Maasaw

Names: Masaaw, Maasawu , Masau’u, Maasawi, Masawu, Maasaw, Masauwu, Masaw, Masao, Mosau’u, Masauggae

Numbers: 13, 15, 9, 8, 11, 66, 25, 225

Cardinal Direction(s): Northwest, West

Masaaw is the God of Death in the Hopi pantheon. The word maasaw means something like “animate conceptualization of death,” “dead person/death-spirit,” or “skeleton man”. His ‘mask’ represents death and decay. He started off as an obscure trickster god, but soon rose to be an almost-monotheistic divinity. As the trickster, Masaaw usually transformed himself or the people/environment around him by way of his mask. The trickster archetype goes well beyond the practical jokes found in many Mythologies.

“[When his mask is] removed [it] allows the god to transform himself into the shape of handsome man embodying life and growth. If we consider Maasaw’s power to cause fundamental changes, including the ultimate change from life to death, the trickster concept does not appear as detached from the god’s essence anymore. For an essentially supernatural being, capable of the metamorphosis of life in nature as [a] transformational ability of this caliber can be regarded as trickery on a very high level.”

Not only is Masaaw a Death God, he rules over fire, earth-life, water-life, agriculture, and fertility. In Hopi mythology Masaaw is ruler of the Underworld and the Fourth World Túwaqachi/World Complete. After the destruction of the Third World Kuskurza/City Lost In Time, Masaaw was tasked by the Creator to guard, protect, and act as caretaker for the Fourth World. He was a key figure during the emergence of Man from the Underworld. The Fourth World is an interesting concept because it isn’t all beautiful or easy like the previous worlds; it has hot & cold, beautiful things & disgusting things, height & depth, e.g. opposites. It was up to the people to choose for themselves to carry out the plan of creation or allowing their new world to be destroyed at the right time.

“I truly own this place and also take care of life. Furthermore, I make sure that whoever dies comes to reside in my home down below,” Maasaw revealed. “I’m no evil being, however. I’m simply the keeper of death. This means that anyone who dies with a pure heart will come to me. As soon as he does, I’ll welcome him and take him to the opening of a kiva from where I send him down to the underworld to another life. Henceforth I’ll tend to you in this manner,”

The Hopi phrase Masaw-siiki “Maasaw farted at him” refers to the breaking taboo and implies the target person(s) are “to get a cold sore.” Maasaw is a deity that goes beyond the social norms of society & life while watching over it. This quote also implies he rules over plague and disease.

He is described as a grotesque, repulsive looking, and as an attractive being in the guise of a handsome youth by the Hopi. This represents the dual nature of this Great Spirit.

“The god Maasaw is claimed to be very handsome when not wearing his mask. He is also supposed to be clothed very nicely. His skin is dark and he has a streak of black hematite running from the bridge of his nose downward to each cheek. He also wears a beautiful strand of turquoise beads about his neck. People have seen him garbed in this way. At certain times, however, he is under a grotesque mask.”

“People say that Maasaw is a repulsive being. His head is so enormous and so bloody that it shines a little when light falls on it. His mouth is round and his eyes are hollow. Furthermore, his forehead bulges out in a large ridge.”

Masaaw deals with necromancy, mastery of death and undeath, graveyards, ancestor magic, love, and war. He protects his worshippers and those he deems worthy with his Infernal Brilliance. Masaaw can teach the sorcerer shape-shifting, totems & magic relating to the spirit animal, knowledge of the Primordial Earth, and the secrets hidden in the image of man.

Take this with a grain of salt… but, I have a feeling Masaaw, the Necronomicon, the channelings by Lovecraft, and the Spider Queen are somehow connected in a very queer fashion.

It is my personal gnosis that “old spider woman” or “grandmother spider” in Hopi (and other Native American) Mythology is indeed the Queen of Atlantis, Arachne, also known as Sepheranz or Illivryn.

“According to my knowledge, at the beginning of life those beings present here who owned the earth had names just as we do. Maasaw was the headman and the housekeeper was Old Spider Woman. In addition, there were her grandchildren Poqangwhoya and Palongwhoya. These four were the sole proprietors of this world at a time when no one else existed.”

If you’re interested in working with Maasaw check out: https://stellarmagick.wordpress.com/2019/10/15/sigil-of-masaaw-chants/ & https://stellarmagick.wordpress.com/2019/10/15/prayer-to-masaaw/

Works Cited:

House, Kachina. “The Power and Responsibilities of Maasaw.” Kachina House’s Blog, 10 Mar. 2014, blog.kachinahouse.com/the-power-and-responsibilities-of-maasaw/.

Malotki, Ekkehart, and Michael Lomatuwayʼma. Maasaw: Profile of a Hopi God. University of Nebraska Press, 1987.

Waters, Frank. Book of the Hopi. Viking Adult, 1963.