The World (mayan) was made by the Creator (Ma’un =Earthmaker; Wakanda = God, so great and ancient, beyond understanding). The World (mayan) was an island, earth heaped on the back of a great Turtle (ketan), surrounded by water, the Ocean (jedan). Beyond the Ocean was the crack between here and the World Above, which the Dead had to cross in their journey to the Milky Way, the Road of the Dead (nawo china) and the Spirit Villages (wanaxi china) there in Summerland (mansje manyegun).
Also in the Above world were the Sun and the Moon (both called Bi, the light), traveling from east to west. In the west was the Thunder (chexita; wakanta). Here too was the Morning Star (heloda biaxewe).
At the four cardinal directions, were the Helpers of the Creator:
East = Pigeon Chief (Ruche Wanikihi)
South = Bear Chief (Mahto Wanikihi)
West = Wolf Chief (Sunta Wanikihi)
North = Buffalo Chief (Che Wanikihi)
The World was conceived as being a Great Lodge, dome-shaped as were the bark lodges, with the Lights traveling across the firmament, and the crack of the world the edge. In the center of the Lodge was a Mystery. Like the lodges we lived in, the World also had a central Pole (lexiskagre) from which the kettle hung. Traveling the central Pole in a mysterious manner gave access to both the Above Worlds and the Below Worlds.
In the below World (mayan kuhanda) was the Underwater Panther (Ischexi).
Mayan: The World. Conceptualization of the Ioway universe from legends. The universe was viewed as a macrocosm of the lodge, with the Four Protectors under the Creator, and other Powers both good and evil. Drawing by author, 1995
Conceptualization of the symbolic space of the Ioway lodge. The lodge (chakiruthan: lodge-tied-together) was viewed as a microcosm of the universe, with social, religious, and socio-religious aspects. Drawing by the author, 1995
Models of the Universe: The Chakiruthan as a Microcosm
