The concept of world trees is a prevalent motif in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cosmologies and iconography. World trees embodied the four cardinal directions, which represented also the fourfold nature of a central world tree, a symbolic axis mundi connecting the planes of the Underworld and the sky with that of the terrestrial world.
Depictions of world trees, both in their directional and central aspects, are found in the art and mythological traditions of cultures such as the Maya, Aztec, Izapan, Mixtec, Olmec, and others, dating to at least the Mid/Late Formative periods of Mesoamerican chronology. Among the Maya, the central world tree was conceived as or represented by a ceiba tree, and is known variously as a wacah chan or yax imix che, depending on the Mayan language.
World trees are frequently depicted with birds in their branches, and their roots extending into earth or water (sometimes atop a "water-monster," symbolic of the underworld). The central world tree has also been interpreted as a representation of the band of the Milky Way.
When we think of the Big Bang theory a Creation Myth that places our origins in the stars doesn't seem quite so far-fetched:
The star clouds that form the Milky Way were seen as the tree of life where all life came from. Near Sagittarius, the centre of our galaxy, where the World Tree meets the Ecliptic was given special attention by the Maya. A major element of the World Tree is the K'awak Monster. This monster was also a mountain or Witz monster. A sacrificial bowl on its head contains a flint blade representing sacrifice, and the Kimi glyph that represents death. The Ecliptic is sometimes represented as a bar crossing the major axis of the world tree, making a form that is similar to the Christian Cross. On top of the World Tree we find a bird that has been called, the Principal Bird deity, or Itzam Ye. There is also evidence that shows the Sun on the World Tree as it appeared to the Maya at Winter Solstice.
Celebration
Yvette
Fiesta Time
Flower garlands abound
But in the street not a sound
The wind blows
The people do not show
But resounding celebration is found amongst the bells and prayers
A Night to Remember
Fiesta here is long,
Tailing into the night
Girls swirl to the
Music, rhythmic and fiery
Frenzied frivolity at its height
Rhian
South American Celebration
Senses shaking with Samba
Tempting to touch costume frills
Do you hear the bongos greeting?
Taste the carnival heating
Smell the air with aroma filled
Tango Trees
Trailing across the ballroom
Alive with faces, frozen
Near yet so distant
Gazing in passionate thrall
Orchestra straining with Jealousy, Fernando’s Hideaway,
Tijuana Brass branching out, swinging, swaying,
Rustling and roaring
Elephantine behind the palms
Evergreen palms, ever polished
Sparkling as the waxed ballroom floor.
This is a picture of the giant Ceiba (now Kapok) tree sacred to the Mayan people.
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