The polytheistic Mayans are noted for worshipping and offering sacrifices to a complex pantheon of deities. The city of Chichen Itza is renowned for its magnificent temple pyramids that pay tribute to many of these gods; it’s also one of the Mayan Kingdom’s most powerful and enduring metropolises and among the most visited relics of today, yet only two of these Gods are represented with special frequency and they are Chak, the rain god, and Kukulkan, the feathered serpent.
Chak – The Mayan’s Oldest God And God Of Rain
Chak, the Mayan’s god of Rain is among the oldest gods; and masks of Chak’s face were made as common adornment in some ancient Maya sites such as Chichen Itza, which are commonly and greatly found on columns and over the doorways of buildings. Commanded a great deal of respect among the Mayans, Chak, the god of storms, of rain, and lighting has thunderbolts that took the form of fearsome serpents. As a matter of fact, the cult of Chak still exists among the small number of surviving indigenous Mayans in South and Central America which was a remarkable challenge of endurance for a god whose religion was by far destroyed hundreds of years past. Human sacrifices were made specifically to curry favour with Chak at Chichen Itza’s sacred well. According to the Maya legend, during the ancient times Chak also broke open a rock, inside of which the original seeds of maize were locked, hence made it possible for the Maya to cultivate corn. He was particularly important to the Maya due to the unstable nature of the weather in the Yucatan as well as in neighboring regions. Rivers are not sufficient there and for sustenance most communities depended on cenotes and underground streams. There is great evidence that periods of drought contributed a destructive impact on the growth of Mayan cities, and prolonged droughts may have been the key reason of the Post-Classic decline of the entire civilization.
The Mayan God Kukulkan – The Feathered Serpent
Plenty of Mesoamerican cultures are discovered to worship a serpent deity; this was Kulkulkan, for the Mayans, and more than a hundred years he went up in prominence to generally be among the most widely-revered of all the numerous gods in the Maya pantheon. This was due in no small part to the ascension of Chichen Itza as the principal political and economic strength in the Yucatan. Kukulkan was depicted to be an enormous snake possessing gaping jaws and resplendent feathers in the Mayan artwork; and around the pyramid at El Castillo and the Great Ballcourt at Chichen Itza you can see such depictions in great numbers. During the fall and spring equinoxes, an occurrence referred to as the Descent of the Serpent creates the shadows cast by the sun at the northern stairway to unite with the great serpent heads at the base of the structure, generating the picture of a serpent wriggling its way on the pyramid. It was during the early Classic period that the Mayans identified Kulkulkan as patron of warriors, successful military conquest and commonly with War Serpent motif. These associations withered as Chichen Itza rose in prominence, which made Kukulkan a symbol of the divine right of ruler ship commanded by the city’s kings, and by extension, the city itself over its surrounding tributaries.
The Mayans regarded the serpents as sacred animals; they reckoned that the stars and planets in the heavens, whose movements they discovered with unfailing accuracy plus interest, were carried on the backs of mythical snakes. They also associated a divine entity called the Vision Serpent to Kulkulkan and was deemed to facilitate communication among the Mayan gods and their rulers. In a comparable way, the popular belief in Kukulkan aided to facilitate conversation as well as trade through the entire Mayan empire. As the center of worship for the cult of Kukulcan and as wealth and importance of Chichen Itza developed, a shared reverence for this particular god eliminated provincial barriers which brought together disparate city states having varied backgrounds in political, religious, and ethnicity, enriching the Itza state as well as joining much of the Yucatan in a trade and communication network.
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