Ek Chuaj, also known as Ek Chuah, Ekchuah, God M according to the Schellhas-Zimmermann-Taube classification of codical gods, is a Postclassic Maya merchant deity as well as a patron of cacao. [1] Ek Chuaj is part of a pantheon of Maya deities that have been depicted in hieroglyphs and artwork of various Maya sites and has been interpreted as a significant part of Maya religion.
Ek Chuaj can either be depicted as black-and-white striped, as he is in the Dresden Codex, or entirely black, as he is in the Madrid Codex. Other distinguishing characteristics of Ek Chuaj are his mouth, which is encircled by a red-brown border, his large lower lip, and the presence of two curved lines to the right of his eye. Other depictions of Ek Chuaj show him as an old man with only a single tooth. This is the appearance he most regularly takes in the Madrid Codex. He has been depicted with a pack of goods commonly carried by merchants, and his carrying of a burden is also indicated by the rope or tumpline tied around his head. He may also carry a spear and, in some instances, a scorpion's tail. [2]
Ek Chuaj holds various meanings depending upon the contexts in which he is depicted. His principal associations are with trade and cacao use.
Ek Chuaj is often depicted carrying a pack and a spear, indicating transportation of goods as well as the dangerous life of a merchant. In this context, Ek Chuaj is a patron deity of travelers and journeys. During journeys, travelers would stack three stones on top of each other and offer incense to Ek Chuaj at night to ensure a safe journey home. [1] [3] It is possible that Ek Chuaj and the "Guide of the Merchant," otherwise known as Polaris or the North Star, are related both symbolically and linguistically. "Ek" can be translated as either "black" or "star". [3]
Cacao was one of the most important products traded by Maya merchants and it was often treated as currency. Because Ek Chuaj is a patron of cacao, owners of cacao groves would hold ceremonies or special festivals in his honor. [4] One of these was held during Muwan, a "month" in the Maya solar calendar or haab' . The presence of this ceremony suggests that Ek Chuaj was an agriculturally symbolic deity within Maya society. [5]
Ek Chuaj is sometimes depicted in combat, most often with Buluk Chabtan (God F) the god of war, violence, and sacrifice. This interaction has been interpreted as representing the need for traveling merchants to have the ability to ward off hostile attacks. In the Madrid Codex, Ek Chuaj and God L are closely related and sometimes nearly indistinguishable from one another. [6] It appears that God L was a Classic Maya counterpart of Ek Chuaj. As Ek Chuaj gained influence and importance, he supplanted God L. [2] [7] In some cases, Ek Chuaj seems have attributes of other deities. For example, in one instance he is depicted with the head of an old man, the spine of a death god, and the tail of a scorpion.
Maya mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Maya tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles. The myths of the Pre-Hispanic era have to be reconstructed from iconography. Other parts of Mayan oral tradition are not considered here.
Palenque, also anciently known as Lakamha, was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that perished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD. After its decline, it was overgrown by the jungle of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees, but has since been excavated and restored. It is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 130 km (81 mi) south of Ciudad del Carmen, 150 meters (490 ft) above sea level. It averages a humid 26 °C (79 °F) with roughly 2,160 millimeters (85 in) of rain a year.
HuehueteotlWAY-way-TAY-oh-təl; Nahuatl pronunciation: [weːweˈteoːt͡ɬ] is an aged Mesoamerican deity figuring in the pantheons of pre-Columbian cultures, particularly in Aztec mythology and others of the Central Mexico region. The spellings Huehuetéotl and Ueueteotl are also used. Although known mostly in the cultures of that region, images and iconography depicting Huehueteotl have been found at other archaeological sites across Mesoamerica, such as in the Gulf region, western Mexico, Protoclassic-era sites in the Guatemalan highlands such as Kaminaljuyú and Late-Postclassic sites on the northern Yucatán Peninsula. The name Huehueteotl stems from Nahuatl huēhueh[ˈweːweʔ] ("old") and teōtl[ˈteoːt͡ɬ] ("god"). It seems to connect the Old God to certain Mayan deities called Mam ("Grandfather").
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Kukulkan, also spelled K’uk’ulkan, is the name of a Mesoamerican serpent deity. Prior to the Spanish Conquest of the Yucatán, Kukulkan was worshipped by the Yucatec Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula, in what is now Mexico. The depiction of the Feathered Serpent is present in other cultures of Mesoamerica. Kukulkan is closely related to the deity Qʼuqʼumatz of the Kʼicheʼ people and to Quetzalcoatl of Aztec mythology. Little is known of the mythology of this Pre-Columbian era deity.
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Ancient Mayan art is about the material arts of the Mayan civilization, an eastern and south-eastern Mesoamerican culture shared by a great number of kingdoms in present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. Many regional artistic traditions existed side by side, usually coinciding with the changing boundaries of Maya polities. This civilization took shape in the course of the later Preclassic Period, when the first cities and monumental architecture started to develop and the hieroglyphic script came into being. Its greatest artistic flowering occurred during the seven centuries of the Classic Period.
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