Deity Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Maya and Aztec==== {{Main|List of Maya gods and supernatural beings|Maya religion|List of Aztec gods and supernatural beings|Aztec mythology}} In [[Maya civilization|Maya culture]], ''[[Kukulkan]]'' has been the supreme [[creator deity]], also revered as the god of [[reincarnation]], water, fertility and wind.<ref name="Littleton"/>{{rp|797–798}} The Maya people built [[Mesoamerican pyramids|step pyramid temples]] to honor ''Kukulkan'', aligning them to the [[Sun]]'s position on the spring [[equinox]].<ref name="Littleton"/>{{rp|843–844}} Other deities found at Maya archaeological sites include ''[[Chac-Xib-Chac|Xib Chac]]''—the benevolent male rain deity, and ''[[Ixchel]]''—the benevolent female earth, weaving and pregnancy goddess.<ref name="Littleton"/>{{rp|843–844}} The [[Maya calendar]] had 18 months, each with 20 days (and five unlucky days of ''Uayeb''); each month had a presiding deity, who inspired social rituals, special trading markets and community festivals.<ref name="Fagan"/> [[File:Quetzalcóatl 5.jpg|thumb|Quetzalcoatl in the [[Codex Borgia]]]] A deity with aspects similar to ''Kulkulkan'' in the Aztec culture has been called ''[[Quetzalcoatl]]''.<ref name="Littleton"/>{{rp|797–798}} However, states Timothy Insoll, the Aztec ideas of deity remain poorly understood. What has been assumed is based on what was constructed by [[Christian mission]]aries. The deity concept was likely more complex than these historical records.<ref name="Insoll">{{cite book|last1=Insoll|first1=Timothy|title=The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion|date=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-923244-4|pages=563–567|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=U4_ylNNHBy4C}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> In [[Aztec culture]], there were hundred of deities, but many were henotheistic [[incarnation]]s of one another (similar to the [[avatar]] concept of Hinduism). Unlike Hinduism and other cultures, Aztec deities were usually not anthropomorphic, and were instead zoomorphic or hybrid icons associated with spirits, natural phenomena or forces.<ref name="Insoll"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Issitt|first1=Micah Lee|last2=Main|first2=Carlyn|title=Hidden Religion: The Greatest Mysteries and Symbols of the World's Religious Beliefs: The Greatest Mysteries and Symbols of the World's Religious Beliefs|date=2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-478-0|pages=373–375|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=kmFhBQAAQBAJ}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> The Aztec deities were often represented through ceramic figurines, revered in home shrines.<ref name="Insoll"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Faust|first1=Katherine A.|last2=Richter|first2=Kim N.|title=The Huasteca: Culture, History, and Interregional Exchange|date=2015|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-4957-8|pages=162–163|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=f5j_BwAAQBAJ}}|access-date=28 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page