The Meaning of Maya Author(s): Aleksandar Bošković Reviewed work(s): Source: Anthropos, Bd. 84, H. 1./3. (1989), pp. 203-212 Published by: Anthropos Institute Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40461682 . Accessed: 19/09/2012 10:15

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http://www.jstor.org Anthropos84.1989: 20S-212

The Meaningof Maya Myths AleksandarBoskovic

- Abstract. The articledeals withthe hypothesesand ap- 157-166). What survivedare stelae, lintels,reliefs, of Mesoamerican on proachesin thestudy ,focusing bas-reliefs,and and on one the tradition. areexamined and to figurines sculptures Maya Mayamyths compared side - and ceramicsand oral traditionon the othertraditions of thispart of theworld, with the particular other, stresson thecosmological aspects of the Hunahpu's and Xba- withfew manuscripts written down duringthe co- lanque'sdescent in the Underworld. The authoralso examines lonial period, of which "Popol Vuh" is the most as wellas someof theevidence on theMaya moongoddess, importantfor the subject of thispaper. The trails conceptsof fantastic mythological creature(s) uniting in itself of ancient beliefs could be found even in thefundamental - It is suggestedthat the area of in- very opposites. "Christian"ceremonies of the fluenceof Mayamoon is muchwider than generally present-dayMaya, considered;it also seemsthat the concepts of deitieslike It- as notedby Thomas Gann (1918: 40): "Nominally, zamnáand Kukulcánarose fromthe biologicallyimpossible theyare Christians,but the longer one livesamong creaturesthat were inthe or represented "Izapan" "proto-Ma- them,and the betterone gets to know them,the ya" culture.[Mesoamerican religions, Maya tradition,myths] more he realizes thatChristianity is to a greatex- tent a thin and that AleksandarBoskovic, B. A. (inphilosophy, University of Bel- merely veneer, fundamentally - grad);specializing in Mesoamericanreligions. Publications: their religiousconceptions and even their Majanskareligija (Beograd 1988); Aztec GreatGoddesses. and ceremoniesare survivals- degenerate,much Indiana[Berlin] 12. 1988);articles on thestudy of and changed,and withmost of theirsignificance lost - . but still survivalsof those of their ancestors of pre-Columbiandays." Having in mind all these obstacles, it is no wonderthat there are a fewuseful studies of Each was madesilent, only thing But it is in the last 15 thatwe Each thingwas madecalm, Maya religion. years Was madeinvisible, are witnessingthe gradualaccumulation of knowl- Was madeto restin heaven. edge on differentaspects of their culture, including (Edmonson1971: 9-10; lines125-128) religion.If we turnto mythology,a veryimportant break has been made by the deciphermentof most UnderstandingMaya mythsis of supremeimpor- Mayan hieroglyphs,study of ceramicsfound in the - tancefor comprehending their religion morepre- dignitaries'tombs2 started by Michael D. Coe, cisely,a varietyof cults1,, and beliefsthat greatprogress made in the studyof artand iconog- formtheir "part" in Mesoamericanreligions. This raphy,and worksthat point to thelegacy of ancient complexis veryspecific because of the greatnum- beliefsin thepresent-day communities (and among berof common beliefs and similarrituals, as well as the people who greatlycontributed in thispart is numerousdeities that have commontraits in differ- Dennis Tedlock with his new edition of "Popol entcivilizations: from the Olmec and Teotihuacán Vuh"). There has been a lot of disputeabout the to the Zapotec, Toltec, Mixtec,and Aztec. In this universeof extraordinary cultures the Maya have a veryimportant place. 1 Forthe definition of cult which is in myopinion especially However, each study of their religion is validfor the religious complexes of this part of the world, I renderedmuch more difficultby the lack of the referto Brundage(1985: 4 ff.).He stressesthat "Failure in ofthe and sources; on the other hand, the little we know it[cult -A.B.] leadsto thedisorientation group theunpinning of itsvalue systems." comes from the Postclassic (ca. mostly period 2 Althoughthis is nota veryprecise term, since "dignitaries" 10th-16thcentury CE), and the questionabout the couldhave been from the first five groups listed by Ham- extentof continuity of theClassic and Postclassicis mond(1982: 197) in his general account on thesocial struc- still open (cf., for example, Edmonson 1979: tureof Mayasociety. 