Itzamnaaj

How to recognise Itzamnaaj

1. Aged faceLook for sunken cheeks and a toothless jaw, which signal great antiquity, and which some accounts read as a contented smile.
2. Curved noseA large, hooked "Roman" nose, typical of the old gods, marks him out in profile.
3. Squinting eyesHis eyes are large and squinting, part of the elder's look seen in both Classic and codex images.
4. Seated profileHe is shown seated in profile, calm and dignified, on a celestial throne in Classic art, and in the flat outlined line style of the Dresden and Madrid codices.
5. Bird formIn Classic art his avian side appears as the Principal Bird Deity, and rulers wore large headdresses of this bird to embody the old god's power.
6. Scribe's bookHe may be shown painting or as a scribe, with a folded bark-paper screenfold book that points to his patronage of writing and learning.
7. CompanionsHe appears with the Tonsured Maize God, whose aged form he can be seen as, and with Ix Chel (Chak Chel), his consort in many sources, an aged woman in the Dresden.

Names and titles

• The First PriestLanda records him as 'the first priest', invoked when the books were sprinkled in the month Uo
• Lord of the SkyAn upper god thought to dwell in the sky, seated on a celestial throne
• Patron of ScribesHe is shown painting or as a scribe, and was honoured as patron of writing and books
• The Old OneHis great age signals unimaginable antiquity, not weakness
• Waters on the BooksLanda describes a ritual sprinkling of the books in Uo under his invocation