Speaking generally, Classic iconography confirms Itzamna's identity as an upper god, seated on his celestial throne while governing, among other things, the affairs of agriculture and the hunt. On two of the Dresden Codex's very first pages, the head of Itzamna appears within the serpent maw of a two-headed caiman representing
136-524: A Principal Bird Deity seated on top of each of four world trees, recalling the four world trees (together with a fifth, central tree) which, according to some of the early-colonial Chilam Balam books, were re-erected after the collapse of the sky. These world trees were associated with specific birds. Four world trees also appear in the Mexican Borgia Codex. The shooting of the Principal Bird deity
170-553: A Study of the Ancient Mexican Religious, Sociological and Calendrical Systems. Facsimiles of the codex were published in 1903 and 1982. In 1976, the design was introduced to the weavers of Teotitlan, Oaxaca by epigrapher Gordon Whittaker, who commissioned a rug based on the design in the Codex Magliabbechiano. By 1978, it had been reproduced multiple times. Argüelles says he purchased two rugs from Teotitlan with
204-399: A bicephalous (two-headed) snake in its beak. Its head sometimes resembles that of a rain deity; at other times, it is more like that of a bird of prey , perhaps the laughing falcon believed to be a harbinger of rain. The wings are repeatedly inscribed with the signs for "daylight" and "night", suggesting that the bird's flight could represent the unfolding of time. The San Bartolo murals have
238-500: A dignitary presenting the king with his royal headband wears the Principal Bird Deity's headdress, while being referred to as Itzamnaaj. In his bird avatar, god D here appears as the creator god bestowing rulership on a king. Hunab Ku Hunab Ku ( Mayan pronunciation: [huˈnaɓ kʼu] , standard Yucatec Mayan orthography: Junab K'uj ) is a colonial period Yucatec Maya reducido term meaning "The One God". It
272-643: A ritual cloak, known as the Mantle of Lip Plugs (or, arguably, mantle of "spider water"). The design survives today as a rug design being sold in central Mexico , but was associated with the Milky Way and the god Hunab Ku by Argüelles, who modified the symbol to look more like a circular motif evoking a yin and yang symbol as well as a spiral galaxy or the blood dropped by Hunab Ku on the bones that Quetzalcoatl took from Ah Puch to create humanity. It has become associated with Mayanism . The earliest known appearance of
306-560: A version republished with modifications as the zine Aztec Sacred Science (1994). Despite the assertions of Martínez, Argüelles, and Jenkins, there are no known representations of "Hunab Ku" that have been documented for the ancient Maya. It is an Aztec motif (see the commentary on the Talk page for this article). Chilam Balam The Books of Chilam Balam ( Mayan pronunciation: [t͡ʃilam ɓahlam] ) are handwritten, chiefly 17th and 18th-centuries Maya miscellanies , named after
340-480: Is an overview of the sorts of texts—partly of Mesoamerican , and partly of Spanish derivation—found in the Chilam Balam books. 1. History 2. Formularies with metaphors 3. Myth and mysticism 4. Practical calendars and classifications 5. Medical recipes 6. Spanish traditions Since many texts recur in various books of Chilam Balam, establishing a concordance and studying substitution patterns
374-441: Is fundamental to scholarship. The archaic Yucatec idiom and the allusive, metaphorical nature of many texts present a formidable challenge to translators. The outcome of the translation process is sometimes heavily influenced by external assumptions about the texts' purpose. As a result of these factors, the quality of existing translations varies greatly. The Spanish-language synoptic translation of Barrera Vásquez and Rendón (1948)
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#1732852503808408-540: Is given by Knowlton (2010). The Books of Chilam Balam are referenced in The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy as source material for the description of sacrifices at Chichén Itzá. A poem from the Chilam Balam is prominently featured in a short story by the U.S.-born writer Lucia Berlin , who spent many years living and traveling in Latin America, including Chile and Mexico. The poem gives Berlin's story its title. Here
442-548: Is one of the main episodes of the Classic Period Hero Twins myth; but strong arguments plead against the Principal Bird Deity's equation with Vucub Caquix , a bird demon shot by the Popol Vuh Twins. Itzamna and his avian transformation could be represented by human beings. Various kings of Yaxchilan , Dos Pilas , and Naranjo had Itzamnaaj as part of their names or titles. On Palenque 's Temple XIX platform,
