Editing Votan

{{Short description|Maya God}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Voltan]], another Maya god}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Wōden|Woden (Wotan)]], the name in Anglo-Saxon/West Germanic tradition of the Norse deity [[Odin]], sometimes transcribed as ''Votan''}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Defiance (TV series)#Votans|Votans]], a collection of races in the ''Defiance'' universe}}

'''Votan'''{{Pronunciation needed|date=March 2024}} is a [[legend]]ary or [[mythology|mythological]] figure mentioned in early European accounts of the [[Maya civilization]].

==Origins of the Votan story==
The story of Votan in Mexico dates back to at least the late 17th century. It was first published in ''Constituciones diocesanas del obispado de Chiappa'' (1702) by [[Francisco Núñez de la Vega]], Bishop of [[Chiapas]]. According to [[Francisco Javier Clavijero]]:
<blockquote>
F. Núñez de la Vega, bishop of Chiapa, says, in the preface to his ''Synodal Constitutions'', that in the visit which he made to his diocese towards the end of the last century [i.e. the late 1600s], he found many ancient calendars of the Chiapanese, and an old manuscript in the language of that country, made by the Indians themselves, in which it was said, according to their ancient tradition, that a certain person named ''Votan'' was present at that great building, which was made by order of his uncle, in order to mount up to heaven; that then every people was given its language, and that Votan himself was charged by God to make the division of the lands of [[Anahuac (Aztec)|Anahuac]].  The prelate adds afterwards, that there was in his time in Teopixca a great settlement of that diocese, a family of the surname of Votan, who were the reputed descendants of that ancient populator.  We are not here endeavoring to give the antiquity to the populator of America on the faith of the Chiapanese, but merely to shew that the Americans conceived themselves the descendants of Noah.<ref name="Clavigero 1787, p. 204">Clavigero 1787, p. 204</ref>
</blockquote>

In his account, Bishop Núñez de Vega also states that Votan belonged to the royal lineage of "Cham" (probably "chan" or snake) and that he established a kingdom called "Na Chan" (Snake House) on the [[Usumacinta River]] that eventually extended across [[Chiapas]] and [[Soconusco]] to the Pacific Coast.<ref name="Megged 1996, p. 26">Megged 1996, p. 26</ref>  Additional information can be found in a 1786 publication by [[Antonio del Río]]<ref>Rio [1786] (1822)</ref> that cites the same sources as Clavijero and speculates at length on Votan's identity and travels to the Old World.

At a time when the origins of [[pre-Columbian]] cultures were poorly understood, these clerics associated Votan with the Biblical stories of the [[Tower of Babel]] and [[Noah]], speculating that he had come to Mexico from the [[Old World]]. This tradition has been perpetuated by additional fantastic speculations that have been sharply critiqued by subsequent scholarship. This includes the association of Votan with [[Palenque]] by Ramon de Ordoñez y Aguilar, a priest who had lived near the site and wrote one of the earliest descriptions of the ruins in 1773. Ordoñez apparently incorporated some of the information that had been collected earlier by Bishop Núñez de la Vega into a document called the ''Probanza de Votan''. "This strange work contained some fragments from Ximénez and a confused account of Votan, culture hero of the [[Tzeltal people]], who, according to Ordoñez, had built Palenque. Fantastic details described Votan's four trips back to the Middle East."<ref>Mace 1973, p. 300</ref> The [[Tzeltal people|Tzeltal]] are an ethnic group that occupies the region that includes Teopisca, Chiapas, about 113&nbsp;km southeast of Palenque. In the late 17th century, two hundred Tzeltal families "of Votan's ancestry" are said to have been living in Comitlan.<ref name="Megged 1996, p. 26"/>

Assertion of a relationship between Votan and Odin is found in the work of the distinguished geographer [[Alexander von Humboldt]], who wrote in ''Vues des Cordillères'' (1810):
<blockquote>We have fixed the special attention of our readers upon this Votan, or Wodan, an American who appears in the same family with the Wods or Odins of the Goths and of the people of Celtic origins.  Since, according to the learned researches of [[William Jones (philologist)|Sir William Jones]], Odin and Buddha are probably the same person, it is curious to see the names of ''Bondvar'', ''Wodansdag'', and ''Votan'' designating in India, Scandinavia, and in Mexico the day of a brief period.<ref>Humboldt 1810, p. 148</ref></blockquote>

In ''Histoire des nations civilisées du Mexique et de l'Amérique Centrale'' (1857), [[Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg]] claimed Votan was an ancient [[Phoenicia]]n ''legislateur'' who had migrated from the Middle East to the Maya area, defeated a race called the Quiname, built the city of [[Palenque]], and established an empire called [[Xibalba]] that was postulated by Brasseur de Bourbourg to have once covered all of Mexico and part of the United States. Subsequent [[Mayanist]] scholarship has found little support for Phoenician contact with ancient Mesoamerica, and identifies Xibalba as a mythical place rather than a political entity.