204 Aleksandar BoSkovic methodologicalapproach in the study of iconogra- encesthere is a corpusof myths common to the ma- phy,which directly influences the study of religion jorityof Maya groups,as wellas fortheir Meso- andmyths; on theone hand,there is so-called"di- americanneighbors. Of course,we shalldeal only recthistorical approach," based on thecompara- withcharacteristic myths: the ones on creation,di- tive studyof other Mesoamericancivilizations vinehero-twins, and moongoddess. (mostof all, the Aztec), as wellas on moderneth- nologicalresearch - thisapproach was accepted by manyof the leading authorities in Maya studies to- 1. Ages of theWorld day (GordonR. Willey,M. D. Coe, etc.), and I thinkthat its best presentation and defense against [The day] 4 Ahau will be creation. thecritics was thatof B. Nicholson [The day] 4 Ahau will be darkness. Henry (1976: Then were born the heartof otherside is intrinsic creation, 157-175).On the configura- the heartof darkness.(Roys 1965: 6) tionaliconographie analysis proposed by George Kubier(cf. 1972)- acceptedby manyEuropean The mythof the periodical cosmic destruction and scholarsand students,and recentlydeveloped by renovation,the so-called "ages of theworld" (or NicholasM. Hellmuthin his brilliant study of Ear- sunsin Náhuatl tradition), iscommon for all Meso- ly Classic iconography,where he proposesthe americancultures, and has also parallelsamong so-called"Mayan model" for the study of ancient theIndians from the Southwest of theUSA. Ac- Mayaculture in itsvarious forms. cordingto the versionthat was givenby Tozzer Butthe subject of this article is themeaning of (1907: 153-154)- and based on the informants - Mayamyths, especially regarding customs and be- fromthe vicinity of Valladolid thepresent world liefsof other Mesoamerican peoples, and thefact is in itsfourth "age." At first,it was inhabitedby thatabout some of themwe knowmuch more zayamuincob("the disjointed men"), dwarfs capa- (thosefrom the Valley of Mexico in the first place) . ble of carryinglarge stones on theirhunched I preferto callthis a comparativeapproach, which backs; thisand theirmiraculous ability to bring doesnot mean that I takedata from other cultures firewoodto thehearth by whistling, enabled them to interpretMaya myths- myonly interest is in tobuild ancient cities and huge paved roads. There comparingthem, because certain "types" or also existeda greatroad suspendedin the sky, "models"are encounteredin differenttraditions stretchingfrom Tulúm and Coba to ChichénItzá (whichdoesn't mean that they were "carried" by andUxmál. A greatliving rope was also connected someonefrom culture to culture),suggesting the withthis road (blood flowedin theinterior of it), similarmodels of the manifestations ofthe sacred. andit served as a meanby which were sending It willbecome obvious that in somecases we deal foodto theancient cities' rulers. In thecourse of withpatterns characteristic for thispart of the timemen had becomewicked, so godsdecided to world,while in othersMaya tradition keeps a sort destroythe world using the flood hayiokocab of"exclusiveness." I must note that I use theword ("waterover the earth").The rope was cut, all mythto denote a traditionaltale, the one aimingat bloodflowed out, and it disappeared forever. Until symbolicexplanation of theworld around us and thenall wasstill in darkness,but suddenly the sun theparadoxical ambiguity of humanexistence, as rosefor the first time, and its rays turned industri- wellas at thejustification of thepresent hierarchy ous dwarfsinto stones. In thenext creation, there andsocial order (among gods or men).We do not livedpeople called dz'olob (Thompsonproposed deal withsome sortof "pre-scientific"or "pro- thetranslation "offenders," but it's far from clear to-scientific"thinking - the point is thateverything how did he getto it),but they were destroyed with importantand fascinatingwas to be explained anotherflood. In thethird period, the world was throughthe mythicthinking as the adequate inhabitedby macehualli (Náhuatl word for "ordi- sphereof symbolic expression. It excludesbivalent narypeople"), ancestorsof thepresent-day Ma- logicand manyother relations familiar to us (be- yas, and weredestroyed by hunyecil("hurricane fore-after;cause-effect; etc.). Mythas symbolof- andearthquake") or bulcabal.Finally, the present fersground for development and extensionof all worldis inhabitedby the descendants of all ancient humanintellectual and creative activity; especially races,and it is goingto disappearafter the flood inclinationfor the gathering and classifyingof no- (accordingto "Relaciónde Merida,"fire - butwe tionsand concepts- verysoon enablingmythical mustremember that, for the ancient Mesoameri- heroesto becomesubject(s) of religious cults. The cans,water and firewere not opposites!). evidencewe have justifies the term "Maya myths": Accordingto "Popol Vuh", the firstpeople despitethe regional, language, and cultural differ- werejust "dolls made of wood" - theywatched . . .

