ITZAMN

(Mayan: Iguana House), principal pre-Columbian Mayan deity. The ruler of heaven, day, and night, he frequently appeared as four gods called Itzamns, who encased the world. Like some of the other Mesoamerican deities, the Itzamns were associated with the points of the compass and their colours (east, red; north, white; west, black; and south, yellow). Itzamn was sometimes identified with the remote creator deity Hunab Ku and occasionally with Kinich Ahau, the sun-god. The moon goddess Ixchel, patroness of womanly crafts, was possibly a female manifestation of the god. Itzamn was also a culture hero who gave humankind writing and the calendar and was patron deity of medicine. See also Bacab.