==Influence on Mormonism==
Extensive analysis of the story of Votan appeared as commentary on the work of Antonio del Río by Paul Felix Cabrera in 1822.<ref>Río [1786] (1822).</ref> Critics of the LDS church{{who|date=November 2010}} have claimed that Cabrera's work had a strong influence on [[Joseph Smith]] and [[Oliver Cowdery]], founders of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}  Smith reported having a vision in 1823 that eventually led him to the claimed discovery of [[golden plates]] that documented a group of ancient Israelites journey to the Americas, 960 years of their descendants history and their dealings with the god of the Israelites.  These plates are the [[origin of the Book of Mormon]].

==Similarity to Wotan==
The similarity between the names Votan and [[Wōden|Wotan]] has also been the source of much confusion. Chapter IV of ''[[Atlantis: The Antediluvian World]]'' (1882) by [[Ignatius L. Donnelly]], titled "The God Odin, Woden, or Wotan", repeats Clavijero's reference in the context of speculation about [[Atlantis]] and (following Brasseur de Bourbourg) also suggests that Votan built Palenque. Donnelly quotes Clavijero as saying that Votan "conducted seven families from Valum-Votan to this continent, and assigned lands to them",<ref>Donnelly 1882, p. 314</ref> and implies that "Valum-Votan" may have been a reference to [[Atlantis]].<ref>Donnelly 1882, p. 316</ref> The story of Votan was further associated with the Atlantis legend by [[Lewis Spence]] in ''Atlantis in America'' (1925), who identifies Votan as "a local name for Quetzalcoatl" and provides a synopsis of the account by Núñez de la Vega.<ref>Spence 1925, pp. 55-56</ref>

==Pacal Votan==
Associations of Votan with Palenque have led [[New Age]] spiritual leader [[José Argüelles]] to identify [[Pacal the Great]] as "Pacal Votan" and to identify himself as an emanation of "Valum Votan". However, no mention of Votan has been found in the inscriptions of Palenque despite considerable progress in the decipherment of the extensive [[Maya script|Maya inscriptions]] known for the site.<ref>For example, in a comprehensive compilation of the epigraphic knowledge concerning Palenque's inscriptions, ''A Concordance to the Inscriptions of Palenque'' (Ringle and Smith-Stark 1996), there is no mention or index entry for ''votan''.</ref>

==Culture hero?==
[[Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D03-Akbal.png|thumb|right|150px|A glyph for the third day (''Ak'b'al'') in the Maya ''[[tzolk'in]]'' calendar, which among the Tzeltal and some other highland Chiapas groups was known/identified as ''votan''{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}]]
A more critical evaluation suggests that Votan was a [[culture hero]] of the [[Tzeltal people|Tzeltal]] whose story may be based on that of a ruler who lived in the vicinity of Teopisca, Chiapas during the [[Postclassic]] period. He was referred to as "Lord of the Horizontal Wooden Drum" and "jaguar god of darkness" (''ak'bal''),<ref>Thompson 1970, p. 326</ref> and his name was one of twenty day names in the Tzeltal calendar.<ref name="Clavigero 1787, p. 204" /> Ritual objects associated with Votan were removed from a sanctuary and burned in the main square of [[Huehuetlán]] by Bishop Núñez de la Vega in 1691.<ref>Spence 1925, p. 55</ref><ref>Megged 1996, p. 28</ref>