Anthropos84.1989 The Meaningof Maya Myths 205 talked. . . multiplied... buthad no heartor , creation was 4 Jaguar (naui ocelotl)3, and the - theywere not even aware of their creators so they worldwas inhabitedby giants.After 13 periodsof hadto be destroyed: 52 yearsthey were devoured by jaguars. Tezcatli- poca was the sun of this age. The second was Then theirflood was inventedby the heartof Heaven named 4 Wind (naui eecatl), and Quetzalcóatlwas A greatflood was made, and descended on the heads its sun. After7 periods of 52 yearsthis world was Of those who were dolls destroyedwhen terrible winds swept away houses, Who were carved of wood. trees, and people, and survivorswere turnedinto (Edmonson 1971: 25-26) monkeys. The next creation was 4 Rain (naui Besides thisheavy resin, their utensils and do- quiauitl),and Tlaloc was itssun. After6 timesof 52 mesticanimals also had prominentpart in theiran- years it was ended by fireraining down fromthe nihilation.From the few survivorsdescend the skyand volcaniceruptions. This worldwas inhab- ited who monkeys.... In the second creation,it seemed by children, were afterwardsturned into birds.The fourth thatthe workof the gods was well executed,since creationwas 4 Water (naui atl), its sun Chalchiuhtlicue.After 13 the people were reallybrilliant: being goddess times of 52 years the world was destroyedwith They came to see; floods and people were turnedinto fish. Finally, They came to know we live in the time of the fifth 4 Move- under heaven creation, Everything ment whose sun is Tonatiuh. If theycould see it. (naui ollin), People (Edmonson 1971: 150) were made of bones broughtfrom the Underworld by Quetzalcóatl, and the world will be destroyed But the werefar from satisfiedwith gods being duringa series of earthquakes. their brilliancy: This symbolismis farmore complexwhen we have in mind for were be- "It is not good that, example, jaguars What theysaid, lievedto represent"des forcesobscures de la terre, Our forming de tout le mystèrequi rôde 'au coeur des mon- Our shaping: 1967: The felinecult is the We know tagnes'" (Soustelle 8). everythinggreat most formof Olmec where it And small," theysaid. prominent religion, And so theytook back again can be tracedas faras in the 12thcentury BCE; but Their knowledge, it is also characteristicfor the South Americancul- Did Bearer tures(ca. 850 BCE in Chavin,Peru). It seems that And Engenderer. many differentcultures regarded jaguar as their (Edmonson 1971: 151-152) ancestor,and the continuityof thisbelief was pre- The firstpair of divine hero-twins,1 Hunter servedin the timeof the Conquest, since "the jag- (Hun Hunahpu) and 7 Hunter( Vuqub Hunahpu), uar was an importantemblem of their [Aztec] weredefeated by the Lords ofthe Underworld (Xr- all-powerfulSmoking Mirror []" balba, "place of dread"). This world was also in- (Davies 1982: 48). habitedby giants,led by 7 Parrot( Vuqub Kaqix, These mythshave numerousvariations,4 but but I findcompletely plausible Hellmuth'sexpla- they all reflectbasic concepts of these cultures: nationthat this is actuallyHarpy Eagle God) and thatthe world is periodicallybeing created and de- his sons Alligator (Cipacna) and 2 Leg (Kaab r stroyed.Here, destroyingshould not be takenas a Aqan). Theywere all killedby the nextpair of he- meredestruction; essentially, it representsrenova- ro-twinswho, afterwards,proceeded to defeatthe Lords of the Underworld.Of interestof all special 3 In thisbrief account I followthe most widelyaccepted or- these giantsis the storyof Alligator,whose only der, but León-Portilla(1961: 14-17) givesthese ages in dif- "sin" seems to have been some sortof hybris,and ferentorder: 4 Atl, 4 Ocelotl, 4 Quiauitl,4 Eecatl, 4 Ollin - - XVI knownas "Anales de whoslayed 400 youngmen an episode resembling based on the centurymanuscript Cuauhtitlán." similaradventure of the great Mexico-Aztec war- 4 It is very interestingto compare these traditionswith the riorgod Huitzilopochtli. ones fromAmerican Southwest. Hopis believe that they In the thirdcreation dramatic showdown be- have come to earth, the Fourthworld, afterpassing from tweenthe hero-twinsand the Lords of the Under- three other worlds, and each world is placed in the layer above the formerone. A Navaho ex- world took place; and finally,in the fourthcre- verycomplex myth how their ancestors reached the Fifthworld, the ation, were made of yellow and white plains people worldwe live in, usingextremely intriguing symbolism (for maize. the Hopi traditioncf. Harold Courlander1982; and the Na- Accordingto the Mexican tradition,the first vaho mythis reprintedin FrederickW. Turner 1974).

