ZAMNÁ.
The goddess Ixcanleox was held to be the mother of the gods, but as Cogolludo states that she had several names, she may possibly be identical with Ixazaluoh, the wife of Hunab Ku, whose name implies generation.[XI-7] The Mayas were not behind their neighbors in the number of their lesser and special divinities, so that there was scarcely an animal or imaginary creature which they did not represent by sacred images. These idols, or zemes,[XI-8] as they were called, were generally made of terra cotta, though sometimes they were of stone, gold, or wood. In the front rank of the circle of gods, known by the name of ku, were the deified kings and heroes, whom we often find credited with attributes so closely connected as to imply identity, or representation of varied phases of the same element.[XI-9] The most popular names were Zamná and Cukulcan, both culture-heroes, and considered by some to be identical; a very probable supposition when we consider that Quetzalcoatl, who is admitted to be the same as Cukulcan, had the attribute of the strong hand, as well as Zamná. The tradition relates that some time after the fall of the Quinamean Empire, Zamná appeared in Yucatan, coming from the west, and was received with great respect wherever he stayed. Besides being the inventor of the alphabet, he is said to have named all points and places in the country. Over his grave rose a city called Izamal or Itzamat Ul, which soon became one of the chief centres of pilgrimage in the peninsula, especially for the afflicted, who sincerely believed that their prayers when accompanied by suitable presents would not fail to obtain a hearing. This class of devotees generally resorted to the temple where he was represented in the form of a hand, Kab Ul, or working hand, whose touch was sufficient to restore health.[XI-10]
Professor Müller thinks it very uncertain whether the creating or working hand referred to the sun, as was the case among the northern tribes, but the account given of the following idol seems to me to make this not improbable. In the same city was an image of Kinich Kakmo, 'face or eye of the sun', whom Landa represents to be the offspring of the sun, but who subsequently became identified with that luminary and received divine honors in the very temple that he had erected to his father. He is represented in the act of sacrifice, pointing the finger toward a ray from the midday sun, as if to draw a spark wherewith to kindle the sacred fire. To this idol the people resorted in times of calamity and sickness, bringing offerings to induce oracular advice.[XI-11] There are many things which seem to me to identify this personage with Zamná, although other writers hold them to be distinct. Cogolludo, for instance, implies that Zamná was the only son of the sun, or Supreme Being, while Landa and others declare Kinich Kakmo to be the son of that luminary; both are placed on or about the same level and considered as healers, and the uplifted hand of the latter reminds us strongly of the Kab Ul. Another form in which we may recognize Zamná is the image of Itzamat Ul, or 'the dew of heaven', who is said to have been a great ruler, the son of god, and who cured diseases, raised the dead, and pronounced oracles. When asked his name, he replied, ytzencaan, ytzenmuyal.[XI-12]
CUKULCAN.
The other culture-hero, Cukulcan, appeared in Yucatan from the west, with nineteen followers, two of whom were gods of fishes, two gods of farms, and one of thunder, all wearing full beard, long robes, and sandals, but no head-covering. This event is supposed to have occurred at the very time that Quetzalcoatl disappeared in the neighboring province of Goazacoalco, a conjecture which, in addition to the similarity of the names, character, and work of the heroes, forms the basis for their almost generally accepted identity. Cukulcan stopped at several places in Yucatan, but at last settled in Chichen Itza, where he governed for ten years, and framed laws. At the expiration of this period, he left without apparent reason to return to the country whence he had come. A grateful people erected temples at Mayapan and Chichen, to which pilgrims resorted from all quarters to worship him as a god, and to drink of the waters in which he had bathed. His worship, although pretty general throughout Yucatan at one time, was later on confined chiefly to the immediate scenes of his labors.[XI-13]
Besides Izamal and Chichen, there was a third great centre of worship in Yucatan, namely, the temple of Ahulneb, on Cozumel Island, said by some writers to have been the chief sanctuary, Chichen being second in importance. It consisted of a square tower of considerable size, within which was the gigantic terra-cotta statue of Ahulneb, dressed as a warrior, and holding an arrow in his hand. The statue was hollow and set up close against an aperture in the wall, by which the priest entered the figure to deliver the oracle; should the prediction not be fulfilled, which was scarcely likely as it was generally so worded that it might mean anything or nothing, the failure was ascribed to insufficient sacrifice or unatoned sin. So famous did this oracle become, and so great was the multitude of pilgrims continually flocking to it, that it was found necessary to construct roads leading from the chief cities of Yucatan, and even from Tabasco and Guatemala, to Polé, a town on the continent opposite the island. Before embarking, the genius of the sea was always propitiated by the sacrifice of a dog, which was slain with arrows amid music and dancing.[XI-14]
YUCATEC DEITIES.
The Bacabs were four brothers who supported the four corners of the firmament; they were also regarded as air gods. Cogolludo speaks of them as Zacal Bacab, Canal Bacab, Chacal Bacab, and Ekel Bacab, but they were also known by other names. Echuah was the patron-god of merchants and of roads; to him the traveler erected every night a rude altar of six stones, three laid flat, and three set upright, upon which he burned incense while he invoked the protection of the god. It was considered a religious duty by Yucatec wayfarers, when passing some prominent point on the road or spot where an image of Echuah stood, to add a stone or two to the heap already accumulated there, an act of devotion similar to that performed by the Romans in honor of Mercury. Yuncemil was Lord of Death, or, perhaps, the personification of death itself; this dread deity was propitiated with offerings of food.[XI-15] Acat was God of Life; he it was that formed the infant in the womb. At Tihoo, the present Mérida, stood the magnificent temple of Yahau Kuna in which Baklum Chaam, the Priapus of the Mayas and their most ancient god was worshiped. Chac, or Chaac, a former king of Izamal, was honored as the god of fields, and fertility, and the inventor of agriculture. Some distance south-west of this city was the temple of Hunpictok, 'commander of eight thousand lances', a title given also to the general of the army.[XI-16] Abchuy Kak was another apotheosized warrior-prince, whose statue, dressed in royal robes, was borne in the van of the army by four of the most illustrious captains, and received an ovation all along the route. Yxchebelyax is mentioned as the inventor of the art of interweaving figures in cloth, and of painting. Xibalba, 'he who disappears,' was the name of the evil spirit. Exquemelin relates that nagualism obtained on the coast. The naked child was placed on a bed of ashes in the temple, and the animal whose footprint was noticed in the ashes, was adopted as the nagual, and to it the child offered incense as it grew up.[XI-17]