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RAISING THE SKY: THE MAYA CREATION MYTH AND THE MILKY WAY

"How should it be sown, how should it dawn?" . . . And then the Earth arose because of them, it was simply their word that brought it forth. For the forming of the Earth they said "Earth." It arose suddenly, just like a cloud, like a mist, now forming, unfolding. . . . Such was the formation of the Earth when it was brought forth by the Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth, as they are called. . . The Sky was set apart, and the Earth was set apart in the midst of the waters. (Popol Vuh)

Creation of the Earth-Sky is the central motif of Maya myth and religion.

The creation of the present world, the world of humankind, was only one act in an eternal cycle of birth, death, and renewal. The cycles of the seasons and the stars in their courses are reflections of this cosmic dance. The events of Creation are writ in the sky.



The World Tree and the Milky Way..
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[When the world was created] a pillar of the sky was set up . . . that was the white tree of abundance in the north. Then the black tree of abundance was set up [in the west]. . . . Then the yellow tree of abundance was set up [in the south]. Then the [great] green [ceiba] tree of abundance was set up in the center [of the world]. (Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel)

I realized that every major image from Maya cosmic symbolism was probably a map of the sky. . . . [The] patterns in the Milky Way and the constellations were directly related to the Maya vision of Creation. (Linda Schele in Freidel, Schele and Parker, Maya Cosmos)



The World Tree is the most pervasive Mesoamerican symbol of the creation and ordering of the world. It is the axis of the Earth-Sky. Its roots lie in Xibalba, the Underworld; Its top reaches into the heavens. In the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel, it is the Yax Imix Che, (first/green ceiba tree), "raised in the middle of the world." In the Temple of the Cross at Palenque, it is the Wakah Chan, the "raised up sky." Through the centre of the "cross" runs a serpent bar, representing the ecliptic. At its top is a great bird, Itzam-Yeh, high in the heavens. At its foot is a water monster, his mouth the entrance to the Underworld.

Temple of the Cross

Linda Schele discovered that the World Tree is a literal depiction of the heavens as well as an abstract symbol. Her investigations, vividly recounted in Maya Cosmos, led her to the conclusion that the Milky Way is the World Tree. The Maya long count was initiated on or about August 13 in 3114 BC, the date of Creation. At dawn in mid-August, the Milky Way stands erect, running through the zenith from north to south. It becomes the axis of the heavens, the raised up sky.

But the connection between Creation and the Milky Way does not end here. Schele discovered that the changing aspect of the Milky Way on the night of August 13 every year reflects the events recorded in Maya accounts of Creation.


Maya Creation mythology: The sources. The fullest surviving account of Creation is found in the post-Conquest Popol Vuh of the Quiche people of Guatemala. The oldest evidence is from monuments at Izapa and other pre-Classical sites (400 BC- 200 AD). Many of the incidents recounted in the Popol Vuh parallel scenes on painted ceramics of the Classical period (200-900 AD). The Temple of the Cross at Palenque and other Classical inscriptions report the events of Creation, though in a condensed, sometimes cryptic manner.

These sources do not always agree in detail. Nevertheless, they show a remarkable continuity in the Maya conception of the cosmos over two millennia of history.

Izapa World Tree (Stela 25).
The crocodile represents the Earth,
its hills symbolized by the rough skin
of the reptile, a characteristic shared
with the bark of the ceiba tree.