Maya Maize God - Female and Male Maize Deities

Female and Male Maize Deities

In Maya oral tradition, the maize is usually personified as a woman - like the rice in Southeast Asia, or the wheat in ancient Greece and Rome. The acquisition of this woman through bridal capture constitutes one of the basic Maya myths. In contrast to this, the pre-Spanish Mayan aristocracy appears to have primarily conceived the maize as male. The Classic period distinguished two male forms: a Foliated and a Tonsured Maize God. The Foliated Maize God is present in the so-called Maize Tree (Temple of the Foliated Cross, Palenque), its cobs being shaped like the deity's head. Whereas the Foliated Maize God is a one-dimensional vegetation spirit, the Tonsured Maize God's functions are much more diverse. On stelas, the ritual representative of the Tonsured Maize God tends to be a queen rather than a king. The queen thus appears to have become a maize goddess, in accordance with the Mayan narrative traditions mentioned above. A male maize deity representing the foliated type and labeled god E is present in the three extant Maya books of undisputed authenticity; the codical god H has been claimed to represent the Tonsured Maize God.