MAYA, RELIGION OF THE. — At the time of the Spanish conquest, the Maya occupied southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. Their civilization, one of the oldest and most splendid of pre-Columbian America, had attained particular excellence especially in architecture and mathematics.
Important sources for the study of Maya religion are the accounts of the Spaniards who came into contact with the Maya immediately after the discovery of the New World (one of the most notable is that of Bishop Diego de Landa); three codices, not completely deciphered: the Dresden Codex, the Tro-Cortesianus, and the Peresianus; inscriptions and various representations on marble steles, vases, and mural paintings. Of some importance are also the information contained in certain sacred books written by the indigenous people after the conquest, in their own language but with Latin characters, such as the *Popol Vuh*, also called the Bible of the Quiché Maya, the *Book of Chilam Balam* (*Book of Hidden Things*), and the *Annals of the Cakchiquel*. A notable contribution to the study of Maya religion has also been provided by the surviving elements of ancient cults still found among Maya-speaking populations surviving in Central America.
The earliest form of religion seems to have consisted in a cult of the forces of nature that influence human life: the sun, the moon, the rain, lightning, etc. When, with the introduction of agriculture, Maya civilization assumed new aspects, the religious system also became more complex, enriched with beliefs and rites relating to new beneficent deities, protectors of agriculture. At a later stage, following the invention of the calendar, the knowledge of chronological and astronomical elements, and the acquisition of geographical writing, religion underwent further development and greater consolidation, giving rise also to the formation of philosophical conceptions.
According to ancient traditions, the Maya believed in a creator god of the world, called Hunab or Hunab Ku (Hu = one, ab = essence, state of being, ku = god). He was the father of Itzamna, the Maya Zeus, lord of the sky and the sun, and thus of day and night. Itzamna was the first priest, he invented writing and codices, gave names to the various localities of Yucatán, and distributed the land among the people. In the month of Mac, a rite in his honor and that of the rain gods, the Chac, took place. He was also the protector of crops: indeed, the priest, offering cooked maize to his image, would pray: “Great Lord of Heaven, you who dwell among the clouds in the blue, grant us a good year of maize.” Special ceremonies were performed in times of famine, appealing to him. During the rites of the New Year, the faithful would commend themselves to him to avert misfortunes.
Greatly venerated was Chac, the beneficent god of rain and the cardinal points, considered at the same time as one and four distinct persons: indeed, when associated with the cardinal points, reference was made to a “Chac” for each of them. In this regard, reference was also made (according to Cogolludo, de Landa, and others) to four brothers, the Bacab (= around the earth), gods of rain and wind, of agriculture and divination, who, at the four cardinal points, supported the vault of the sky. Each was distinguished by a special color and had a specific role in a rite concerning the directions of the world. Chac corresponds to the Aztec Tlaloc and is one of the oldest deities in 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, protector of childbirth, and inventor of the art of weaving. While in this aspect she was considered a benevolent deity, in other cases she was regarded as a maleficent power, representing the destructive force of water in floods and deluges.
Another important deity in the Maya pantheon was Kukulkan: his name means feathered serpent, like that of the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl. This god was introduced into Maya religion fairly recently, probably by the Mexicans, along with another new element, human sacrifice.
Other deities to be remembered include the god of maize, the god of death, the god of the pole star (protector of merchants), the god of the wind, of war, of human sacrifice and violent death, the goddess of suicide, etc.
The Maya believed in an afterlife after death. Those who had led a bad life went after death to *Mictlan*, a subterranean, damp, and cold place, where, however, they were not subjected to torture. Those, instead, who had been victims of sacrifice, suicides, mothers who died in childbirth, priests, and warriors who fell in battle had the privilege of reaching a blissful abode.
Official worship was expressed in numerous ceremonies, complex and varied, which comprised several phases. The constituent elements of the ritual were, in general terms, as follows: a preliminary fast; the expulsion of the evil spirit from the bodies of the worshippers; the incensing of the idols; prayers; sacrifice; and feasts. For sacrifice, living beings were preferably chosen—land animals, fish, and even humans. Human sacrifices, however, were not part of the ancient religion, having been introduced from Mexico at a later time. Sometimes the faithful would offer their own blood to the deity they intended to honor, sprinkling it on the statue of the god. Confession of sins was practiced, especially of sexual sins.
The organization of the clergy was complex. At its head was a high priest who transmitted his office hereditarily. The clergy was divided into classes, among which the *chilanes* or diviners are remembered, held in great esteem because they manifested the will of the gods to the people; the *nacomache* had the most important role in human sacrifices, and