476-514: Is still useful. To date (2012), complete English translations are available for the following Books of Chilam Balam: An excellent overview and discussion of the syncretism involved is to be found in the introduction to the Bricker and Miram edition of the Book of Chilam Balam of Kaua. A detailed analysis and interpretation of the main mythological and ritualistic texts with a view to their syncretic origins
510-797: Is used in colonial, and more particularly in doctrinal texts, to refer to the Christian God. Since the word is found frequently in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel , a syncretistic document heavily influenced by Christianity, it refers specifically to the Christian God as a translation into Maya of the Christian concept of one God, used to enculturate the previously polytheist Maya to the new religion. References to Hunab Ku have figured prominently in New Age Mayanism such as that of José Argüelles . The earliest known publicly available written reference to
544-613: The Spanish Conquest , but is unknown in any pre-Conquest inscriptions in Maya writing . Hunab Ku was closely associated with an indigenous creator god, Itzamna , in an effort to make use of religious syncretism . An assertion that Hunab Ku was the high god of the Mayas can be found in Sylvanus Morley 's classic book The Ancient Maya (1946). It is necessary to refer to Mayan authors to verify
578-679: The swastika , a motif that also appears frequently in other books by Ryan. It is likely that the illustrator for Ryan's book found the Aztec design in Nuttall's 1903 publication. John Major Jenkins , who first saw the symbol as used by Argüelles, subsequently encountered Ryan's novel in a used book store. He appropriated the decorated borders for use in his zine Jaloj Kexoj and PHI-64: The Dual Principle Core Paradigm of Mayan Time Philosophy and its Conceptual Parallel in Old World Thought (1994) and also
612-605: The Earth, and seemingly corresponding to the Itzam Cab Ain (Itzam Earth Caiman) of a creation myth in some of the Books of Chilam Balam ; a case has been made for identifying this caiman as Itzamna's transformation (Thompson, Taube). Both Itzamna and his avian manifestation sometimes show features of the Bacab (god N), who, as mentioned above, appears to have been considered a son of Itzamna at
646-460: The Mayan origin and use of this. However, the interpretation of Hunab Ku as a pre-Hispanic deity is not widely accepted by Mayanist scholars today. Anthropological linguist William Hanks , for example, identifies hunab ku as an expression created in the context of maya reducido, a form of Yucatec created in the context of missionization. He writes "The use of hunab ku ['one' + suffix + 'god'] for
680-541: The books date back to the time of the Spanish conquest of the Yucatec kingdoms (1527–1546). In some cases, where the language is particularly terse, the books appear to render hieroglyphic script , and thus to hark back to the pre-conquest period. Taken together, the Books of Chilam Balam provide an account of the fullness of 18th-century Yucatec-Maya spiritual life. Whereas the medical texts and chronicles are quite matter-of-fact,
714-472: The codices is very similar to the much earlier depictions in Classic iconography. In comparison with the early-colonial descriptions, Classic scenes are more suggestive of narrative traditions, at times subjecting Itzamna to the actions of others: He can, for example, be shown clinging to the back of a peccary or a deer; held ready for sacrifice; or being shot at in his bird avatar. Itzamna is sometimes dressed as
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#1732852503808748-529: The design is in the 16th century Codex Magliabechiano , an Aztec (not Maya) document that is also known for graphic depictions of heart sacrifice drawn by indigenous artists. The design was first reproduced by Zelia Nuttall , who rediscovered the Codex Magliabecchiano in Florence, Italy in 1898, in her 1901 book The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations: A Comparative Research Based on
782-575: The design, which he subsequently modified and popularized in his book The Mayan Factor (1987) and during the 1987 Harmonic Convergence . The design, rendered in black-and-white, appeared on the cover and on decorated pages of The House of the Dawn (1914), a romance novel by Marah Ellis Ryan set in Hopi territory during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Decorative borders on pages in the book combine this design with