Anthropos84.1989 206 AleksandarBoSkovic tion,the new world is always betterthan the for- dominate the great part of Maya religion,6and mer one. whichwitnesses and participatesall the important What seems unusual is the differencein num- eventsin the skyand in the realm of Xibalba, de- ber of the "ages of the world" in two Mesoameri- terminesthe ages ofthe world. And itis quite natu- can traditions:(usually) four for the Maya; and ral that these ages were called "suns" in the (usually) five for the people fromthe Valley of Náhuatl tradition. Mexico. But both numbersmark the same basic The fifthage is a sort of "appendix" derived concept: Maya tradition mentions four cosmic fromthe need to "unite" foursides ofthe world; so - trees(yaxche) placed at thefour world directions beside foursacred trees(yaxche), the fifth- green which denote their color: red at east, white at one - will be placed in the center. On the other north,black at west,and yellowat south.This idea hand, greatimportance of rain and relateddivini- unitesthe image of the "" (withtreetop ties throughoutMesoamerica mustnot be forgot- belongingto the heaven, trunkto the earth, and ten, since 5 is also a cipherthat "symbolizes" rain roots to the underworld)as axis mundi with the (Beyer 1928: 36). And thisalso remindsus of the idea of numinous"bearers" (which,like Hellenic cosmologicalconcepts of North American Indians, Atlantes,hold the sky on theirshoulders). Such where beside fourpoints for the worlddirections, "fusion"of two cosmologicalconcepts havç in the thefifth {pou sto) is added in thevery center, signi- course of time caused the change fromthe fyingthe observer(Alexander 1920: 52). thatthe world is "supported"by four trees into the Sun symbolismin Maya mythsis connected one more anthropomorphic;i.e., that it is "sup- withmany scenes, mostly on ceramicvessels, but it ported" by fourgods. The Náhuatl mythexplains is also veryintriguing when we followthe adven- that,when Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcóatl have de- turesof the divinehero-twins. - stroyedthe world with a flood,four men survived The mythof the divine hero-twinsis charac- so thegods transformthem into the trees and place teristicfor all the American Indian traditions. themat the fourcorners of the world. The Maya They are presentin mythsand talesboth as legend- "bearers" were knownas Bacabs, and theiroldest ary ancestorsand heroes that are about to over- representationwas found at the Temple 22 at come varioustrials. The mostinteresting detail re- Copán, datingfrom the 8thcentury CE (Baudez et garding 1 Hunter (Hunahpu) and Jaguar-Sun Becquelin 1984: 384). In his "Relación de las cosas (Xbalanquë) is their role in the creation of the de Yucatan" Landa (Tozzer 1941: 135-136) wrote world. Edmonson's "Second Creation" obviously about them:"Among the multitudeof gods which places themin the same worldas the giants.Their thisnation worshipped they worshipped four, each ancestors,the Maize Twins (1 Hunterand 7 Hunt- of them called Bacab. They said that they were er), were defeatedin the sacred ball game by the fourbrothers whom God placed, when he created Lords of Xibalba and rituallydecapitated. There- the world,at the fourpoints of it, holdingup the fore,Hunahpu and Xbalanque went to "avenge" skyso thatit should not fall. They also said ofthese them and to (on the cosmic level) defeat Death. Bacabs thatthey escaped when the worldwas de- Their descent metaphoricallyrepresents the stroyedby the deluge." By determiningfour basic descent of the sun, and, on a broader scale, it pointsthey also determinethe dispositionof par- serves as an example of what trialsthe deceased ticularyears towards people (Landa witnessedthe New Year ceremonieswhere Bacabs were of great - importance) and thatis wherethe role of priests underworldjaguar - analogous to the Aztec Tepeyollotl - as "mediators"became veryimportant. ("Heart of theMountain") willjust beforedawn give birth But number4? - In Mesoamerican ico- to a new sun, now led by the old moon goddess towardsthe why place where it is supposed to startanother day. nography,that number is connectedwith the sun 6 For the astronomicaldetails and data in - Mayan inscrip- (Beyer 1928: 32 ff.) representingits creative tions,cf. Dütting (1984). It is interestingto note thatthe on- power as "life-giver"and "firein the sky." When lytomb on whose walls thecardinal points were markedin a the sun appeared for the firsttime (13.0.0.0.0. 4 rightway has been recentlyexcavated at Rio Azul, Guate- Ahau 8 the started their mala (cf. Adams 1986). The meaningof number4 can also Cumku), Maya "Long be the Aztec ritualsacrifice of the Count" verysignificant regarding (Spanish Cuenta larga). It is quite predict- ixiptiaof goddess Xilonen: "it was said 'she entersthe sand' able thatthe sun, whose dailyand nightlyjourney5 because in thisway she made knownher death - thaton the morrowshe would die - . . ." (Dibble 1980: 199). The Maya Great Goddess (whichI considerto be the moon goddessin 5 Aftersunset it is to become a "Jaguar-Sun,"which is led by her various manifestations)could be mentionedhere, for the youngmoon goddess towardsthe place whereit will be one of her names was, literally,"The One that Emerges rituallydecapitated; but the femalecounterpart of the great fromthe Sand."

