Itzamná
Itzamná is the supreme creator and celestial deity of the Yucatec Maya, portrayed as an aged, toothless lord with a large aquiline nose. Diego de Landa records him as the greatest of the gods and the inventor of writing, books, and the sacred calendar, making him patron of scribes and priests; he was also invoked as a benevolent healer under names such as Itzamna Kauil and Kabul. In the Postclassic codices he corresponds to God D, an old man seated in a sky-band who presides over the other deities. His name, whose etymology remains disputed between readings such as 'iguana house' and 'house of dew or sacred fluid,' links him to the reptilian, celestial monster that forms the surface of the sky. He is paired with the goddess Ix Chel, and his solar aspect is often identified with Kinich Ahau.
Parentage
- parent: Hunab KuJ. Eric S. Thompson, Maya History and Religion (1970), pp. 203-206 (secondary)
Domains
- creation
- sky
- writing
- healing
Powers
- order the created world
- invent writing and books
- restore the sick to life
Epithets
- Itzam Na Kauil — Itzamná of the harvest / sustenanceKarl Taube, The Major Gods of Ancient Yucatan (1992) (secondary)
- Kabul — the skillful handLanda, Relación de las cosas de Yucatán, trans. Tozzer (1941) (primary)
Relations
- parent: Hunab KuJ. Eric S. Thompson, Maya History and Religion (1970), pp. 203-206 (secondary)
- spouse: Ix ChelFrequently paired with the goddess Ix Chel as consort.J. Eric S. Thompson, Maya History and Religion (1970) (secondary)
- ally: Kinich AhauKinich Ahau, the sun god, is treated in some sources as a solar aspect of Itzamná.Karl Taube, The Major Gods of Ancient Yucatan (1992), pp. 50-56 (secondary)
Sources
- Itzamná is the aged creator and sky god, head of the Yucatec pantheon, patron of writing, priesthood, and healing.: Landa, Relación de las cosas de Yucatán, trans. Tozzer (1941) (primary); Karl Taube, The Major Gods of Ancient Yucatan (1992), pp. 31-41 (secondary)
- Itzamná corresponds to the codical God D and appears throughout the Dresden and Madrid codices.: Codex Dresdensis (Dresden Codex), Postclassic Maya (primary); Mary Miller & Karl Taube, An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols (1993), pp. 99-100 (secondary)