Hun Nal Yeh

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Corn god (classical period)

Hun Nal Yeh or Hunaal-Yeh , Jun Ye Nal also Naal or Ah Mun , (God E; German : One corn cobs or first corn sprout ) was in the mythology of the Maya maize god.

Within the "triad of gods" he is the firstborn and is associated with Chaac , the other two are Kinich Ahau and K'awiil . Together they are the children of the Prime Creator Couple, born just a few days in a row. Accordingly, the corn god occupies a prominent place within the pantheon . He was depicted as a youth whose headdress stylized a corn cob.

The corn god was patron of the fourth day (Kan) in the Mayan calendar . Obviously, it was associated with the color yellow and the south. He raised the sky by lifting it up and supporting it by the world tree Wacah Chan in the center of the universe. This central theme has been extensively handed down from Stele C in Quiriguá , inscriptions in Palenque and a vessel from Tikal . The people of current creation were made of corn. Since maize played an important role not only as a creator god, but also as the main source of food for the Maya, its myth enjoyed further expansion. With the sowing of the maize kernel, the maize god dies symbolically and descends to Xibalba , but is reborn as a germinating seedling .

The veneration was extensive and continuous, it was practiced until the conquista . In numerous illustrations and inscriptions, rulers could be represented as the embodiment of the young corn god who brought fertility and wealth. For example: K'inich Janaab Pakal in Palenque or Yax Pasaj in Copán .

Often, first by Sylvanus Morley , Yum Kaax, the lord of the woods , a vegetation god, is interpreted as one of the manifestations of the corn god. This is controversial and is largely rejected in today's Maya research.

  • Corn god on classic ceramics

  • Head of the corn god in Copán, Temple 22, Late Classical period around the year 715

  • The corn god (without mask) sitting in front of an elevator of musicians and dancers in Bonampak , mural painting, late classical period around the year 790

  • Dancing corn god on late classical ceramics

  • Corn god on late classical ceramics

  • Corn god on late classical ceramics

  • Corn god (left) with Itzamná (right) in Codex Dresdensis

literature

  • Nikolai Grube : Maya, god kings in the rainforest. Potsdam 2012, pp. 155, 239 (fig.), 256, 258, 264 (fig.), 270–271, 283–286 (creation myth, fig.), 428 (fig.) And 431 f.
  • David M. Jones and Brain L. Molyneaux: Mythology of the New World: An Encyclopedia of Myths in North, Meso and South America , Reichelsheim 2002, p. 92

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paul Schellhas : The gods of the Maya manuscripts: A mythological cultural image from ancient America , Dresden 1897.