What is the importance of the cosmological associations found in Maya prehistory, especially with regard to Quetzalcoatl? Some scholars believe the Maya focused primarily on the planet Venus, ignoring the majority of the other heavenly bodies, eventually developing such a detailed knowledge of its movements as to be fairly accurate about its position at all times. (Kelley, 1980:1) The importance of Maya astronomy and its cosmological associations are important because of Quetzalcoatl's association with Venus. We could infer that the signifigance of Venus and its association with Quetzalcoatl make the cosmology in the Mayan world, which at times is centered around Quetzalcoatl and Venus, worth studying.
In order to get at the roots of the cosmological questions, we must first lay out all the associations on the table. Quetzalcoatl is considered a paired deity, he is Xolotl's twin, and is the opposite or foil of the rain god Tlaloc (Chac in the Maya). According to Kelley, Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl are treated together because of the existence of an intermediate form of the gods, called Tlaloc-Quetzalcoatl, and the iconographic and other associations (in temples, etc.). (Kelley, 1980:11) Fernandez tells us that Xolotl and Quetzalcoatl are twins because of one being the morning star version of Venus and the other is the evening star version of Venus. Thus the "morning and evening symbols of Venus revealed a concept of totality, unity and completion:...the ollin, the force which made the sun move; the quincunce, the sign of the four cardinal points and the axis joining the sky and the underworld." (Fernandez, 1984:73)
Both astronomical and symbolic/religious aspects of Quetzalcoatl's cosmology exist which raise questions and discussion for us. From here we will look first at the symbolic religious aspect and second at the astronomical data as it pertains to Quetzalcoatl and his heavenly associations.
Some of these symbolic/religious aspects take the form of a Celestial Bird, a serpintine feathered bird which is the central player in the creation myth that Freidel et al argue was the unifying figure for the Classic Maya civilization. The temples upon which the Celestial Bird rests at Copan is one of the first Mountain-of-Creation symbols that celebrate many other religious/ritual events. (Freidel et al., 1993:149, 155) According to Freidel et al., the connection of the Celestial Bird with skeletal Venus imagery and the central mountain monster (analgous to the monster in the above world view) would suggest a distinct relationship to Quetzalcoatl and his powers. Vision serpents can also be seen in this imagery at Chichen Itza, as mentioned elsewhere, and strengthens the links to Quetzalcoatl even more.
The Venus God, the cosmological identity of Quetzalcoatl, also makes ritual appearances at ballcourts. Unlike normal ballcourts, however, these are false ones. It would seem that the false ballcourt, with the Venus God emerging from a long, twisted snake was the place of many sacrifices committed for the nobility and the gods. (Freidel et al., 1993:154) Furthermore, Schele and others have shown that an enormous amount of Mayan events in general were organized around the stations of Venus, and at Copan specifically they were the most regular and predictable. Imagery on the stairs and stelae celebrate the Venus God, i.e. Quetzalcoatl, and suggests that the deity was the "way" for the kings and other rulers. (Schele and Fash, 1991; Schele and Larios, 1991)
At Teotihuacan, there is also evidence for similar Quetzalcoatl Cosmological imagery. This time, Freidel et al have identified an emblem which appears on both the Tikal and Teotihuacan banners. This emblem represents the god Tlaloc and as the authors state, he is part of the Waxaklahun-Ubah-Kan which is the Venus God. (Freidel et al., 1993:299-300) He is also a serpent creature (with wings, legs, and a tail) whose image is carried on feathered standards which are used by nobility going into battle or ritual. Quetzalcoatl becomes mixed up in Waxaklahun-Ubah-Kan as well as being the Venus God who is related to Tlaloc in their duality.
With regard to the astronomical technicalities, the Mayans were quite adept in suiting their religious ideology to the movements of the heavens. Specifically with Quetzalcoatl and Venus there is a strong association towards the powerful and cosmological. Venus has, in particular, a heliacal rising and a western elongation which no doubt figured prominently in their beliefs. According to Aveni, the heliacal rising is the first annual predawn appearance of Venus and was likely the most important single event in Maya astronomy. (Aveni, 1980: 85) At this point, Venus is also the brightest that it will be in the sky as it passes the closest it gets to Earth. It is only outshined by the Sun and Moon in this stage. At the greatest western elongation it is in the sky for the longest period of time before being lost in the suns glare.
There is also the superior conjunction and the greatest eastern conjunction which occur as Venus masquerades as the Evening Star. The brightness is at a minimum due to its distance away from Earth, but it is still several orders of magnitude brighter than other stars in the sky. At the greatest eastern conjuction Venus is in the sky for the longest period of time again as the Evening Star. Aveni states that the Mayans and later Central Mexicans divided the motion of Venus into four intervals with an eight day disappearance period such as the one we give it today. Of note is the bit of data in which the Maya assigned unequal values for the intervals between the appearance of the Morning Star versus Evening Star. Aveni asserts this to be due to ritualistic influences overriding their infallible timekeeping. (Aveni, 1980: 86)
Ritualisticly, these intervals and conjunctions represented certain events in the life of the deities, in this case Quetzalcoatl. For instance, they believed that the heliacal rising brought certain perils like pestilence, death, and destruction to the land. (Aveni, 1980: 186) The rays also acted with deference to the people they brought peril to, it would strike people of different classes in different ways while some escaped its harm by being in a better class. Also, when the eight day disappearance period existed was also the death of Quetzalcoatl. He would first lie in the underworld for four days, and then be bones for four days, and then reappear as the morning star on the heliacal rising. At this time Quetzalcoatl then "ascended the throne as god." (Aveni, 1980: 187)
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