Images of these goddesses appear in both the Madrid and Dresden Codices, screen-fold books full of hieroglyphs and illustrations painted by the Postclassic Maya, probably in the 15th-17th centuries. Ix Chel appears as a healer wearing the coiled snake headdress in both young and old goddess forms. The Maya Codices: The Precious Remaining History of an Eradicated CivilizationĬoiled Snake Headdresses in Ancient Codices.13th Century Maya Codex, Long Shrouded in Controversy, Proves Genuine.Weaving the World of Ancient Mayan Women.Snakes are connected with water and the rainy season, a time of returning fertility as soils become ready for planting. The coiled snake headdress is worn by Ix Chel in her moon goddess aspect, associated with women's menstrual cycles and resultant fertility. Among a group of contemporary Maya people living near Lake Atitlan in Guatemala the womb is visualized as a coiled snake. The moon goddess frequently pours water from a jar, symbolic of women's fecundity and the watery nature of pregnancy and childbirth. In their primal form, snakes represent the surge of life force that brings all things on earth into manifestation. One who has mastered snake energy controls forces of creation and destruction and understands the secrets of existence. Snakes are a powerful symbol among the Maya. Significance of the Coiled Snake Headdress The coiled snake headdress is a significant artifact connected with Maya women, both ancient and modern. Images of ancient Maya women wearing this distinctive headdress have been found carved on stone monuments, painted on ceramics and murals, and drawn in screen-fold bark paper books called codices. Similar headdresses are worn today by Maya women who practice healing and midwifery in the tradition of the goddess Ix Chel.Įvery village has its curendera, a medicine woman who uses plant-based remedies for a wide variety of conditions, ranging from respiratory and intestinal ailments to spiritually-caused illnesses such as mal ojo or evil eye. For all these practitioners of Ix Chel medicine, the coiled serpent holds special significance.
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