![]() ![]() ![]() At the end of forty days, during which he had been dressed During the annual Aztec ritual in Tenochtitlan, a slave would be chosen to represent Quetzalcoatl. The link between blood (or heart) and cacao was not exclusive to the Mayans: in ancient Aztec society, cacao was given to sacrificial victims, often in ways thatĭirectly linked chocolate and blood. If cacao was “a sacred offering to the gods combined with personal blood-letting through the piercing or cutting of their own flesh” to the Mayans, this page is anĮxcellent reflection of that close bond (Seawright 7). In Mayan creation mythology, humans are partially composed of cacao! In the Madrid Codex, an additional ancient Mayan text, four young gods bleed onto cacao pods, Pod. Cacao even features in their creation mythology: at another point in the Popol Vuh, when the gods are creating humans out of foodstuffs, cacao is one of those foods found in the Another page depicts the maize god sprouting from a cacao In one story, the severed head of a god is hung on a cacao tree. The Popol Vuh orīook of Counsel, for example, includes many references to cacao. The spiritual link between cacao and the Maya is immediately apparent in their texts, although only a small handful remain of their bark codexes. ![]() Religions, appearing in numerous spiritual ceremonies-even death rites and sacrifices. These attributes were considered more than simply advantages in these times, food and prayer were the only sources of medicineĬacao was an intrinsic part of ancient Mayan and Aztec life, not just as a beverage or food, but as a pillar of their economies and an integral part of their In many rituals to appease their deities (Coe & Coe 34). Consumed primarily in the form of a frothed drink, it was a prized possession and available only to the elite-for it was godly potion that would grant energy and power, and was used As empires rose and fell, the subsequent Mesoamerican civilizations of the Izapan, Maya, Toltecs, and Aztecs also coveted cacao for its Reveal a sweet, gelatinous pulp, they took more notice of the seeds within the milky substance, and began to process those seeds to create the very first iteration of cacao, or “kakawa” (Coe Grown in pods attached to the trunk of a rather peculiar looking tree, the Olmecs recognized that there was more than met the eye to this peculiar plant. From the time of its discovery by the Olmecs of Mesoamerica in 1500 B.C., Theobroma cacao has served many functions, used primarily as a source of food (Coe &Ĭoe 34). ![]()
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