Anthropos84.1989 The Meaningof Maya Myths 207 ruleris about to encounter on hisjourney. But they 2. The Great Goddess and the Mystery willbe muchwiser and moreskilled than their fa- of Creation therand uncle (although Hunahpu will, during the nightin thehouse of KillerBat, also be decapi- Who is yourtree? Who is yourbush? tated,but his brother will for some time his What was yourtrunk when you were born? replace 1965: headwith a squash),and finally defeat the "Lords (Roys 4) ofthe Night," two lords, and disperse oth- The above incantationreflects an ancientbelief ers.After all theirexploits, thatcan be foundeven todayamong the Maya: thata certainanimal or "watches"the . . . theywalked back up plant fateof Here amid the light, each individual."Ritual of the Bacabs" showsthe And at once shaman'sand medicineman's efforts to "reveal" They walked into the sky. whichplant "guards" the sick one; thisknowledge And one is the sun, wouldenable him And the otherof themis the moon. tocure the plant, too, and to find (Edmonson 1971: 144) theexact place where sickness is located.This be- liefprobably results from the ancientfascination A newritual is establishedafter their pattern withthe mystery of life, imposing veneration of an- Untiltheir theLords of the Un- victory.7 descent, cestors(ancestor cult among the Maya had enor- derworldwere merciless:Death was the absolutely moussignificance for all aspectsof life;evidence supremeruler, and its superioritywas confirmed forthis are burials of the descended under the floor thesun sacrifice mentionedabove. by already ofthe house, and keepingtheir skulls on thespe- and did notabolish the Hunahpu Xbalanque cial place, wherethey would receive ritual offer- to sacrifice:Hunahpu (Quiche day corresponding ings,etc.). Moregenerally, it resultedin thecon- 1 that tothe sun Yucatec Ahau,day "belongs" god nectingof the humanbirth and plants'germina- 1950: - but the [Thompson 87-88] among Quiche tion,which puts man's fatein the handsof the theword also Mayatoday junajpu signifiesplayer Great Goddess. Furthermore,everyone has its willbe - buthe will parexcellence) decapitated get "animalspirit companion" - Náhuatlnahual. (On in a miraculous defeated hishead back way.(The itsunderworld journey, the deceased is led bythe sacredball werealso playersin the game decapi- horribledog knownamong the Yucatec Maya as are withthe tated.)Death and rebirth suggested Xul - Náhuatl Xolotl, Aztec Xulotl) Or, as in the formof men-fish appearingof hero-twins summedby Vogt (1969:372): "Each personand itseems (cf.Tedlock 1985: 289-290); furthermore, hisanimal spirit companion (vay-j-el or wayhelin thatmany Mesoamerican Indians believed that mostTzotzil communities,but chanulin Zina- - human gods"catch" fish representing embryos cantán)share the same soul (ch'ulelin Tzotzil). lake whose Náhuatl thatfloat in the mythical Thus,when the ancestral gods install a soulin the 1976: 42- equivalentis Tamoanchán(Dütting embryoof a Zinacanteco,they simultaneously in- onthe Bone MT-5 1 : A 43 ff.) . Thisis also suggested stallthe same soul in the embryo of an animal.Sim- inthe scene ofTikal Temple 1, Burial 116, showing ilarly,the moment a Zinacantecobaby is borna su- as Chac Xib threelongnosed gods (identified pernaturaljaguar, coyote, ocelot, or otheranimal not be that Chacs,but it should forgotten long- is born.Throughout life, whatever happens of note of nosedheads were also aspects Itzamná)captur- to the Zinacantecohappens to the animalspirit is another as ingfish. And that aspect resurrection,companion, and vice versa . . ." These "animal markof the victorious perhapsthe most important spiritcompanions" are keptin somesort of corral thisestablishment of a new divinetwins. Except bythe ancestral deities. was eternalizedin the ritualpattern, this victory This "installmentof the soul" was probably of theball and in that sun's"taking over" game; doneby the Great Goddess, and in the Maya pan- thesun's underworld suf- extraordinaryambience theonwe meether in at leasttwo importantas- forever. feringwill be experienced pects:as youngmoon goddess (Yucatec Ixchel), andas an oldgoddess with jaguar claws and spouse ofthe creator god, Ix ChebelY ax. Bothcan be rec- ognizedamong the fourgoddesses that Landa (Tozzer1941: 10) mentionsas theones venerated at theisland Cozumel - Ix Chel,Ix ChebelYax, Ix his editionof the Dennis Tedlock stresses 7 In "Popol Vuh," Hunie,Ix Hunieta.There is some evidencethat the ritualsignificance of theirexploits; they are mostlikely representingthe sun and Venus (cf. Tedlock 1985: 296- suggeststhe latter two are thesame deity, and the 297). questionabout the actual relationship between Ix-

Anthropos84.1989 208 Aleksandar BoSkovié cheland Ix Chebel Yax is veryinteresting (cf. Toz- zer 1941:notes 46, 47); Thompson(1939) regarded themas the same deity,but later (1970) changed his mind.It seems thatLanda consideredthem to be mother and daughter, as did Knorozov (1964: 3). However, if we accept the general no- tionthat Maya deities(and Mesoamericanas well; forthe detailed treatment of the attributesof mer- chant gods see Thompson 1966) revealed them- selvesin variousaspects, these two could be treat- ed as one deity.Ixchel is also beingmentioned as a goddess of childbirthand medicine in Landa's manuscript,while Scholes and Roys give more in- formationin theirexcellent monograph (1948: 57): "Ix Chel was evidentlya verypopular deityamong the Chontalgenerally. Her shrineon Cozumel Is- land offthe northeasterncoast of Yucatan was vis- itedby pilgrimsfrom Tabasco, and the site of Tix- chel,which was twiceoccupied by Acalan, was ap- parentlynamed forher. As Seler pointedout, the names of Ciuatecpan ('palace of the woman') on the Usumacintaand of Ciuatan ('the place of the woman') in centralTabasco