(Please read from the start)
“Early colonial reports
The early colonial sources variously connect, and sometimes identify, Itzamna with Hunab Ku (an invisible high god), Kinich Ahau (the sun deity), and Yaxcocahmut (a bird of omen).
The most reliable source on Itzamna, Diego de Landa, mentions him several times in the framework of his description of the ritual year. In the month of Uo, a ritual aspersion of the books took place under invocation of Kinich Ahau Itzamna, "the first priest". In the month of Zip, Itzamna was invoked as one of the gods of medicine, and in the month of Mac, he was venerated by the very old on a par with the Chaacs, the rain deities. In the cycle of four years, one year was under the patronage of Itzamna.
Itzamna was an active creator god, as is shown by the following. Confirming Landa's description of the book ritual above, (Hun-)Itzamna is stated by Diego López de Cogolludo to have invented the priestly art of writing. According to this same author, Itzamna (now written Zamna) had been a sort of priest who divided the land of Yucatán and assigned names to all of its features. More generally, Itzamna was the creator of humankind, and also the father of Bacab (Francisco Hernández), a fourfold deity of the interior of the earth. In an alternative tradition, Itzamna begot thirteen sons with Ixchel, two of whom created the earth and humankind (Las Casas).”
>> From what I posted before about the Mayans, the high priest was also the ruler or king of the city-state; so it shouldn’t surprise anons that their deity also has this dual function.
“High priest and rule
God D is sometimes dressed as a high priest, and hieroglyphically identified as the god of rulership. Speaking generally, Classic iconography confirms god D's identity as an upper god, seated on his celestial throne while governing, among other things, the affairs of agriculture and the hunt.”
“Crust of the Earth: Caiman
On two of the Dresden Codex's very first pages, god D is shown within the maw of a caiman representing the earth; a case has been made for identifying the caiman as the deity's transformation (Thompson, Taube).”
>> Even if the “reptile” significance of the name is “disputed” Itzamna is still linked to them via the Caiman.
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