Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

144 ItzcuintliSYNONYMS HUNAB KU; Hun Itzamna; Yaxcocahmut;God K.CENTER(S) OF CULT Chichen Itza and other sites,mainly in the Yucatan peninsula.ART REFERENCES stone carvings, codex illustrations.LITERARY SOURCES mainly the Vienna Codex.The principal god in the Mayan pantheonaccording to the Vienna codex. He lives in the skyand sends the rain. Also a god of medicine and afire god. By tradition the Maya believed that theworld was set within a vast house, the walls androof of which were formed by four huge iguanasstanding upright but with their heads bent downwards.Each reptile has its own direction andcolor.Itzam Na is not invoked in the rites of modernYucatan peasants but, at one time, was the subjectof a ritual which involved daubing the lowest stepof a sanctuary with mud and the other steps withblue pigment (the color peculiar to rain gods). AtChichen Itza sacrifice was regularly made to ahuge crocodile believed to be the personificationof the god.Itzam Na is probably the same deity as HunabKu, who is identified in some texts as his father,but in the guise of a reptile. He may also bedepicted anthropomorphically. In his aspect as avegetation god, Itzam Na may be the same as theso-called God K of the codices, recognized by along branching nose in the form of a pair ofinfolded leaves. His earthly aspect is called ITZAMCAB, in which guise maize leaves sprout from thetop of his head.ItzcuintliGoddess of hearths. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. A guardian deity of the home personifiedby fire. One of the group classed as theXIUHTECUHTLI complex.Itzpapalotl (obsidian butterfly)Minor mother goddess. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. One of the group classed asthe TETEOINNAN complex. Also recognized as afire goddess.Itzpapalotl-Itzcueye (possessor of obsidianskirt)Minor mother goddess. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. One of the group classed asthe TETEOINNAN complex. Limited to the Valleyof Mexico.Itztapal Totec (our lord the stone slab)Fertility god. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. A god of agriculture but also a patron ofprecious metallurgists. One of the group classedas the XIPE TOTEC complex.ltztli (obsidian blade)God of justice. Aztec (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. One of the group classed as the TEZ-CATLIPOCA complex.IunonesGoddesses of femininity. Greco-Roman. Generallydepicted as a trio of MATRES. A shrine atSaintes Maries on the Rhone delta was originallydedicated to the Iunones Augustae.IusaasCreator goddess. Egyptian (Lower). Locallyknown from Heliopolis and perceived as being afeminine principle in the cosmos equating to thesun god ATUM. Depicted anthropomorphicallywith a scarab on her head.