mustrefer to herwor- ship. Landa notes thatIsla de Mujeres ('island of thewomen') northof Cozumel was named forthe idols of which were found there. He names Ix Chel and three others,but Tozzer sug- geststhat at least twoof themwere thesame deity. In Tabasco on the Rio Chico, a branchof the Usu- macinta,is a sitenamed Cuyo de las Damas, which Fig. 1: Ixchel as a goddess of fate as depictedin the "Codex may well referto Ix Chel also. She was probably Dresdensis," 19 c. [All drawingsby Lidija Taranovié] the goddess to whom, according to Cortês, the people of Teutiercas in Acalan dedicated their notingthat weaving and embroidering,which are principaltemple. In her 'theyhad much faithand attributedto wanton Ixchel,8 are supervised by hope.' In her honor 'theysacrificed only maidens (and actuallyare emblemsof) Ix Chebel Yax. Her who were virginsand verybeautiful; and if they role as the goddess of fate is in the "Codex Dres- were not such, she became veryangry with them.' densis" stressedwith the prefixzac. This prefix For thisreason they took especial pains to findgirls means white,chastity, and virginity- and all thisis with whom she would be satisfiedand brought also connectedwith the name of the youngmoon themup fromchildhood for this purpose." goddess as White Ix Chel (Roys 1965: 154). Be- Whilethe reliabilityof Cortes' accountcan be sides page 19 of thiscodex, whichshows Ixchel car- doubted,this sort of sacrificeis similarto the one ryingman's fateon her back, thisis also suggested thatAztecs had in the monthOchpaniztli, particu- by the analogy between kin (meaning sun, day, larlyto the sacrificeof the ixiptlaof the goddess time), and k'in (to weave, to weave cottonon the Chicomecóatl("Seven Snake") (Brundage 1985: loom, cloth) (Dütting 1974: 13). 51-54) - but theymade sacrificesto the four as- Ixchel was also known as "The One that pects of theirGreat Goddesses. Of these aspects Emerges fromthe Sand" - and, taking into ac- very interestingis Toci ("Grandmother"), since countthe Náhuatl belief (cf. note 6!), thiscould ex- herequivalent among the Yucatec Maya would be press her superiorityover Death. This could also Ix Chebel Yax. Originallythe Great Goddess (and explain her role in bringingthe sun to the under- the moon goddess, too) of the Huaxtecs, she was world altar. She was also consideredas an ances- "via Culhuacán" absorbed into the Aztec panthe- on 1985: As an old she re- (Brundage 51). goddess, 8 Her connectionwith the associates herwith the mindsus of the of the Ix Chebel Yax on the spindle spi- image der (Thompson 1939: 147-149),but also withfate (BoSkovic page 74 of "Codex Dresdensis"; butit is also worth η. d.).

Anthropos84.1989 The Meaningof MayaMyths 209

up by ClemencyCoggins (1985: 53-54): "As the reptilianstructure of the universe,Itzamná en- compassesphenomena that transcended and are antitheticalto thesun. It does,however, have dis- tinctcelestial and Underworld components like the sun. . . . Supernaturalbeings often emerge from theopen jaws ofthe celestial serpent and itsbody mayconsist of a SkyBand, a sequenceof celestial signs.This serpent is also commonlyrepresented as the'serpent bar' carried by many Maya lords in theirofficial portraiture, showing that the lord and his lineage and descendfrom It- Fig.2: Glyphof theMaya moon goddess. many zamná.Beneath the human realm, Itzamná sym- bolizedthe structure of the earth, and in the waters tressof the ruling dynasties in severalMaya cities, ofthe earth and Underworld,where death reigns, andher power was symbolicallygiven to theruler it takesthe skeletal forms of suchaquatic reptiles in theform of a "bundleof power." as crocodiles.These are usually portrayed as Long Nose Heads, eitherskeletal or withno lowerjaw (whichmeans the same thing)." But it is notonly 3. Résumé:The Characterof Maya Deities Itzamnáthat is involvedwith the different aspects; manyMaya deitiesare foundin pairs (Maize He isboth male and female, and it is the union of this pair which Twins,hero-twins, the Paddlers from the Under- bringsabout the birth, or sprouting,of thecultivated plants, whichare said to be theiroffspring. . . . Ihp'en,as thepassive world,Hun Chuen and Hun Batz, etc.), a thingnot spiritof maize, is saidto be a singlebeing and of male sex only. verycommon for non- American traditions. In thisrole he is themale consort of thefemale spirit of the beans,ixq'anan. (Wisdom1940: 402; Dütting1981: 205) Theconcept of a fantasticmythical being that in it- self unitesthe oppositesearth-sky, life-death, male-female,etc., is characteristicfor the variety ofreligions, and there is no reasonto considerthe Mayaas an exception.This uniting was sometimes Fig.3: BicephallicMonster. Altar D, Copán. expressedin the idea ofa dualancestor deity (like theCentral Mexican Ometeotl), or thepair of cre- atorgods (Mixtec 1 Flowerand 13 Flower); and the On themore abstract level, there is ch'ab(in trailsof this relatively late concept are stillkept in Yucatec: creation)and akab (darkness,night). thenotion of "mother-fathers"in contemporary The firstis connectedwith sky and male; the other Quichecommunities (cf. Tedlock 1982: 52-53). withearth and female.In the "Ritualof theBa- Thefantastic mythological being is alsoconsidered cabs" theirunion