Author's note: for the overview post on gods and goddesses of the ancient Maya, go here.
Pauahtun (Pawahtun) is God N of the Schellhas classification. Currently known to have four aspects, he has been connected to an earth god known as Mam described as a god still being worshiped today in Exploring the Life, Myth, and Art of the Maya.
Appearance
Drawn as an old man with missing teeth, images depict Pauahtun with a turtle shell or a conch shell on his back. He also wears a headdress -- most sources this author has found say it is a netted headdress, though The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives states that it is a crocodile headdress (the book also state that he has a "cut-out shell nose").
The god is also commonly drawn with one hand raised above his head, and is drawn either as a scribe or teaching scribes. In a few Classic period images on ceramics, Pauahtun is drawn with an accompaniment of women.
Functions
Pauahtun was the patron of scribes and of group of 5 unlucky days known as the Uayeb (Wayeb), which came at the end of the Haab calendar.
The four aspects of Pauahtun -- called Bacabs (Bakabs) -- each were thought to stand at one of the four main compass points and hold up the sky. Each Bacab was connected to a color as well, like the aspects of Chac (God B).
Uayeb Dance
Pauahtun may be connected to a dance known as the Uayeb (Wayeb) Dance. A scene in the Lower Temple of the Jaguars at Chichen Itzá depicts a ruler and ritual participants taking part in a dance, with Pauahtun being a notable figure. It is conjectured that this dance may have taken place during the Uayeb.
Consideration
Sources conflict concerning Pauahtun's name. The Ancient Maya states that Pauahtun was known as Bacab during the Postclassic period, while Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya world states that it is Pauahtun's four aspects that are known as Bakabs. A third source,The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives, states that Pauahtun at the time of contact with the Spanish was known as the four Bacabs.
References:
"Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World"; Lynn V. Foster; 2005
"Exploring the Life, Myth, and Art of the Maya"; Timothy Laughton; 2011
"The Ancient Maya"; Robert J. Sharer, Loa P. Traxler; 2006
"The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives"; Heather Irene McKillop; 2004
"Star Gods of the Maya: Astronomy in Art, Folklore, and Calendars"; Susan Milbrath; 2000
Missouri State University: MAYA GODS AND GODDESSES
ReplyDeleteThis is helpful ThAnkh You! I also found information in a book called The Hidden Maya (Brennan, Martin. 1998). Which gives a good explanation on this figure Pauahtun in Mayan codices and hieroglyphs. As an anthrolopgy student, I'd find his images alongside the (spiritual) women, underworldly rituals and scenes, and the noble kings and queens and wondered! He appeared quite frightening and looked so different from other depictions of the Mayan but his presence warranted inquiry and curiosity. Perhaps his old features represented the 'ancient' or older race or lineage. Then reading from the Hidden Maya book I saw he was an ancient Shaman and represented the Zero point or nothingness expressed by Gnostics.
When I started to research Turtle Clans it brought me to this Pauahtun figure! Another interesting fact is that I found a discrepancy in regards to the "oldest reptile" stories among Native/ Indigenous cultures and folklore; was it the Turtle or the Crocodile? Something else I will research. Both Turtle and Crocodile hold the myth of creation as holding the earth on their back so it would seem they are both closely linked like the Snake with creation as ancient beings on this planet with cosmic origins. In The Hidden Maya book it states:
"To the Ancient Maya shells, besides functioning as jewelry, were considered sacred objects and religious symbols of key importance. In the creation mythology the first created image was the constellation Ac, “Turtle” the three stars in the belt Orion. The hieroglyph Ac has the head of the turtle and carries the phonetic value ‘ah. In Yucatec the verb ah means “to dawn” and “to create.”
This points to the shell or conch as a symbol of the Turtle having celestial origins and terrestrial connections to the earthly plane. Turtle being the constellation Ac in Mayan language and glyph as the three stars of Orion and wonder if that points to the Sirius Star system in Orion. This would point to "human - cosmic" origins or god-cosmic origins seen throughout the many Atlantean kingdoms such as the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Mayans etc.
Another note in the book points to Pauahtun's connection to nobility in a headdress showing a fish nibbling on a waterlily, the patron of Imix, the Crocodile. This fish theme is common in the ancient world of the ancient Sumerians and Akkadians (Cretans, Libyans, Eustrians and Minoans), ancient Babylonian, Mesopotamia tribes being the ancestors to the Chaldeans, the Dogon (Nommo), the Japanese Dogu, eluding to Orions belt and with Mayan temples aligned to the Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Mintaka, Alnitak, Alnilam, Saiph, Rigel stellar group constellations. Sirius amphibious beings such as the Dogon's Nommo represent Ancient Star Beings seeding and ruling earth which may be the interpretation to the "first born" referenced below in Pauahtun's symbology. The passage reads:
Pauahtun is not lacking in aquatic features. Besides wearing a seashell in C, he wears the headdress of Maya nobility, the fish nibbling on a waterlily. H his also the patron of Imix, the frist day sing in the calendar. The glyph of this day is waterlily, the root from which all things spring, embodying such concepts as beginning, the Earth, water and abundance. It is the glyph that appears most frequently in Maya writing and it is probably themes versatile. In E it is shown functioning both phonetically carrying the value ba, and symbolically in the glyph bacab, which can mean a god but also a title bestowed on rulers, priests, and artists in the ancient texts. With a manifesting hand in F, it means “first-born.”
:) peace prosperity and healing on this planet for the nations! xo Ria aka Daria Danielle
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