#itzamna

Kukulkan (Gukumatz)

Kukulkan is often regarded as a creator and civilizing god. As the Plumed Serpent, he embodies the union of earth and sky, water and wind – essentially a cosmic mediator. Quiché Maya lore (Popol Vuh) describes Gukumatz as one of the gods who spoke the world into existence, working alongside Huracan (Heart of Sky) to create humanity. He was counted among the thirteen deities who shaped the world.

After creation, Kukulkan/Gucumatz took on the role of culture hero: he is said to have taught humans the arts of civilization – law, agriculture, writing, medicine, fishing, etc., essentially all aspects of cultured life. This mirrors Itzamna’s portfolio, and indeed some traditions merge the two or consider Kukulkan an incarnation of Itzamna.

In Yucatec Maya history, Kukulkan was also the name of a legendary hero or group of people who arrived at Chichén Itzá, suggesting the god was a patron of certain Maya lineages or rulerships.

Astronomically, Kukulkan is strongly tied to Venus (the morning star). The feathered serpent has an evident presence in the Venus tables of the Dresden Codex – for example, Venus was often associated with warfare and upheaval, and the serpent could represent the sky omens. One could interpret the descending Kukulkan at equinox as Venus descending at dusk. Furthermore, as a wind god (by analogy to Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl of the Aztecs), Kukulkan had sway over the breath of life and winds that bring rains or carry storms.

In Postclassic times, Kukulkan was at the center of a priesthood and oracles (like those at Mayapan) and became one of the most “universal” Maya gods, respected across many sites.

Kukulkan’s influence can be seen in the political and ceremonial life of the Postclassic Maya. Cities like Chichén Itzá and Mayapán dedicated major temples to him; worship of Kukulkan helped unite people, as he was a deity that transcended local city-gods and had pan-Maya appeal. This feathered serpent was invoked in royal ceremonies – rulers liked to trace connections to Kukulkan to bolster their authority, claiming to uphold the law and order that Kukulkan established.

For ordinary people, Kukulkan represented the promise of prosperity and knowledge. Farmers could see him in the timely wind that brought rain clouds; craftsmen and scribes might honor him when practicing their arts, since those arts were his gift. The equinox festival, when the shadow-serpent slithers down the pyramid, would draw crowds a time when the populace witnessed their god manifest in nature and architecture, renewing the covenant that planting season was to begin with divine favor.

Kukulkan was also believed to be a protector: stories tell that he ruled wisely and then departed with a promise to return. This gave hope in times of hardship that the Plumed Serpent’s return would restore order. In daily moral life, Kukulkan’s example as a lawgiver meant that codes of conduct and community laws were seen as sanctioned by the gods. Even after the Spanish conquest, the concept of a returning great lord persisted (some saw Cortés as a possible fulfillment), showing how deeply Kukulkan’s myth influenced the Maya mindset.

In essence, Kukulkan touched the Maya world by providing the foundations of their society and the reassurance that the cosmos was orderly and benevolent, as long as his teachings were honored.

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It is extremely bizarre, and I can't say I understand why. Maybe SMT no Subete's profile can lend a little insight into how early 90s Atlus perceived this god and why he looks the way he does:

太陽の民マヤ族の火神。 太陽神の化身のひとつ で、赤い顔のイグアナで表現される。 マヤの最 高神、 形を与えられない聖なる存在フナグ・ク の息子である。 太陽の中の炎の力の神格化であ ある。 アグニ神と同じ働きをする The fire god of the Maya people, the people of the sun. He is one of the incarnations of the sun god and is represented as a red-faced iguana. He is the son of Hunab Ku, the supreme god of the Maya, a sacred being who cannot be given a form. He is the deification of the power of fire within the sun. He performs the same function as the god Agni.

Ummmmmmm... at least this gives a little insight into the equally-bizarre SMT2 design. This profile all smells like bullshit/nonsense to me, though. SMT1's design honestly looks like something that would have been in MT1 or MT2.

Wikipeda's page gives a clue on what's the likely culprit behind it all: outdated, inaccurate 20th century scholarship. You know, the usual when it comes to SMT's more unorthodox takes. So this didn't answer the skull-centipede question, but at least it solved the fire-lizard one!

Itzamná - Itzamna

also i love this big red dork hiii

Apollo had never been friends with a god so young, barely five centuries old yet they clicked instantly. He had actually been looking forward to going to their annual sun-god meetings now.

Apollo could feel it all the way from Greece. The sudden cold that went just as fast as it came, like someone pouring ice water on him then immediately launching him into a hot spring.

He felt sick. Him, the god of healing, felt physically ill. Something that was once a part of him ripped away, and now his body was desperately trying to seal the hole left behind.

Now he's sitting at their grand round table, encrusted with gold and stained with festive colors.

One chair empty.

Huitzilopochtli.

He was a young god. He barely achieved a physical form about five centuries ago but he'd been around for a little longer than that. Long enough to help the Aztecs establish Tenochtitlan.

Apollo let out a sigh as he put his head on the always warm wood table. He tried to keep his eyes on the table as Ra droned on about why they were summoned so suddenly.

As if they already didn't know. As if they didn't feel that gaping hole in their chests as one of their own is ripped away from them.

His eyes wandered onto Itzamná's sullen figure.

The Mayan was dressed in casual attire. Well as casual as you can dress when you just helped your country gain independence. Four years after the war and his skin still didn't seem as brilliant and his eyes long lost their luster.

Fear gripped his throat as Apollo came to sudden realization. If Huitzilopochtli could fade, did fade, all because of some overzealous Spanish conquistadors that didn't know what touching what wasn't yours was, then so could Itzamná.

There were so little Mayan people now, so little that believed in him.

His head was off the table and distantly he could hear Ra dismiss all of them and that they'd hold the proper funeral services soon.

Gods, a funeral.

Apollo didn't wait for the other, more older gods to say anything, nor did he stop to wave off their concerned gazes. He rushed to Itzamná side and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry"