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Like other Mesoamerican peoples, the traditional Mayas recognize in the maize a vital force with which they strongly identify. This is reflected in their mythological traditions. According to the Popol Vuh, man himself was created from maize. The discovery and opening of the Maize Mountain, the place where the corn seeds were hidden, is one of the most popular of Mayan tales.

Contents

Female and Male Maize Deities

The Tonsured Cacao God

Classic Maya Maize Mythology

Names and Calendrical Functions

References

Female and Male Maize Deities

In oral tradition, the maize is usually personified as a woman - not unlike the rice in Southeast Asia, or the wheat in ancient Greece and Rome. The acquisition of this woman through bridal capture or bridal service constitutes one of the basic Maya myths. In contrast to this, the pre-Spanish Mayan aristocracy appears to have primarily conceived the maize as male. A male maize deity (labeled God E) is present in the three extant Maya books of undisputed authenticity. The Classic period distinguished two male forms: A Foliated and a Tonsured Maize God (K. Taube). The Foliated Maize God is present in the so-called Maize Tree (Temple of the Foliated Cross, Palenque), its cobs being shaped like the deity's head. Often, the Tonsured Maize God is shown as a ceremonial dancer carrying a specific 'totemic' animal in his backrack. Paradoxically, the ritual representative of the Tonsured Maize God on stelas tends to be a queen rather than a king. The queen thus appears to have become a maize goddess, in accordance with the Mayan narrative traditions mentioned above.

The Tonsured Cacao God

The Tonsured Maize God personified precious substances: maize, jade, and also cacao. The Popol Vuh has Xquic imploring a 'Cacao Woman', but the Classical Mayas preferred to depict the cacao god as a male. The Tonsured Maize God doubled as a Tonsured Cacao God, with cacao pods growing from his body. More directly, the Tonsured Cacao God's body can be shown as a tree, with his head representing the cacao pod growing on its stem. A Classical Mayan vase in the Popol Vuh Museum shows a trophy head suspended in such a personified cacao tree, perhaps to foster the tree's productivity.

Classic Maya Maize Mythology

Many Classic Maya vase paintings testify to the existence of a rich maize mythology centered on the Tonsured Maize God, including his resurrection from the carapace of a turtle (the 'tomb' of the earth). The murals of San Bartolo demonstrate the great antiquity of this tradition. An influential theory makes the resurrected Tonsured Maize God of the Classic Period correspond to the father of the Hero Twins in the Popol Vuh, Hun-Hunahpu. Whatever the truth of this, it must be assumed that, together with the Maya Hero Twins (and also, in certain traditions, the Howler Monkey Gods), the maize deity helped to give the world its present appearance. Such a transformative process is described in an important maize myth shared by many ethnic groups (such as Huaxtecs, Nahuas and Totonacs) inhabiting Mexico's Gulf Coast. Especially the fact that the myth establishes an intimate connection between maize deity and turtle suggests that the Classical Mayas participated in this narrative tradition.

Names and Calendrical Functions

As to the hieroglyphical name of the Tonsured Maize God, various suggestions have been made, of which 'Hun-Nal-Ye' is probably the most popular one. In a speculative context, the Tonsured Maize God (again equated with Hun-Hunahpu) is often nicknamed 'First Father'. The work of the Tonsured Maize God as a culture hero is connected to the base date of the Long Count, 4 Ahau 8 Cumku. Calendrically, the maize is associated with the day Q'an 'Ripe(ness)'; the head of the Foliated Maize God serves to denote the number Eight. The Tonsured Maize God is sometimes found associated with the lunar crescent and may therefore have played a role in the divisions of the lunar count; his head seems to occur in glyph C of the Lunar Series (see also Maya moon goddess).

References

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