Isla Mujeres gets its name thanks to a Spanish explorer who arrived on the island and found something very peculiar: female clay figures next to a Mayan structure. This made him call it “Isla Mujeres”. Today we will tell you about the temple of the Goddess Ixchel and why these figures were next to her.
Who was Goddess Ixchel?
In Maya mythology, Ixchel was worshiped as the goddess of the moon, wife of Itzamná, the sun god, and wisdom. Thanks to her female figure and relationship with the god Itzamná, she was also associated as a figure of motherhood and fertility. The Mayans used to represent her as a young woman by the waxing moon or an older woman by the waning moon.
Why was this Goddess Worshiped?
Let us remember that pre-Hispanic civilizations were very believers in their gods and superstitious, in no sense did they do things that might annoy or offend the gods. The Mayans it was no exception, for them, a woman who could not find a good husband and form a family with her was a disgrace. Thanks to this, and for a long time, Isla Mujeres was an island that practically belonged to the goddess Ixchel. Every year women from all the towns in the north of Quintana Roo made a trip in canoes to the island.
Temple to the Goddess Ixchel
The temple is located in Punta Sur, one of the most beautiful attractions on Isla Mujeres. It can be reached in two ways, through the Garrafon Park scenic route or from the visitor entrance for a small fee.
The Spanish found it full of figurines of women, it is because the girls who visited the island did it as a ritual to pass from childhood to maturity and as a tribute to the goddess to make them fertile.
The years passed, and the island became one of the tourist references of Quintana Roo, however, its Mayan legacy was never lost because the temple still stands and because it kept its iconic name.