816-448: The framework of his description of the ritual year. In the month of Uo, a ritual aspersion of the books took place under invocation of Kinich Ahau Itzamná, "the first priest". In the month of Zip, Itzamná was invoked as one of the gods of medicine, and in the month of Mac, he was venerated by the very old on a par with the Chaacs , the rain deities. In the cycle of four years, one year was under
850-435: The patronage of Itzamná. Itzamná was an active creator god, as is shown by the following. Confirming Landa's description of the book ritual above, (Hun-)Itzamná is stated by Diego López de Cogolludo to have invented the priestly art of writing. According to this same author, Itzamná (now written Zamna) had been a sort of priest who divided the land of Yucatán and assigned names to all of its features. More generally, Itzamná
884-569: The riddles and prognostications make abundant use of traditional Mayan metaphors. This holds even more true of the mythological and ritualistic texts, which, cast in abstruse language, plainly belong to esoteric lore. The historical texts derive part of their importance from the fact that they have been cast in the framework of the native Maya calendar , partly adapted to the European calendrical system. Reconstructing Postclassic Yucatec history from these data has proven to be an arduous task. The following
918-461: The singularity of God is linguistically transparent to the oneness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and occurs widely in the missionary writings. He also notes, "the fact that close paraphrases make reference to Dios, halal ku , and hunab ku allows us to securely identify hunab ku with the Christian God, even when surrounding text may be ambiguous." New Age beliefs about Hunab Ku derive from
952-538: The small Yucatec towns where they were originally kept, and preserving important traditional knowledge in which indigenous Maya and early Spanish traditions have coalesced. They compile knowledge on history, prophecy, religion, ritual, literature, the calendar, astronomy, and medicine. Written in the Yucatec Maya language and using the Latin alphabet , the manuscripts are attributed to a legendary author called Chilam Balam,
986-662: The square representing measurement and the circle representing motion. Martínez related Hunab Ku to concepts and symbols in Freemasonry , particularly the idea of a Great Architect of the Universe and the Masonic square and compass. It was also Martínez who first associated Hunab Ku with the expression " In Lak'ech ," which he translated as "Eres mi otro yo." (In English, this means "You are my other I.") Martínez' ideas were popularized by Hunbatz Men and José Argüelles . The significance of
1020-451: The symbol has also been discussed by José Castillo Torre After being introduced to the concept by Hunbatz Men, who discussed this concept in his 1986 book Religión ciencia maya , Argüelles popularized Hunab Ku in his 1987 book The Mayan Factor . However, instead of Martínez' symbol, what Argüelles asserted was the "Hunab Ku" symbol was originally a rectangular design used by the Aztecs for
1054-459: The term "Hunab Ku" (which translates as "Sole God" or "Only God") appears in the 16th century Diccionario de Motul , where "Hunab-ku" is identified as "the only living and true god, also the greatest of the gods of the people of Yucatan. He had no form because they said that he could not be represented as he was incorporeal". The term also appears in the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel , written after
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1088-650: The time of the Spanish conquest. Iconographically, Itzamna can be considered an aged form of the tonsured maize god . Both deities are often shown together. From the Late Postclassic Paris Codex back in time to the Pre-Classic San Bartolo murals, Itzamna has the so-called Principal Bird Deity - perhaps the Yaxcocahmut mentioned above - for a transformative shape (see figure). The bird often holds
1122-401: The work of Me r Domingo Martínez Parédez (1904–1984) who first presented his interpretation of the concept in 1953 and expanded upon his ideas in a subsequent book, Hunab Kú: Síntesis del pensamiento filosófico maya (1964). Martínez interpreted Hunab Ku as evidence for Maya monotheism and suggested that it was represented by the symbols of a square within a circle or a circle within a square,
1156-508: Was the creator of humankind, and also the father of Bacab (Francisco Hernández), a fourfold deity of the interior of the Earth. In an alternative tradition, Itzamná begot thirteen sons with Ixchel , two of whom created the Earth and humankind (Las Casas). In the New Year pages of the Dresden Codex , Itzamna is given a role similar to that described by Landa. The version of Itzamna depicted in
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