GOD D: ITZAMNÁ
Although no single god was worshiped
as the supreme deity everywhere in the Maya region throughout the preconquest
periods, one god was clearly described as the preeminent deity in the colonial
accounts of the Yucatán. This ancient creator god was known as Itzamná, meaning
“reptile house” in Yucatec Mayan. Identified by Schellhas as God D, Itzamná is depicted
in the codices as an old man whose wrinkled visage is characterized by a
toothless lower jaw, sunken cheeks, and a Roman nose. A beaded disk is often
depicted upon the brow of Itzamná and is incorporated in the name glyph that
identifies him. This disk, which is sometimes inscribed with an akbal sign,
denoting darkness or blackness, may represent the polished black surface of an
obsidian mirror. The polished black surfaces of such mirrors were important
devices that allowed shamans to see past and future events. As an attribute of Itzamná,
the obsidian mirror suggests an important function of the god. (Kaylee
Spencer-Ahrens and Linnea H. Wren, “Religion, Cosmology, and Art,” in Handbook
to the Life in the Ancient Maya World, ed. Lynn V. Foster [New York: Facts
on File, Inc., 2002], 165-66