is designatedwith the wordal as a "supporter"of the universe,and, in Maya (birth).At this point it would be veryinteresting to studies,is designatedas Itzamná. pointat thesymbolism of the day Akbal (in other Althoughsome of his statements are no longer dialectsalso: Akabal,Uotan, Watan) - whoseYu- valid(like theone that"Itzam Na was primarily catecequivalent is akab.It is associatedwith night, godof the hierarchy" [Thompson 1970: 210]), Eric interiorof the earth, caves (Thompson1950: Thompson,in his excellent study of this deity, has 73-75), and also a jaguar (God L accordingto pointed(1970: 209-233)at its manydifferent as- Schellhas'classification) as Lordof the Night. Ac- pects.The famousrepresentations from Copán cordingto TzeltalMaya belief, the same day ( Uo- (Altar D), Palenque (House E), and Piedras tan) representsthe name of theirancestor, that Negras(Stela 25) werealso designatedas Terres- came probablyfrom the east, distributedland trial,Bicephallic, and CelestialMonster, respec- amongthe people,and introducedthe artof hi- tively9,and these manifestationswere summed eroglyphicwriting- the same thing attributed to It- zamná.Moreover, earlier authorities (Brinton, Se- thatUotan is a tothe 9 AlthoughBaudez et Becquelin (1984: 394-396) take into ac- ler)supposed deityanalogous countonly the first two, and treatthem as separatedei- "Heart of the Sky" fromthe "Popol Vuh" (cf. ties. Thompsonibid.). Thiscomplex is derivedmostly

Anthropos84.1989 210 Aleksandar BoSkovié fromthe 16thcentury sources and has manyparal- But of the majorityof episodes fromceramics lels withthe mythsof the Quetzalcóatl. In thisspe- we know almostnothing. The interpretationsthat cific mythichistory ancient gods (obviously be- consideredeverything as some episode fromthe longingto thevariety of biologicallyimpossible su- "Popol Vuh" did not lead us too far,and the num- pernaturalbeings) are being "transformed"in ber of scholarsattempting with other approaches what is generallycalled "culture heros," leaving increases. The great progressmade in the deci- theirprimary associations obscured in the past. phermentof Maya hieroglyphsmight increase our Besides thisduality and its manifestations,it knowledge- but it stilldoes not mean thatwe will seems thatwe can talk of the two basic groupsof automaticallybe able to understandtheir myths. the relevantmythological material. The "Popol As was already mentioned above, we need Vuh" complexforms only one partof theso-called sources. "Ceramic Codex," but there are many episodes Even withoutthem, it seems thatthere must whose ultimatemeaning remains unknown. One have been anothercorpus of myths: since the Maya example is suggestedby Fig. 4: Apparentlyclear, believed thatin some sense everythingwas divine the vase presentsimages of a deer and a frog.But (includingrivers, trees, stones, etc.) and had to be thefrog is also knownas Uinal Monster,patron of treatedin theway that would ensuremanifestation the month(uinal). In the new editionof "Chilam of onlythe benevolentside of the object or thing, Balam of Chumayel"there is a beautifulversion of therewere probablytales about the encountersof a mythnamed "The Birthof the Uinal," but on the youngmen withthe different"sacred" things, theconceptual scale, thisalso presentsthe birthof about the wanderingsof men and/orwomen far a mankind(Edmonson 1986: 30-31; 120-126). It is away fromhome, etc. We can onlyhope thatnew the woman that comes first,and I propose that achievementswill bringforth the data about this herewe encounterthe Maya goddess of birth,Ix- othercorpus. chel. The evidence forthis comes fromthe same A veryimportant feature of the Maya deities vessel: the deer (animal almost exclusivelyasso- is thatwe cannotspeak of a hierarchyamong them ciatedwith the moon goddess) has humaneyes on (or even of a "" in the strictsense). Un- its ears, whichsuggest his supernaturalcharacter doubtfully, the roles of some wereconsidered to be (possibly,in connectionwith death and the Under- of special relevancefor the specificactivities (be- world). On the vessel designatedby Robicsek and sides the examples already mentioned,the Jester Hales with number 15, there is a curious scene God is always associated with the ruler; Xtabai whichincludes three persons with characteristic el- withhunting, etc.), although,being essentially du- ements of glyph Caban and the moon goddess al, theycould belong both to the Underworldand (lock ofhair); and also twogirls with deers (cf. Ro- Overwork! (as designated by "mirror" signs on bicsek and Hales 1981: 110-111). This vessel was theirbodies). Some were associated withparticu- putin thesame "Codex Fragment"as theones that lar sites (the Palenque Triad; Water-LilyJaguar presenta love affairof wantonDragon Lady with withTikal), wherethey were representedmore of- theold god. Takinginto account not only vessel 15, ten and possiblywere (especially those in animal but also the numerousdouble ceramic figurines forms)venerated as ancestorsof the rulingdynas- showingthe moon goddess and the old god, I pre- ties. Only veryfew were representedin the human ferto call thislady Ixchel. Furthermore,on these form, and although humans occasionally wore vesselsshe is associated withthe Bearded