Ancient Maya Worshipped ‘Batman God’ 2,500 Years Ago

The idea of a superhero dressing as a bat and keeping his beloved city safe from criminals might be a recent thing. However, the ancient Maya may have been the first people to perceive a powerful being with the head of a bat and the body of a man. The bat god known as Camazotz was worshiped by the Maya 2,500 years ago and his story is somehow similar to the DC comic book character.

Camazotz or Camazot was one of the deities worshiped in Mayan mythology. His origins are traced back to the Zapotecs of Oaxaca, Mexico in 200 BC. The Zapotecs worshiped an anthropomorphic monster with the body of a man and the head of a bat. Not surprisingly, the bat god was associated with night, death and sacrifice.

Just like Batman, Camazotz was associated with the night and rocked an awesome cape.

Although Camazotz was first worshiped by the Zapotecs, it didn’t take long before the K’iche of Guatemala and Honduras adopted the practice. The K’iche believed that Camazotz was connected to their god Zotzilaha Chamalcan, the deity of fire.

Not much is known about Camazotz other than his general appearance. However, the Popol Vuh also states that his disciples may have been bat-like monsters that Mayan twin heroes Hunahpú and Ixbalanque encountered during their trials in the underworld of Xibalbá.

Interestingly, the connection between Batman and Camazotz was made when Warner Bros. invited 30 artists to participate in the exhibition Batman Through Mexican Creativity for the development and intervention of fiberglass sculptures of the character on its 75th anniversary.

The awesome concept combines Batman and Camazotz.

Christian Pacheco came up with the awesome design that imagined the Caped Crusader as the bat god.

Camazotz might no longer be a deity who gets worshiped these days. Nevertheless, his identity and tradition lives on through Batman and will continue to do so in future generations.