11 names of important Mayan GODDESSES

A common element of all mythologies in history is the existence of so much male and female gods, even existing cases in which a god can be of both genders at the same time. To meet the main women of one of the most important mythologies in the world, in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to talk about the names of essential Mayan goddesses.

To know the names of Mayan goddesses, we must talk about the main female deities that formed the pantheon of Mesoamerican mythology, these being the ones that took the greatest relevance throughout history and the one that received the most rituals from the mayan society.

Avilix

Goddess, although in certain sources this creature is spoken of as a male god, which symbolized the moon and the night. She was an important deity of the Postclassic Mesoamerican period, and especially very dear to the northern tribes of the Mesoamerican zone in Guatemala. The moon was a key element for the thought of the Mayans, with many goddesses who symbolized this body celestial, but the great relevance of Avilix lies in her relationship with the night, showing a union between the moon and the night.

Ixchel

Goddess of love, pregnancy, water, the textile industry, the moon and medicine. The great importance of her was such that in some texts of her she is spoken of as "the goddess", showing her importance over the rest of the goddesses. Like many of the Mayan gods she had a great duality, being able to see herself as a goddess she benevolent who helped women, but also as an evil goddess who spread evil through the world. Her attributes were closely related to the elements that the Mayans related to women, being for many the goddess who I was more united to the female gender.

Ixtab

The goddess of suicide she being represented by a rope and representing death by hanging. It was said that all those people who committed suicide by means of the rope were protected by the afterlife, Suicide in the Mayan civilization being just as worthy as death in battle, sacrifice or in the Birth. Unlike today where suicide is a death closely linked to cowardice, in the Mayan culture the Suicide was a brave act, since all actions that ended one's life were seen as actions of courage.

Goddess of the moon

Although in none of the sources that we have there is mention of this deity, she is called goddess of the moon or even with the name moon. The moon was a very important element in the Mayan culture, and that is why this deity that represents the moon was so important. Among the importance of it is not only the representation of the moon, but also represents other things such as sexuality, fertility or vegetation. In the Mayan culture, the existence of nameless deities is common, since the sources that we often possess do not are as accurate as we would like and that creates problems when it comes to knowing all the possible data about the gods.

To conclude this lesson on the names of Mayan goddesses, we must talk about all those less important goddesses whose role in the Mayan religion is also important. These mayan female deities are as follows:

1. Xtabay: A later version of the deity of the gallows. We do not know the relationship that she had with Ixtab, but we can suppose that it was a kind of evolution of her, since it is common that over the years the goddesses transform or merge.
2. Chac Chel: Goddess of destruction, creation, healing and divination. She was a goddess based on duality, being the cause of creation and destruction, since for many Mesoamerican mythologies to create something, the previous must first be destroyed.
3. Chirakan-Ixmucane: One of the 13 gods who helped create human beings. One of many Mayan creation myths speak of the creation of human beings by a group of 13 gods, who joined their powers to create the human race.
4. Goddess I: This goddess whose name we do not know is the Mayan goddess of eroticism, marriage and procreation human. She is a highly represented goddess, but whose name has not appeared on any of the murals where she appears. Her relationship with her sexuality makes her one of the main goddesses in this regard.
5. Xbaquiyalo: Woman of the god of ball game Mesoamerican her role in the Mayan pantheon is unknown, since as in other mythologies there are deities that only appear as wives of other gods and whose attributes do not transcend.
6. Xquic: Mayan goddess of the waning moon, it is thought that she could have arisen from one of the other goddesses of the moon, serving only to show part of this celestial body.
7. Mayan goddess of corn: Another unnamed goddess who is thought to have been the protector of maize in Mayan culture along with her husband. Corn was possibly the most important agricultural element for the Mayans, and therefore its protection by the gods was very important for the Mayans, being key that a deity protected both the cultivation itself and the dedicated field workers thereto.