Dragon masks of the particulardeities, the differencewas - and, please, note the beard of our Uinal Mon- always made clear. ster. Whether Maya deities were actually "orga- nized" as to belong to different"complexes" (as seem to be the case with Aztecs) remains un- known;as well as theextent to whichthey accepted deities and cults of otherMesoamerican cultures. Some, like the Teotihuacán Rain God in the Clas- sic period and the Toltec Quetzalcóatl in the Post- classic, they did - but since they did not have a strong,united state, the "taking over" of "foreign" deities was not necessary. These are some of the characteristicsof Fig. 4: Vase in private collection; height 14 cm, diameter only 12 cm. Drawingafter Justin Kerr's photograph published in Ro- Maya deities; the choice is arbitraryand there is bicsekand Hales 1981: vessel 43. stillmuch more to say and explore. And I do hope

Anthropos84.1989 The Meaningof MayaMyths 211 thatthe difficulties inthis "part" of the Mesoamer- 1984 Venus,the Moon, and the Gods of the Palenque Triad. Zeitschriftfür icanstudies will be consideredas a challengeand Ethnologie109: 7-74. (whynot?) as an invitation. Edmonson,Munro S. 1971 The Book of Counsel:The Popol Vuh of theQuiche Mayaof Guatemala. New Orleans: Tulane University. ReferencesCited (MiddleAmerican Research Institute Publication, 35) 1979 SomePostclassic Questions about the Classic Maya. Es- túdiosde CulturaMaya (México) 12: 157-166. E. W. Adams,Richard 1986 HeavenBorn Merida and its The Bookof the 1986 Rio Azul. National 169:420-450. Destiny: Geography ChilamBalam of Chumayel. Austin: University ofTex- Alexander,Hartley Burr as Press. 1920 LatinAmerican Boston:Marshall Jones Mythology. Charles,and EliseJohnson Co. ofall 1964: Gallenkamp, Regina (eds.) (Mythology Races,11) [reprint Cooper 1985 Maya:Treasures of an AncientCivilzation. New York: Publishers,New Square York] The AlbuquerqueMuseum, in associationwith Harry N. Baudez,Claude François et PierreBecquelin Abrams,Inc. 1984 Les Mayas.Paris: Gallimard. Gann,Thomas W. F. Hermann 1918 The MayaIndians of SouthernYucatan and Northern Beyer, BritishHonduras. SmithsonianInstitu- 1928 in the Eyes of the Maya Deities. Washington: SymbolicCiphers tion. of theBureau of American Anthropos23: 32-37. (Bulletin Ethnology, 64) Aleksandar Boskovic, Norman n. d. SomeGeneral Remarks on theAspects and Represen- Hammond, tationsof GreatGoddesses in Pre-ColumbianMeso- 1982 AncientMaya Civilization.New Brunswick:Rutgers america.TS. UniversityPress. Hammond,Norman, and GordonR. Willey(eds.) Brundage,Burr Cartwright 1979 MayaArchaeology and Ethnohistory. Austin: Universi- 1985 The JadeSteps: A RitualLife of the Aztecs. Salt Lake tyof Texas Press. City:University of UtahPress. HeUmuth,Nicholas M. Carmack,Robert M. 1987 Monsterund Menschen in derMaya-Kunst: Eine Iko- 1981 TheQuiche Mayas of Utatlán: The Evolution of a High- nographieder alten Religionen Mexikos und Guatema- land GuatemalaKingdom. Norman: University of las. Graz: AkademischeDruck- u. Verlagsanstalt. OklahomaPress. (Civilization of the American Indians, 155) Knorozov,Jurij V. 1964 Pantheonof Ancient In: ofthe Sev- MichaelD. Maya. Proceedings Coe, enthInternational Congress of Anthropologicaland 1978 Lordsof the Underworld : Masterpieces of Classic Maya EthnologicalSciences. Moscow: Nauka. [offprint] Ceramics.Princeton: Princeton University Art Muse- um. Kubier,George 1982 Old Godsand Young Heroes: The Pearlman Collection 1972 La evidenciaintrínseca yla analogiaetnológica en el es- ofMaya Ceramics. Jerusalem: The IsraelMuseum. túdiode las religionesmesoame ricanas. In: JaimeLit- 1987 The Maya. London:Thames & Hudson.[4th revised vak Kingy NoemiCastillo Tejero (eds.), Religionen ed., originallypublished 1966] Mesoamérica:XII Mesa Redonda;pp. 1-24. México: SociedadMexicana de Antropologia. Coggins,Clemency 1985 MayaIconography. In: Gallenkampand Johnson (eds.) Landa,Friar Diego de 1985:47-57. 1985 Relaciónde Ias cosas de Yucatán.Edición de Miguel RiveraDorado. Madrid. de América,7; His- Harold (Crónicas Courlander, (ed.) toria,16) 1982 HopiVoices: Recollections, Traditions, and Narratives ofthe Hopi Indians. Albuquerque: University of Mexi- León-Portilla,Miguel co Press. 1961 Los antiguosmexicanos a travésde suscrónicas y can- tares.México: Fondo de CulturaEconómica. [2nd ed. Davies,Nigel 1972] 1982 The AncientKingdoms of Mexico.Harmondsworth: Penguin. Nicholson,Henry B. (ed.) 1976 Originsof Religious Art and Iconography in Preclassic Dibble,Charles E. .Los UCLA and EthnicArts Estúdiosde CulturaNáhuatl Angeles: 1980 The XalaquiaCeremony. Council.(UCLA LatinAmerican Center Publications, 14: 197-202. (México) 31) Dütting,Dieter Robicsek,Francis, and DonaldM. Hales Zeitschriftfür 1974 Sorceryin Maya HieroglyphicWriting. 1981 The Maya Book of the Dead: The CeramicCodex. Ethnologie99: 2-62. Charlottesville:Virginia University Art Museum. 1976 The GreatGoddess in ClassicMaya ReligiousBellet. Zeitschriftfür Ethnologie 101: 41-146. Roys,Ralph L. 1981 Lite and Death in MayanHierogiypnic inscriptions. 1965 Ritualof the Bacabs. Norman: University ofOklahoma Zeitschriftfür Ethnologie 106: 185-229. Press.(Civilization of theAmerican Indians, 77)

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