Home›Maya Deities›Veneration Status›Historically attested; no continuous cultBrowse ByHistorically attested; no continuous cultThis page groups deities by how actively they are still venerated today, from gods with a living cult to ones whose worship has died out entirely. Wikipedia defines veneration as "the practice of honoring people and articles of religious significance, for example, the veneration of saints and the veneration of relics." Browsing this way lets a visitor tell a deity that still receives offerings apart from one preserved only in historical study.FactsLearn MoreHistorically attested; no continuous cultConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe gods of the Maya, reconstructed from hieroglyphic inscriptions, painted pottery and monumental art of the Classic period, from the four surviving Postclassic codices, and from colonial-period books written in Maya languages. Maya deities are unstable by design - they split, pair, age and change aspect with the calendar - and the reconstruction is uneven across regions and centuries. 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedKiche and the highland Maya, source of the Popol Vuh and of the continuously kept 260-day calendar 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedThe Classic-period lowland cities, whose gods are known from their own inscriptions and art 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedYucatec Maya, source of the surviving codices and of the colonial Books of Chilam Balam 2AttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedDeity images appear in Late Preclassic murals around the first century BCE and deity names in Classic inscriptions. The Postclassic codices and the colonial Kiche Popol Vuh carry the fullest narrative, and the last independent Maya kingdom fell in 1697. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedThe Maya are a living people of several million. Highland communities have kept the 260-day count and its day-lords continuously, and older powers persist within a Christianised framework. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedThe pre-conquest state cults of these gods did not survive the conquest as continuous public worship. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1Learn MoreThe gods of the Maya This group gathers the deities of the Maya civilisation of Mesoamerica, reconstructed from surviving hieroglyphic texts, the painted codices, monumental art, and the colonial-era Popol Vuh of the Kiche Maya. Maya gods are often shifting and multiple, associated with directions, colours, calendar cycles and the maize on which life depended. The browser will find the Hero Twins of the Popol Vuh, the maize god, the rain-god Chaac, the creator Itzamna, and death-gods of the underworld Xibalba. The atlas notes that much Maya religion was lost in the conquest and that reconstruction depends heavily on the few surviving books and on continuing Maya tradition.Historically attested; no continuous cultFilter Results17 entriesMember OfAllThe Hero Twins (2)Child OfAllHun Hunahpu (2)Ixmucane (1)Ixpiyacoc (1)Attested InAllPopol Vuh (4)HistoricityAllNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being (17)TheologyAllPolytheistic: many gods (17)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (2)The Creator (2)The Hero (2)The Innocent (1)The Magician (1)The Orphan (1)The Ruler (2)Era Attested Start YearAll-300 (9)200 (3)900 (1)1550 (4)Worshipped InAllMaya Religion (17)Domain / FunctionAllAgriculture and harvest (3)Childbirth (1)Commerce and wealth (1)Cosmic order and truth (1)Creation and cosmogony (5)Death (4)Healing and medicine (1)Kingship and sovereignty (3)Moon (1)Night and darkness (1)Prophecy and divination (2)Rain and weather (1)Sky (1)Storm and thunder (2)Sun (2)The underworld (1)Travel, roads and boundaries (1)Vegetation and forests (1)War and battle (1)Wind (2)Wisdom and counsel (1)Writing, scribes and learning (1)GenderAllCollective / plural, not a single figure (1)Female (2)Male (14)PantheonAllMaya (17)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 17Ah PuchHistorically attested; no continuous cultBacabHistorically attested; no continuous cultBuluc ChabtanHistorically attested; no continuous cultCamazotzHistorically attested; no continuous cultChaacHistorically attested; no continuous cultEk ChuajHistorically attested; no continuous cultHun HunahpuHistorically attested; no continuous cultHunahpuHistorically attested; no continuous cultHuracanHistorically attested; no continuous cultItzamnaHistorically attested; no continuous cultIx ChelHistorically attested; no continuous cultIxmucaneHistorically attested; no continuous cultIxpiyacocHistorically attested; no continuous cultKinich AhauHistorically attested; no continuous cultKukulkanHistorically attested; no continuous cultXbalanqueHistorically attested; no continuous cultYum KaaxHistorically attested; no continuous cultConnectionsBelongs to TraditionMaya Religion, Religions Well-attested The deities of the Maya tradition.Source The Maya (9th edition)Michael D. Coe and Stephen Houstontier 1Sources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. The Maya (9th edition)tier 1Michael D. Coe and Stephen Houston, Thames and Hudson, 2015chs. 1-2View the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.