If you missed my article of Terra, you can find it here.
Chaac also spelled Chac or Chaack, is a major Mayan god. He governs rain and lightning. Brother to Kinich Ahau, the Sun God. He is used in art more than any other Mayan god. Chaac is the total of four other Gods. They are each a cardinal direction and color. Sac Xib Chac is North and white. Chac Xib Chac is East and red. Kan Xib Chac is South and yellow. Finally, Ek Xib Chac is West and black. When all four are together, they make up Chaac.
His symbols are corn and an ax, often depicted as a jade ax. He is often depicted with large eyes, fangs, a long tongue, and a long hooked nose that looks much like an elephant’s trunk. He used his ax to hit the clouds and cause rain to fall and lightning to strike.
Sacrifices are made to Chaac for rain. Some sacrifices are children. The longer a drought went on, the more children that would be sacrificed. Rather than living in the sky like other Gods like Zeus, Chaac lives within the Earth where the waters of creation are. He brought maize to the Mayan people when with his ax he hit the stone. Instead of calling water forth, he found corn. He gave the seeds to his people so they could be fed.
Chaac has power over whether the people of that region eat or not. Since he calls forth the rain, and even what kind of rain comes, he very much has sway over the crops. Too little rain and nothing grows, everything withers and dies. Too much heavy rain and the water flows away because it doesn’t sink into the ground. Rainmakers in Mayan society were said to have a relationship with Chaac and were needed to help with farming decisions.
Much of the Mayan culture has been lost to us so I apologize for not much information on Chaac. I hope you enjoyed learning about him. I certainly enjoy learning. Are there any of the Gods or Goddesses or even heroes and villains of Smite that you want to read about? Let me know in the comments below. Until next week…
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