You are interested in the Mayan culture, in this article we will give you a lot of information about who the Mayan God is Itzamna, creator and founder of the Mayan culture, being the main architect of the design of the norms and laws with which this important civilization is governed. In this article we will tell you everything about this great ancestral figure.
Mayan God Itzamna
Known from the beginning as a Mayan priest who came to the people of the Chanes of Bacalar, who were later known as the Itza and in the year 525 AD, they founded the city of Chichen Itza. This happened in what they called the first descent. or the small slope of the east.
In the city of Chichen Itza, the chanes began to lay the foundations of their government, and it was where Itzamna began to teach the philosophy of his doctrine since he was a wise man who gave names to the places and lands, in addition to the highest sites of the Maya, which today is known as the city of Yucatan.
With all the wisdom that Itzamna had, he began to invent the first symbols that over time became the native letters of the town, with the passing of time the priest Itzamna received the name of lakin chan which in the Mayan language meant “The priest who came from the east”
The god Itzamna has great relevance in the Mayan culture since he is the precursor of this culture since he was the one who began to create its style and philosophy since he arrived in the city of Chichen Itza when it was being formed and planned.
Origin of the Mayan God
To know the origin of the Mayan god Itzamna, it must be considered that he was considered the son of Hunab Ku, the only god, who is said to have the power of medicine but also over agriculture and Itzamna being his son had the permission to replace him and exercise his functions as the main Mayan God, in addition to helping and helping the Mayan people.
Similarly, the Mayan god Itzamna was present at the creation and foundation of the Mayan people and took the position of main Mayan deity, took office as leader of the Mayan pantheon and being the historical figure of the people, as the husband of the goddess Ixchel and the Bacab's father.
When a personification of the Mayan god Itzamna is made, it is made as a very old being with a large jaw but he no longer has teeth and his cheekbones are quite sunken.
The hieroglyph that is made to his figure is made up of a head and another part whose main object is the sign of the day known as the Ahuac. The day sign means to be the king but with the functions of an emperor or a monarch.
While the part of the hieroglyph that refers to his likeness tells us that he establishes his position as a leading god in the Mayan culture, being the patron of the Ahuac and this gave him the power to be the most important of the twenty Mayan days.
In the history of the Mayan God Itzamna it is said that thanks to his wisdom he invented books and writing, in the same way he gave it to the Mayan population that is located in the city of Yucatan specifically on its peninsula. The divisions of the earth.
But it is important to note that the cult of the god Itzamna does not occur in the Yucatan peninsula, since his cult was brought from different parts of the Mesoamerican regions, as affirmed by the different archaeologists who have found these signs. Well, it is said that his cult was brought from the Petén.
As the god Itzamna has its origin from the beginning of the Mayan culture, it has always been as the leader of the different Mayan deities, and as the main head of the pantheon.
Being the creator of books and writing, he is also credited with the creation of agriculture and human creations such as calendars, in the same way he is credited with having created the laws and regulations that the Mayan people abide by and continue in currently directing his destiny as the ruling god of the Mayan civilization.
He is the God of Wisdom
Being the representation of a bird in the sky and a snake on earth, he is considered the God of Mayan wisdom, he is the great creator of science and inventor of wisdom, he also interprets the human brain through books. of wisdom or science in its conventional form this includes the set of methods and applications in all its elements.
The Mayan culture names the Mayan god as the father of wisdom, since he has the ability to experience new things like men, that is why the Itzamna god manifests as the dew in the clouds and in the sky.
In the same way, it was the source of sacred water that the Mayan population took in the leaves of the different plants that were used to perform rituals and ceremonies. That is why it is linked to the world tree, which is the central point that unites the earth with the sky and at the same time with the underworld.
Being the god of the sky, he was also attributed powers linked to the moon, the sun, the wind and even the retinues. In this way the god Itzamna is attributed the title of the father of all gods because his power and wisdom was associated with different animals such as plants and animals which were the alligator, cocoa, corn, vulture or ceiba. In addition, it was said that he had taught humans how to cultivate these plants.
The power of Itzamna
Over time, the Mayan culture took him to a mythological being, in this way Itzamna belonged to a couple of supreme power, since he was the husband of the goddess IX CHEL or better known as the goddess O. Together they were the parents of the others. gods of the Mayan culture, in this way in the Mayan language the word Itzamna means the alligator, or the lizard, other researchers also affirm that it can be translated as a large fish.
But in the particle "Itz" of its name it can be translated into Spanish as the "Dew" or "things in the clouds but in the Quechua language it is translated as "divination or witchcraft but in the update that the language had in the Yucatecan colonial era it means that “could be predicted or contemplated”
Aspects of the Mayan God
As has already been said, the god Itzamna is credited with having invented the Mayan writing, but he is also known for the invention of science, that is why he is portrayed as a very old being, with the leadership that influenced the Mayan people his name it was preceded by the Akbal sign, a kind of symbol that is linked to darkness and night.
But in the same way it is united or associated with the moon, since the God Itzamna is considered a dual deity, because it combines the sky with the earth, with life and death, the male and the female, the darkness with the light.
At the gates of the underworld it is associated with birth and death, as well as being associated with corn. In the city of Yucatan in the Postclassic period, the god Itzamna was worshiped as the god of medicine since there were diseases that were associated with his form, such as chills, asthma and various respiratory diseases.
The God Itzamna was also connected with the sacred tree of the world that is known as the ceiba, which is the connection that exists between heaven and earth, in addition to the earth with the underworld that is known as Xibalba.
If you have found this article about the god Itzamna important, I invite you to visit the following links:
- Mayan myths
- Mayan painting
- Symbols Maya