[Aztlan] God L

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi Karen - 

"There is a supernatural bird illustrated in Maya art that also wears this ak'bal headdress, and it has been identified as the avian manifestation of God D. God D and three other gods (God A, God K, and God G) appear in the Dresden Codex New Year pages engaged in putting the quadrilateral world in order. God D was first identified as Itzamnaaj because he appears in these scenes performing the New Year functions that Bishop Diego de Landa indicated were performed by Itzamnaaj."

As evidenced by artifacts, the concept of four birds at the four corners of the world is also found in "Mississippian" culture. 

"I should have said in my previous posting that the principal "diet" of laughing falcons is snakes, rather than the principal "deity" of laughing falcons."

If the Maya viewed comets as cosmic serpents, it would seem to make more sense for "itzam-naaj" to have been a cosmic laughing falcon, rather than a macaw. Why "Itzam Ye" is Seven "Macaw" is still puzzling to me.

E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas