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Hunab Ku

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Hunab Ku is the name of a supposed Maya deity, described as "the supreme god" whose name appears in only two colonial sources: the Motul Dictionary and the Chilam Balam of Chumayel. The fact that the deity is described only in a few late sources, both of which are heavily influenced by Christianity has caused some scholars to suspect that the deity was not an actual Maya deity but was rather invented by Franciscan friars to ease the transition from the traditional polytheist Maya religion to strict Christian monotheism. References to Hunab Ku have figured prominently in New Age Mayanism such as that of José Argüelles.

Hunab Ku as God

The earliest known reference to the term "Hunab Ku" (which translates as "Sole God" or "Only God") appears in the 16th century Diccionario de Motul, where "Hunab-ku" is identified as "the only living and true god, also the greatest of the gods of the people of Yucatan. He had no form because they said that he could not be represented as he was incorporeal".[1][2] The term also appears in the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel,[3] written after the Spanish Conquest, but is unknown in any pre-Conquest inscriptions in Maya writing. Hunab Ku was closely associated with an indigenous creator god, Itzamna, in an effort to make use of religious syncretism.[4] An assertion that Hunab Ku was the high god of the Mayas can be found in Sylvanus Morley's classic book The Ancient Maya (1946).[5] However, this interpretation is not widely accepted by Mayanist scholars today.

Hunab Ku in New Age Belief

New Age beliefs about Hunab Ku derive from the work of Mexican anthropologist Domingo Martínez Parédez ( 1904–1984 ), who first presented his interpretation of the concept in 1953[6] and expanded upon his ideas in a subsequent book, Hunab Kú: Síntesis del pensamiento filosófico maya (1964).[7] Martínez interpreted Hunab Ku as evidence for Maya monotheism and suggested that it was represented by the symbols of a square within a circle or a circle within a square, the square representing measurement and the circle representing motion. Martínez related Hunab Ku to concepts and symbols in Freemasonry, particularly the idea of a Great Architect of the Universe and the Masonic square and compass. It was also Martínez who first associated Hunab Ku with the expression "In Lak'ech," which he translated as "Eres mi otro yo." (In English, this means "You are my other I.")[8] Martínez' ideas were popularized by Hunbatz Men (a pseudonym for César Mena Toto)[9] and José Argüelles.[10]

Hunab Ku as Symbol

Argüelles' modification of the Hunab Ku symbol.

After being introduced to the concept by Martínez, Argüelles popularized Hunab Ku in his 1987 book The Mayan Factor.[11] However, instead of Martínez' symbol, what Argüelles asserted was the "Hunab Ku" symbol was originally a rectangular symbol used by the Aztecs as a ritual cloak design, known as the Mantle of Lip Plugs (or, arguably, mantle of spider water). The symbol survives today as a rug design being sold in central Mexico, but was associated with the Milky Way and the god Hunab Ku by Argüelles, who modified the symbol to look more like a circular motif evoking a yin and yang symbol as well as a spiral galaxy. It has become associated with Mayanism.

The earliest known appearance of the symbol that inspired Argüelles is in the 16th century Codex Magliabechiano, an Aztec (not Maya) document that is also known for graphic depictions of heart sacrifice drawn by indigenous artists. Facsimiles of this codex were published in 1903 and 1982.[12][13]

Despite the assertions of Martínez and Argüelles, there are no known symbols of "Hunab Ku" that have been documented for the ancient Maya.

Notes

  1. ^ Roys 1967: 167
  2. ^ Motul 1929: 404
  3. ^ Roys 1967
  4. ^ Roys 1967: 168
  5. ^ Morley 1946
  6. ^ Martínez 1953
  7. ^ Martínez 1964
  8. ^ Martínez 1964: 26-27
  9. ^ Men 1989
  10. ^ Argüelles
  11. ^ Argüelles 1987
  12. ^ Nuttall 1903
  13. ^ Boone and Nuttall 1982

References

  • Argüelles, José (1987) The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology. Bear & Company, Santa Fe.
  • Boone, Elizabeth H. and Zelia Nuttall, eds. (1982) The Book of the Life of the Ancient Mexicans, Containing an Account of Their Rites and Superstitions: An Anonymous Hispano-Mexican Manuscript Preserved at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence, Italy. Reprint of 1903 edition with additional commentary. University of California Press, Berkeley.
  • Martínez Parédez, Domingo (1953) "Hunab Kú: Síntesis del pensamiento filosófico maya." Filosofía y letras; revista de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras 51-52 (julio-diciembre): 265-275.
  • Martínez Parédez, Domingo (1964) Hunab Kú: Síntesis del pensamiento filosófico maya. Editorial Orion, Mexico City.
  • Men, Hunbatz (1989) Secrets of Maya Science/Religion. Bear & Company, Santa Fe.
  • Morley, Sylvanus (1946) The Ancient Maya. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto.
  • Motul, Diccionario de (1929) Diccionario de Motul, Maya Español atribuido a Fray Antonio de Ciudad Real y arte de lengua Maya por Fray Juan Coronel. Juan Martínez Hernández, Editor. Mérida. 16th century MS., missing. Copy, said to be 17th century, in John Carter Brown Library, Providence. Gates reproduction.
  • Nuttall, Zelia, ed. (1903) The Book of the Life of the Ancient Mexicans, Containing an Account of Their Rites and Superstitions: An Anonymous Hispano-Mexican Manuscript Preserved at the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence, Italy. University of California, Berkeley.
  • Roys, Ralph (1967) The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
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