Olmec religion: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:La Venta Stele 19.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Monument 19, from [[La Venta]], the earliest known representation of a feathered serpent in Mesoamerica.<br><small>© George & Audrey DeLange, used with permission.</small>]]The |
[[Image:La Venta Stele 19.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Monument 19, from [[La Venta]], the earliest known representation of a feathered serpent in Mesoamerica.<br><small>© George & Audrey DeLange, used with permission.</small>]]The bitch |
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The Olmec civilization developed on present-day Mexico's southern Gulf Coast in the centuries before 1200 [[Common era|BCE]]. The culture lasted until roughly 400 BCE, at which time their center of [[La Venta]] lay abandoned. The Olmec culture is often considered a "mother culture" to later Mesoamerican cultures. |
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There is no surviving direct account of Olmec religious belief, unlike the [[Maya civilization|Maya]], with their [[Popul Vuh]], or the Aztecs, with their many [[Aztec codices|codices]] and [[conquistador]] accounts. |
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Archaeologists, therefore, have had to rely on other techniques to reconstruct Olmec beliefs, most prominently: |
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*Typological analysis of Olmec artifacts. |
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*Comparison to later, better documented pre-Columbian cultures. |
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Using these techniques, researchers have discerned several separate deities or supernaturals. These representations include a ''feathered serpent'', a ''man of crops'' with corn growing out of his head, and a ''rain spirit'' in the guise of a dwarf or child. |
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== Feathered Serpent == |
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[[Image:Juxtlahuaca Serpent (M Lachniet).jpg|thumb|right|300px|An Olmec-style feathered serpent painted onto the walls of the [[Juxtlahuaca|Juxtlahuaca cave]].]] |
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The mythological figure of the '''feathered or plumed serpent''' depicted throughout [[North America]] and [[Mesoamerica]] probably originated in Olmec times. In later traditions the Quetzal Feathered Serpent deity was known as the inventor of books and the calendar, the giver of [[maize]] corn to mankind, and sometime as a symbol of death and resurrection, often associated with [[Venus (planet)|the planet Venus]]. The Maya knew him as [[Kukulkán]]; the Quiché as [[Gukumatz]]. The Toltecs portrayed the plumed serpent as [[Quetzalcoatl]], the rival of [[Tezcatlipoca]]. Art and iconography clearly demonstrate the importance of the Feathered Serpent Deity in [[Mesoamerican chronology|Classic era]] as well as Olmec art. |
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== Man of Crops == |
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'''The Man of Crops''' is a fertility figure in Mesoamerican mythology. Among the Olmec, gods are often depicted with a distinct cleft on the forehead, perhaps identifying this characteristic as divine. A carved [[celt (tool)|celt]] from Veracruz shows a representation of God II, or the [[Maize God]], growing corn from his cleft, and also shows this god with the snarling face associated with the jaguar (Coe 1972:3). |
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The Man of Crops was a human man or boy who chose to give his life so that his people might grow food. The heroic Man of Crops is sometimes mentored or assisted by a god figure from the other world. The myths of the [[Popoluca]] people of [[Veracruz]] make him a tribal hero, sometimes called Homshuk, whose death gives food to all mankind. This hero names himself as "he who sprouts at the knees." In [[Aztec]], [[Tepecano]], and [[Tarascan]] versions, he is buried and corn or tobacco grows from his grave. A myth of the Christianized [[Quiché]] states that, during and following his crucifixion, corn and other crops spilled from the body of [[Jesus]]. |
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== Rain Spirit == |
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The Olmec image of the '''rain spirit''' appears frequently in the mythology of succeeding cultures. Invariably the rain spirit is male, though he may have a wife who shares authority over the waters. Often he is perceived as a child or a young man, sometimes as a dwarf. He may also be portrayed as a powerful rain god, with many helpers. |
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In Aztec and Maya traditions, the rain lord is a master spirit, attended by several helpers. His name in the Aztec language is [[Tlaloc]], and his helpers are "tlaloque." The Maya of the Yucatán recognize [[Chaac]] and the "chacs." In the [[Guatemala]]n area, these spirits are often associated with gods of thunder and lightning as well as with rain. The rain spirits are known as [[Mam language|Mam]] and the "mams" among the [[Mopan]] of [[Belize]]. In some traditions, as with the [[Pipil]] of El Salvador, the figure of the master is missing, and the myths focus on "rain children," or "rain boys." Modern [[Nahua]] consider these numerous spirits to be dwarfs, or "little people." In the state of [[Chiapas]], the [[Zoque]] people report that the rain spirits are very old but look like boys. |
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[[Image:Olmecfigurine.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Were-jaguar votive axe, green [[jadeite]], from the [[British Museum]]. Note the downturned mouth and the cleft head.]] |
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== Jaguar == |
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:''Main article: [[Jaguars in Mesoamerican culture]]'' |
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The Olmec carved distinctive human figures in stone, some of monumental size. Smaller items were carved from fine [[jade]] and [[jadeite]], including many human figures with strong jaguar features. As the [[jaguar]] was an indigenous predator in the area, jaguar figures may visually represent an Olmec myth about the interaction of the jaguar or a jaguar spirit with human beings. Despite the large number of what are thought to be jaguar or were-jaguar images, it is not known whether the Olmec actually considered the jaguar or [[Olmec were-jaguar|were-jaguar]] as a god or deity (as the Egyptians did with [[Anubis]], for example). |
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The image of the jaguar is pervasive in later [[Maya script|Maya inscriptions]] and the word [[B'alam]], "jaguar", is an element in the names of mythical heroes and some Maya rulers. |
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== References == |
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* Bierhorst, John. ''The Mythology of Mexico and Central America'', William Morrow (1990). ISBN 0-688-11280-3. |
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* Coe, M.D. "''Olmec Jaguars and Olmec Kings''." In E.P. Benson (ed), ''The Cult of the Feline''. Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks (1972): pp. 1-12. |
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* Coe, M.D. ''Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs''. London: Thames and Hudson (2002): pp. 64, 75-76. |
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* Luckert, Karl W. ''Olmec Religion: A Key to Middle America and Beyond.'' University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, (1976). ISBN 0-8061-1298-0. |
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[[Category:Native American mythology]] |
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[[Category:Mesoamerican mythology and religion]] |
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[[es:Mitología olmeca]] |
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[[pt:Mitologia olmeca]] |
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Revision as of 21:30, 16 October 2008
© George & Audrey DeLange, used with permission.
The bitch