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How did the Maya describe the structure of the heavens and underworlds?

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Mythologies of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas Haida argillite carving, c. 1890, depicting a folktale in which the Bear Mother endures a cesarean birth; in the National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Haye Center, Smithsonian Institution, New York City.

The Maya cosmology envisioned a structured universe consisting of layered heavens and underworlds connected to the earth.1

The Heavens and the Earth

The Maya believed that 13 heavens were arranged in layers above the earth. The earth itself was perceived as resting on the back of a massive crocodile or reptilian monster that floated upon the ocean. The heavens were presided over by 13 deities known as the Oxlahuntiku.1

The Underworlds

Beneath the earth, the Maya described nine underworlds, also organized in layers. These subterranean realms were ruled by nine gods called the Bolontiku. The underworld was often referred to as Xibalba, or the "place of fright". The Maya believed that certain geographical features, such as cenotes (large sinkholes) and cave systems, served as physical gateways to this underworld.12

Axis Mundi

In this worldview, structures like the pyramid of Chichén Itzá functioned as an axis mundi, or center of the world, symbolically uniting the heavens, the earth, and the underworld.2