Hun-Ixim, the great sustainer of mesoamerica. Dubbed the “Maise god” by scholars, Hun-Ixim was a ubiquitous figure in mesoamerica, though mainly localized in the Maya peoples.
The Kʼicheʼ Mayans told of Hun-Ixim’s grand participation in creation. Known to them as Hun-Hunahpu, he was tricked by the spirits of Xibalba and was slain. However his sons, the hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque challenged the lords of Xibalba to a ball game for revenge for their father. The two were able to beat the spirits of Xibalba and resurrect their father as the Maize god. After his resurrection Hun-Hunahpu helped the Kʼicheʼs creator god Q’uq’umatz create humanity by using corn dough to sculpt them.
However it was among the classic and pre-classic Maya where Hun-Ixim truly reached his apex. Though strewn across wordless art and cryptic messages, Hun-Ixim’s role can be reconstructed. Before any world was created, the first father, Hun-Ixim lay afloat on the primeval sea. During this timeless age the sky and sea lay on top of one another as a single form. That was until Hun-Ixim created three stones with which he used as a hearth and raised the sky away from the sea. Next the god raised the great world tree, its roots creating the underworld as its trunk reached into the sky. Using this tree Hun-Ixim climbed into the sky and built his home upon the apex of the heavens. From his home the god caused time to start, dictating the stars to move across the sky. When a world cycle comes to an end and the universe dies, Hun-Ixim calls upon the other gods to gather the three hearth stones once more. The Jaguar and Stingray paddlers find the Jaguar throne stone, the Black-house red god finds the snake throne stone, and Itzamná finds the shark throne stone. Each of them set the stones at the edges of the world, causing the universe to begin anew.
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In mesoamerica, maize or corn was a vital crop for the indigenous peoples. With Maize making up a vast majority of the diet of these peoples, it became an integral part of their culture, exemplified by Hun-Ixim the maize god. The maize god represented civilization and prosperity, being considered the god of scribes and artists as well.
A consistent theme of the Maize god is his rebirth through a turtle shell, in the older Mayan practices this could’ve been seen as Hun-Ixim being reborn with the creation of a new world.
Originally the inscription that detailed the three stones of creation only referred to the overseer as the ‘Six Sky Lord’, however later researchers would reconstruct the cosmogony and were able to place the Maize god as the Six Sky Lord.
The Itzamna mentioned in the three stones creation myth was the chief god and primordial creator of the Yucatec Maya. Itzamna shares many aspects with the Maize god, such as his role as a creator god, their connection with scribes and artists, the turtle motif, and both of them being associated with maize. Their connection is further reinforced by the Yucatec themselves, as they often depicted the Maize god alongside Itzamna, despite his relative absence in their myths. Because of this it could be possible that Itzamna could’ve evolved from the worship of Hun-Ixim, but at the very least both gods were conflated with one another, with Hun-Ixim likely being a representation of a younger Itzamna by the Yucatec.
The Maize god himself is one of the oldest gods among the mayans and even mesoamerica itself, originating in the Olmec culture, predating the Mayan civilization. With the only surviving record of the Olmec religion being their wordless art, it’s impossible to reconstruct anything of significance of the mythos. At most it’s believed that the Mayan mythos likely descended from Olmec mythology, so it is possible that Hun-Ixim held a creator role like he did among the Maya but it’s impossible to know for now.
The later Aztecs also held descendants of the Maize god as well, like Centeotl and Xipe Totec, despite his influence diminishing the Maize god still held great importance to their mythology.
The name of the Maize god is an incredibly complicated subject, the name I chose, Hun-Ixim “Maize Grain”, is a relatively new name posited by researchers. The name Hun Hunahpu appears in the Ki’che’ Popol Vuh, other names like Uac Chuaac Nal “Six Tall New Corn” and Zac Uac Nal “White Six New Corn” appear in the Chilam Bilam. The Maize god’s epithet of ‘first father’ is used frequently as well.
