Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America

by Kay Almere Read, Jason J. Gonzalez

Overview

An excellent resource, Handbook of Mesoamerican Mythology introduces readers to the mythology of Mexico and Central America. Its chief focus is on Mexican Highland and Maya areas, as they were, and are, of utmost importance to Mesoamerican history.
An extensive and edifying introduction defines the nature of myth, the Mesoamericans as a people, and the cultural worldview that informed Mesoamerican mythology. The Handbook presents historical and mythological timelines, with each time period and cultural group fully defined. Also featured is a quick geographical and historical survey of Mesoamerica from the Paleoindian Era to the present, as well as a discussion of some of the challenges and possibilities that structure Mesoamerican studies. Moreover, an extensive reference list and a glossary of cultural and mythological terms are included, and pronunciation guides are given throughout. With an annotated bibliography that ranges from film to websites, fiction to poetry, and from introductory to scholarly works, the book is an all-embracing portal to its subject.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195149098
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/17/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	354
Sales rank:	900,897
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 6.40(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Kay Almere Read is Associate Professor of Comparative Religion at DePaul University and is the author of Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos. Jason J. González is a graduate student in anthropology, specializing in Maya archaeology, at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He has extensive field-experience on archaeological projects in Mesoamerica and the United States, as well as on the Pacific islands of Micronesia.

Table of Contents

	Preface	xi
1	Introduction	1
	Myths and the Real World	4
	The Mesoamerican Mythmakers	7
	Who are the Mesoamericans?	7
	How Do We Know about Mesoamericans?	12
	The Mythmakers' Worldviews	18
	Cosmic Topography	20
	Power-filled Inhabitants	24
	Calendrically Determined Transformation	26
	Sacrifice	29
	Mesoamerican Cultural History	32
1.	The Paleo-Indian (ca. 25,000 B.C.-7000 B.C.)	36
2.	The Archaic (ca. 7000-2000 B.C.)	37
3.	The Preclassic Period (ca. 2000 B.C.-A.D. 250)	38
4.	The Classic Period (ca. A.D. 250-900/1000)	45
5.	The Postclassic Period (ca. A.D. 900/1000-1521)	52
6.	The Spanish Conquest and Colonization of Mesoamerica (1521-1808)	60
7.	Independence to the Present (1808-2000)	67
	Notes	76
2	Mythic Timelines	79
	Two Mythic Histories: K'iche' and Nahua	81
	K'iche' Maya History	81
	Nahua History	90
	Mythological Time	114
	Time's Purpose	115
	Time's Workings	117
	Notes	123
3	Deities, Themes, and Concepts	127
	Acamapichtli, Lord	127
	Ahuitzotl, Lord	128
	Ajitz C'oxol	130
	Bacabs	130
	Bats	132
	Blood Woman	134
	Calendar Deities	135
	Canek	137
	Chac and the Chacs	139
	Chalchiuhtlicue	140
	Christ	143
	Cihuacoatl	147
	Cizin	149
	Coatlicue	150
	Cortes, Fernando (Hernan)	152
	Coyolxauhqui	154
	Cuauhtemoc, Lord	156
	Dead, Day of the	158
	Deer	161
	Devil	164
	Dogs	170
	Earth, Agricultural, and Hunting Deities	173
	Feathered Serpents	180
	Fifth Sun	183
	God L	184
	Guadalupe, Virgin of	185
	Gukumatz	190
	Hero Twins (Hunahpu and Xbalanque)	191
	Huitzilopochtli	193
	Hunab Ku	195
	Itzamna	196
	Ix Chel	198
	Jurakan	200
	Kinich Ahau	200
	Kukulcan	201
	La Llorona	202
	Malinche	204
	Moon	207
	Motecuhzoma I (Ilhuicamina), Lord	211
	Motecuhzoma II (Xocoyotzin), Lord	213
	Nahual (Nagual)	215
	1-Death (Hun Came) and 7-Death (Vucub Came)	217
	Opossums	218
	Pacal	221
	Quetzalcoatl	223
	Rain and Water Deities	228
	Saints	232
	Sky Deities and Beings	238
	Sun	246
	Tezcatlipoca	250
	Tizoc, Lord	254
	Tlacaellel	255
	Tlaloc and the Tlaloques	256
	Underworld and Caves, Deities of the	258
	Yum Kaax (Diving God)	265
4	Annotated Print and Nonprint Resources	267
	Books and Articles	267
	Videos	274
	Pre-Conquest Mexican and Mayan	274
	Post-Conquest-Contemporary Mexico	276
	Contemporary Central America	277
	Web Sites	278
	General Mesoamerica	278
	Maya	280
	Ancient and Contemporary Mexico	283
	Reference List	285
	Glossary	303
	Index	315
	About the Authors	337