According to tradition he engendered the water lily from
which sprang the other deities of the Mayan Pantheon . The ancient Maya had over 150 Gods in their
complex religion, each with clearly defined characteristics and purposes
Acat was a deity in Maya mythology associated with the
process of tattooing. The Maya placed great importance on the tattooing
process, believing that tattoos in the image of a god would imbue a person with
some of that god's power.
many believe his name means ‘reed’ , a reference to the art
of tattooing the skin with a reed.
Because of the importance and difficulty of this art form it
was only natural that there was a god responsible for it. Acat was said to
bless the ink, needles, and work spaces, and steady the hands of the artists
for better results.
To them, tattooing was an act of faith. Body modification
was very popular amongst the Mayans and became increasingly extreme by today’s
standards the higher the person’ social standing was. Babies’ skulls were
elongated by wrapping their heads tightly in cloth, or by tying a board to the
backs of their head with cloth and gradually tightening a rope mechanism to
create the desired shape. Numerous piercings were also encouraged, teeth were
inlaid with precious stones and a more extreme form of tattooing was also
practiced.
The Mayans decorated themselves with a plethora of images
and iconography when tattooing: everything from celestial entities to flowers
and gods, but the most important thing to them was the sacrifice and pain
involved in the process. Without it, their world would quite literally cease to
exist.
Tattoos had major religious significance for the Mayans.
They believed that by drawing the symbols of gods on their bodies, they could
attain to some of the characteristics of those gods. So accuracy was highly
valued in such tattoos.
Tattoos had major religious significance for the Mayans.
They believed that by drawing the symbols of gods on their bodies, they could
attain to some of the characteristics of those gods. So accuracy was highly
valued in such tattoos.
Ah Cancun – The Hunter God
Classification: Patron God
Culture/Pantheon: Mayan/Classic MesoAmerican
Associated: the Hunt, Protection of Animals
Sacred Stone: Obsidian
One of a number of deities in the Mayan religion associated with the hunt and protection of animals.
A hunting deity is a god or goddess in mythology associated with the hunting of animals and the skills and equipment involved. They are a common feature of polytheistic religions.
Deities of the Hunt
Kemetic – Neith, Paket.
Yoruba – Ogoun.
Greek - Artemis, Pan
Hittite - Rundas.
Obsidian protects against negative energy.
The symbolism of 4. Comprehensiveness ubiquity omnipotence
solidarity organization power intelligence justice stability the earth.
The symbolism is a four is drawn primarily from the square
and the four-armed cross.
The four arm crosses the most common emblem of totality the
four directions of space.
The significance of these 4 Cardinal point traditionally
thought to be ruled by the powerful gods of wind and weather led to the dominance
of the number 4 in religion and ritual throughout much of pre Columbian
America.
The four heavenly gods of the Mayan pantheon
the four creator gods
of the Aztec.
the four worlds of creation in the Hopi tradition.
Four is also central to celestial geography. The concept of
the four rivers that flowed from the tree of life in paradise and bring the
gift of spiritual nourishment or immortality is common in Babylonian Iranian
Christian Teutonic Nordic Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
4 face gods such as Amun
Ra in Egypt beliefs and brahma and India symbolized their
rulership of all the elements.
As emblematic of
terrestrial order and universality four was also the number of castes in India
Hindu society.
The four letters WHYH outline the in honorable name of the
Hebrews God.
The 12 tribes of Israel were grouped under 4 emblems man
lion eagle and bull. These became the Christian emblems respectively of the
four evangelicals Matthew mark Luke and John.
The many other four full symbols in the Bible such as the
horsemen of the apocalypse similarly expressed the idea of universality .
Four was in poor
agathion terms the first number giving a solid the Tetra hygiene with the base
in three sides symbolizing the stabilizing force of religion as well as universality
the square was the basis of much sacred architecture.
The World and heaven were thought to be supported by four
pillars in Kemetic beliefs. And stood on the shoulders of 4 Giants in Central American beliefs.
Guardianship of directions of space was another questionary
symbol.
In the process of Egyptian mummification for Guardian headed
4 canopic jars held the entrails of the dead.
A body Lane in state is conveniently watched over by 4
guards.
As a rational number
for symbolize intelligence. In western tradition there are four elements earth
air fire and water an four humors. Jungian psychology has continued this
tradition by envisioning the human psyche in terms of four fundamental aspects thought,
emotion, intuition and senses.
Graphic symbols of
four apart from squares and cross include the swastika nkwocha full. Crocs