==Votan Zapata==
Votan is often described as the "heart" of indigenous people in Chiapas. The qualities of both culture hero and deep sentiment are expressed in the persona of Votan Zapata, a legendary manifestation of the spirit of [[Emiliano Zapata]] honored by members of the [[Zapatista Army of National Liberation]] (EZLN).{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
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* {{cite book |author=Brinton, Daniel G.   |author-link=Daniel Brinton |year=1883 |title=Aboriginal American Authors and Their Productions; Especially Those in the Native Languages. A Chapter in the History of Literature |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9188 |format=[[Project Gutenberg]] EBook online reproduction |location=Philadelphia |publisher=D.G. Brinton |oclc=2987103}}
* {{cite book |author=Clavigero, Francesco Saverio   |author-link=Francisco Javier Clavijero |year=1787 |title=The history of Mexico. Collected from Spanish and Mexican historians, from manuscripts, and ancient paintings of the Indians. Illustrated by charts, and other copper plates. To which are added, critical dissertations on the land, the animals, and inhabitants of Mexico. By Abbé D. Francesco Saverio Clavigero., 2 vols. |translator=Charles Cullen |location=London |publisher=G. G. J. and J. Robinson |oclc=2671015}}
* {{cite book |author=Donnelly, Ignatius   |author-link=Ignatius Donnelly |year=1882 |title=Atlantis: The Antediluvian World |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/atl/ataw/index.htm |format=Reproduced online, by the Internet Sacred Texts Archive [2003], redacted and with introduction by J.B. Hare |publisher=[[Harper & Brothers]] |location=New York |oclc=37995012 |access-date=2008-02-01}}
* {{cite book |author=Humboldt, Alexander von   |author-link=Alexander von Humboldt |year=1810a|title=Vues des Cordillères, et monumens des peuples indigènes de l'Amérique |location=Paris |publisher=F. Schoell |oclc=15335414|language=fr}}
* {{cite book |author=Humboldt, Alexander von   |author-link=Alexander von Humboldt |year=1810b|title=Pittoreske Ansichten der Cordilleren und Monumente americanischer Völker |url=http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/~stueber/humboldt/atlas/index.html |format=online reproduction, by Kurt Stüber [2002]|location=Tübingen, Germany|publisher=J. G. Cotta'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung |oclc=4504586|language=de}}
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* {{cite journal |author=León Cázares, Marìa del Carmen   |year=1993 |title=La presencia del demonio en las ''Constituciones Diocesanas'' de fray Francisco Núñez de la Vega |journal=[[Estudios de historia novohispana]] |url=http://www.ejournal.unam.mx/ehn/ehn13/EHN01303.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716191018/http://www.ejournal.unam.mx/ehn/ehn13/EHN01303.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-16 |url-status=live |format=[[PDF]], online facsimile at e-journal, UNAM |volume=13 |pages=41–71 |location=México, D.F. |publisher= Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, [[Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México]] |issn=0425-3574 |oclc=1771954}}
* {{cite book |author=Mace, Carroll Edward   |year=1973 |chapter=Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, 1814-1874 |pages=298–325 |title=[[Handbook of Middle American Indians|Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 13: Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources, part II]] |editor=Howard F. Cline |publisher=[[University of Texas Press]] |location=Austin |isbn=0-292-70153-5 |oclc=163392725}}
* {{cite book |author=Megged, Amos   |year=1996 |title=Exporting the Catholic Reformation: Local Religion in Early-Colonial Mexico |series=Cultures, Beliefs and Traditions: Medieval and Early Modern Peoples, vol. 2 |issn=1382-5364 |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|E.J. Brill]] |isbn=90-04-10400-3 |oclc=34355106}}
* {{cite book |author=Miles, S. W.   |year=1971a |chapter=Sculpture of the Guatemala-Chiapas Highlands and Pacific Slopes, and Associated Hieroglyphs |pages=237–275 |title=[[Handbook of Middle American Indians|Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 2: Archaeology of Southern Mesoamerica, Part I]] |editor=[[Gordon Willey|Gordon R. Willey]]|publisher=[[University of Texas Press]] |location=Austin |isbn=0-292-73260-0 |oclc=277126}}
* {{cite book |author=Miles, S. W.   |year=1971b |chapter=Summary of Preconquest Ethnology of the Guatemala-Chiapas Highlands and Pacific Slopes |pages=275–287 |title=[[Handbook of Middle American Indians|Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 2: Archaeology of Southern Mesoamerica, Part I]] |editor=[[Gordon Willey|Gordon R. Willey]] |publisher=[[University of Texas Press]] |location=Austin |isbn=0-292-73260-0 |oclc=277126}}
* {{cite book |author=Nuñez de la Vega, Francisco   |year=1702 |title=Constituciones diocesanas del obispado de Chiappa |location=Rome |publisher=Caetano Zenobi |oclc=79261929 |author-link=Francisco Nuñez de la Vega}}
* {{cite book |author=Ringle, William M.   |author2=Thomas C. Smith-Stark |year=1996 |title=A Concordance to the Inscriptions of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico |url=https://archive.org/details/concordancetoins0000ring   |url-access=registration   |series=MARI Publications, no. 62|location=New Orleans, LA |publisher=[[Middle American Research Institute]], [[Tulane University]]|isbn=0-939238-93-4 |oclc=25630088}}
* {{cite book |author=Rio, Antonio del   |author-link=Antonio del Rio |year=1822 |orig-date=1786 |title=Description of the Ruins of an Ancient City, discovered near Palenque, in the Kingdom of Guatemala, in Spanish America: Translated from the original manuscript report of captain Don Antonio del Río: Followed by Teatro Crítico Americano; or, A critical investigation and research into The History of the Americans |editor=Paul Felix Cabrera |format=Online reproduction at OliverCowdery.com |url=http://olivercowdery.com/texts/1822DRio.htm |publisher=[[Henry Berthoud]], and [[Suttaby, Evance and Fox]] |location=London |oclc=55254809}}
* {{cite book |author=Spence, Lewis   |author-link=Lewis Spence |year=1925 |title=Atlantis in America  |publisher=Ernest Benn |location=London |oclc=1712943}}
* {{cite book |author=Subcomandante Marcos |author-link=Subcomandante Marcos |year=2002 |title=Our Word Is Our Weapon: Selected Writings |editor=Juana Ponce de León |location=New York |publisher=Seven Stories Press |isbn=1-58322-036-4 |oclc=43953940}}
* {{cite book |author=Thompson, J. E. S. |author-link=J. Eric S. Thompson |year=1970 |title=Maya History and Religion |series=Civilization of the American Indian Series, No. 99 |location=Norman |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |isbn=0-8061-0884-3 |oclc=177832 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/mayahistoryrelig00thom }}

{{Refend}}<!-- END biblio format style -->

[[Category:Maya mythology and religion]]
[[Category:Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact]]