In Yucatec Maya mythology, Itzamna was the name of an upper god and creator deity thought to be residing in the sky. Little is known about him, but scattered references are present in early-colonial Spanish reports (relaciones) and dictionaries. In the pre-Spanish period, Itzamna, represented by the aged god D, was frequently depicted in books and in the ceramic scenes derived from these books.

Itzamna at the Time of the Spanish Invasions

The early-colonial sources variously connect, and sometimes identify, Itzamna with Hunab Ku (an invisible high god), Kinich Ahau (the sun deity), and Yaxcocahmut (a bird of omen). The most reliable source on Itzamna, Landa, mentions him several times in the framework of his description of the ritual year. In the month of Uo, a ritual aspersion of the books took place under invocation of Kinich Ahau Itzamna, "the first priest". In the month of Zip, Itzamna was invoked as one of the gods of medicine, and in the month of Mac, he was venerated by the very old on a par with the Chaacs, the rain deities. In the cycle of four years, one was under the patronage of Itzamna. Itzamna clearly was an active creator god. Confirming Landa's description of the book ritual above, (Hun-)Itzamna is stated by Cogolludo to have invented the priestly art of writing. According to this same author, Itzamna (now written Zamna) had been a sort of priest who divided the land of Yucatan and assigned names to all of its features. More generally, Itzamna was the creator of mankind, and also the father of Bacab (Francisco Hernández). In an alternative tradition, Itzamna begot thirteen sons with Ixchel, two of whom created the earth and mankind (Las Casas). The meaning of the deity's name is unclear, but could conceivably refer to a large lizard or caiman (itzam) or to a liquid such as dew (itz). Aspects of the god were sometimes designated by an epitheton, e.g., Itzamna Kauil, the upper god nourishing mankind. The Aztec deity corresponding to Itzamna is Tonacatecuhtli. Landa is a city located in Bottineau County, North Dakota. ... Chaac (also rendered as Chaak or Chac) is the originally Yucatec name of the Maya rain deity. ... Maya mythology refers to the pre-Columbian Maya civilizations extensive polytheistic religious beliefs. ... Ixchel or Ix Chel is the Yucatec Maya language name of the aged jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine. ...

The Earlier Itzamna

In the Post-Classic codices, Itzamna is represented by the aged god D, sometimes dressed as a high priest, and hieroglyphically identified as the god of rulership. In the New Year pages of the Dresden Codex, god D is given the role indicated by Landa's description of these rituals. God D's connection to animals is of interest. On two of the codex's very first pages, he is shown within the maw of a caiman representing the earth; a case has been made for identifying the caiman as the deity's transformation (Thompson, Taube). The earlier, Classic god D had the Principal Bird Deity (perhaps the Yaxcocahmut mentioned above) for a transformative shape. This fact is somewhat difficult to reconcile with the current interpretation of the Principal Bird Deity as the evil demon bird (or giant) of the Popol Vuh, Vucub-Caquix ("Seven-Macaw"). Finally, god D is repeatedly shown clinging to the back of a peccary (and, once, a deer). Iconographically, god D can be considered an aged form of the Tonsured Maize God (see Maya maize god). Some of the works of Itzamna on earth may actually have been carried out by this juvenile 'Itzamna' (perhaps to be thought of as the upper god's son). The Classic names of god D and of the Tonsured Maize God are still uncertain. Maya codices (singular codex) are books written by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, using the Maya hieroglyphic script. ... The Popol Vuh (Quiché for Council Book or Book of the Community; Popol Wuj in modern spelling) is the book of scripture of the Quiché, a kingdom of the post classic Maya civilization in highland Guatemala. ... Like other Mesoamerican peoples, the traditional Mayas recognize in the maize a vital force with which they strongly identify. ...

References

• Ferdinand Anders, Das Pantheon der Maya.
• Nicholas Hellmuth, Monsters and Men in Maya Art.
• Houston, Stuart, Taube, The Memory of Bones.
• Karl Taube, The Major Gods of Ancient Yucatan.
• Eric Thompson, Maya History and Religion.
• Alfred Tozzer, Landa's Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan.

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