Mam 'grandfather' or 'grandson', is a pan-Mayan kinship term as well as a term of respect referring to ancestors and deities. In Classic period inscriptions, the word ''mam'' appears to be used mainly to introduce the name of a grandfather, grandson, or ancestor, often a king. Ethnographically, ''Mam'' refers to several aged Maya deities: *(i) In Kekchi-speaking Belize, 'Mam' is a general designation for the mountain spirits; four Mams were specifically associated with the four corners of the earth (see

Bacab Bacab () is the generic Yucatec Maya name for the four prehispanic aged deities of the interior of the earth and its water deposits. The Bacabs have more recent counterparts in the lecherous, drunken old thunder deities of the Gulf Coast regions. ...

).Thompson, Maya History and Religion 1970. * (ii) In the Kekchi-speaking Alta Verapaz of Guatemala, one of the Mams is a greatly feared mountain spirit associated with earthquakes and inundations. An image of this Mam was apparently buried during the Holy Week. *(iii) Among the Huaxtec Mayas (

Huastec people The Huastec or Téenek (contraction of ''Te' Inik'', "people from here"; also known as Huaxtec, Wastek or Huastecos) are an indigenous people of Mexico, living in the La Huasteca region including the states of Hidalgo, Veracruz, San Luis Potos� ...

), the Mams or Mamlabs are earth deities; there are three or four of them, the most important one (Muxiʼ) being the violent originator of the rainy season. *(iv) Among the Tzutujil Mayas of Santiago Atitlán, the Mam

Maximón Maximón (), also called San Simón, is a Mayan deity and folk saint represented in various forms by the Maya peoples of several towns in the Guatemalan Highlands. Oral tradition of his creation and purpose in these communities is complex, diverse ...

is a deity of merchants and travellers and of witchcraft. Assimilated to Judas, he is especially venerated during the last days of the Holy Week, and discarded afterwards. *(v) In 16th-century Yucatán, 'Mam' was also the designation of a straw puppet set up and venerated during the five unlucky days ( Uayeb) at the end of the year (Cogolludo), when witchcraft was thought to be prevalent; at the conclusion of this period, the straw figure was discarded. The Mayanist J.E.S. Thompson referred to Mam (ii) as the evil Mam, an unfelicitous term redolent of Judaeo-Christian dichotomies. Thompson further believed the Mams (ii), (iv) and (v) to represent the same deity.Thompson 1970: 297-300 The Mams are likely to have had their counterparts within the small Classic Maya group of aged deities consisting of God D (

Itzamna Itzamna () is, in Maya mythology, an upper god and creator deity thought to reside in the sky. Itzamna is one of the most important gods in the Classic and Postclassic Maya pantheon. Although little is known about him, scattered references are ...

), the various representatives of God N (

), and

God L God L of the Schellhas-Zimmermann-Taube classification of codical gods is one of the major pre-Spanish Maya deities, specifically associated with trade. Characterized by high age, he is one of the Mam (Maya mythology), Mam ('Grandfather') deities. ...

. A corresponding concept in Aztec religion would be

Huehueteotl Huehueteotl ( ; ) is an aged Mesoamerican deity figuring in the pantheons of pre-Columbian cultures, particularly in Aztec mythology and others of the Central Mexico region. The spellings Huehuetéotl and Ueueteotl are also used. Although known ...

('old god', 'ancient god').

References

{{Maya Maya deities Maya mythology and religion