Gukumatz

Gukumatz was a Culture Hero who taught the Toltec s, and later the Maya, the arts of civilization, including codes of Law , Agriculture , Fishing and Medicine . He came from an ocean, and eventually returned to it. According to Mayan legend, Gukumatz will return to the Earth during the End Times . He also represents the forces of good and evil, similar to the Yin-yang paradigm of Oriental religions.

Gukumatz was a god of the four elements of Fire , Earth , Air and Water , and each element was associated with a divine animal or plant:

Air -- Vulture

Earth -- Maize

Fire -- Lizard

Water -- Fish

In Mayan writing and sculpture, Gukumatz can be represented by at least six symbolic images. First, he is found as the plumed serpent. He can also be represented as an Eagle , a Jaguar , a pool of blood, a Conch Shell or Snail , and finally as a Flute made of bones.

OTHER NAMES

Gucumatz

Gugumatz

Kucumatz

Kukulcan

Kulkulcan

Kukumatz

Quetzalcoatl ( Aztec )

MODERN INFLUENCES

In the episode How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth Captain Kirk and crew run into a being who claims to be Kukulkan the ancient god of the Mayan and Aztec peoples of Earth. He states he is actually a very long-lived benevolent entity who wants the humans to worship him just as the Mayans and Aztecs did centuries ago.

In Final Fantasy X-2 , Gucumatz is a Basilisk -like enemy.

REFERENCES

Preuss, Mary H. "''Gods of the , Kucumatz , Tojil , and Jurakan ''." Labyrinthos , Culver City, California, 1988.

and The Glories Of Gods And Kings ''." Simon And Schuster , New York, 1985.

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Gukumatz