Ixtab
Ixtab is an ancient Maya goddess of suicide by hanging or the gallows. She was seen as a benevolent goddess who acted as a psychopomp to whoever hung themselves, leading them to paradise, as suicide was considered an honorable way of dying.
↻ synthesized from 5 sources
When
- First attested
- 2000 BCE
- Attested period
- -2000 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Minor Maya goddess associated with suicide, helping those who had killed themselves.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Ah Tabay, Mictecacihuatl, La Calavera Catrina, San Pascualito, Xtabay, Santa Muerte, San La Muerte, la Parca, Mictlantecuhtli
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“The term "Xtab" was used to refer to an ancient Maya goddess Ixtab, the goddess of suicide by hanging or the gallows. According to Perez' Lexicon of the Maya Language, "Ix" is the feminine prefix, and "tab", "taab", and "tabil" translate to "rope intended for some exclusive use."”
#8779 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“There was also the goddess of suicide, Ixtab. She was a minor goddess in the scale of Maya mythology. She was also known as The Hangwoman as she came to help along those who had killed themselves.”
#14480 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5