Maya, Religion of the

MAYA, Religion of the. - At the time of the Spanish conquest, the M. occupied southern Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Their civilization, one of the oldest and most splendid of pre-Columbian America, had reached a particular excellence especially in architecture and mathematics.

Important sources for the study of the religion of the M. are the accounts of the Spaniards who came into contact with the M. immediately after the discovery of the New World (one of the most remarkable is that of Bishop Diego de Landa); three codices, not completely deciphered: the Dresdensis, the Tro-Cortesianus, the Peresianus; inscriptions and various representations on marble stelae, vases and mural paintings. Of some importance are also the pieces of information contained in certain sacred books written by the natives after the conquest, in their own language but in Latin characters, such as the Popol Vuh, also called the Bible of the M. Quiché, the book of Chilam Balam (Book of the hidden things) and the Annals of the Cakchiquel. A notable contribution to the study of the religion of the M. has furthermore been made by the surviving elements of the ancient cult that are still found among populations of Maya language that survived in Central America.

The most ancient form of religion seems to have consisted in a cult of the forces of nature that have an influence on the life of men: the sun, the moon, the rain, the lightning, etc. When, with the introduction of agriculture, Maya civilization took on new aspects, the religious system too became more complex, being enriched with beliefs and rites relating to new beneficent divinities, protectors of agriculture. In a third period, following the invention of the calendar, the knowledge of chronological and astronomical elements as well as the acquisition of hieroglyphic writing, religion had a further development and a greater consistency, giving rise also to the formation of philosophical conceptions.

According to ancient traditions, the M. believed in a god creator of the world, called Hunab or Hunab Ku (Hu = one, ab = essence, state of being, ku = god). He was the father of Itzamna, the Zeus of the M., lord of the sky and the sun, and, therefore, of the day and the night. Itzamna was the first priest, invented writing and the codices, gave names to the various localities of the Yucatan and distributed the land among the people. In the month of Mac a rite took place in his honor and in that of the gods of the rain, the Chac. He was, moreover, the protector of the harvests: the priest, in fact, offering boiled maize to his image, prayed: "Great Lord of Heaven, you who dwell among the clouds in the blue, give us a good year of maize." He was appealed to in case of famines with special ceremonies. On the occasion of the rites of the new year the faithful commended themselves to him so that he might ward off misfortunes.

Much venerated was Chac, the beneficent god of the rain and of the cardinal points, considered at the same time one and four distinct persons: in fact, when he was associated with the cardinal points, one spoke of a "chac" for each of them. In this regard one also spoke (according to Cogolludo, De Landa and others) of four brothers, the Bacab (= around the earth), gods of the rain and the wind, of apiculture and of divination, who, at the four cardinal points, supported the vault of the sky. Each of them was distinguished by a special color and had a determined part in a rite concerning the directions of the world. Chac corresponds to the Aztec Tlaloc and is one of the most ancient divinities of the religion of the peoples of Central America.

Wife of Itzamna, or of Kinich Ahau Itzamna, personification of the solar aspect of Itzamna, was Ixchel, goddess of the moon, protectress of women in childbirth and inventress of the art of weaving. While under these aspects she was considered a benevolent divinity, in other cases she was considered a maleficent power, representing the destructive force of water in floods and deluges.

Another important divinity in the pantheon of the Maya gods was Kukulkan: his name means feathered serpent, like that of the Aztec divinity Quetzalcoatl. This god was introduced into the Maya religion fairly recently, probably by the Mexicans, together with another new element, human sacrifice.

There should furthermore be remembered the god of grain, the god of death, the god of the pole star (protector of merchants), the god of the wind, that of war, of human sacrifices and of violent death, the goddess of suicide, etc.

The M. believed in an otherworldly existence, after death. Those who in life had led a bad conduct, after death went to Mental, an underground place, damp and cold, where, however, they were not subjected to tortures. Those, on the other hand, who had been victims in the sacrifices, the suicides, the mothers who died in childbirth, the priests, the warriors fallen in combat had the privilege of reaching a dwelling full of delights.

The official cult was expressed in numerous ceremonies, complex and varied, which comprised several phases of development. The constituent elements of the ritual were, in general, the following: a preliminary fast; the expulsion of the evil spirit from the body of the worshippers; the incensing of the idols; the prayers; the sacrifice; the banquets. For the sacrifice there were preferably chosen living beings - land animals, fish and also men. Human sacrifices, however, were not part of the ancient religion, having been introduced from Mexico in a later epoch. Sometimes the faithful offered to the divinity, whom he intended to honor, his own blood, with which he sprinkled the statue of the god. The confession of sins was practiced, especially of sexual ones.

The organization of the clergy was complex. At its head was a high priest who transmitted the office hereditarily. The clergy was divided into classes, among which are remembered the chilanes or soothsayers, held in great consideration because they manifested to the people the wills of the gods; the nacom who had the most important part in human sacrifices and, and on this occasion, were assisted by the chac, authoritative elders. The task of the priests was not only that of attending to the practices of the cult and guarding the temples, but also that of knowing and following the movements of the stars, seeing to the compilation of the calendar, making chronological calculations, drawing up the hieroglyphic documents, etc. For such duties of theirs they had to be true sages. - See plate XXXI.

Tullio Tentori