Mayahuel
Encyclopedia
Mayahuel is the female divinity associated with the maguey plant among cultures of central Mexico in the Postclassic era of pre-Columbian
Mesoamerican chronology
, and in particular of the Aztec cultures. As the personification of the maguey plant, Mayahuel was also part of a complex of interrelated maternal and fertility goddesses in Aztec mythology
and is also connected with notions of fecundity and nourishment.
Products extracted from the maguey plant (Agave spp.) were used extensively across highlands and southeastern Mesoamerica
, with the thorns used in ritual bloodletting ceremonies and fibers extracted from the leaves worked into ropes and cloth. Perhaps the most important maguey product is the alcoholic beverage known as pulque
, used prominently in many public ceremonies and on other ritual occasions. By extension, Mayahuel is often shown in contexts associated with pulque. Although some secondary sources describe her as a "pulque goddess", she remains most strongly associated with the plant as the source, rather than pulque as the end product.
Mayahuel has many breasts to feed her many children, the Centzon Totochtin
(the 400 Rabbits). These are thought to be responsible for causing drunkenness.
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
, and in particular of the Aztec cultures. As the personification of the maguey plant, Mayahuel was also part of a complex of interrelated maternal and fertility goddesses in Aztec mythology
Aztec mythology
The aztec civilization recognized a polytheistic mythology, which contained the many deities and supernatural creatures from their religious beliefs. "orlando"- History :...
and is also connected with notions of fecundity and nourishment.
Products extracted from the maguey plant (Agave spp.) were used extensively across highlands and southeastern Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
, with the thorns used in ritual bloodletting ceremonies and fibers extracted from the leaves worked into ropes and cloth. Perhaps the most important maguey product is the alcoholic beverage known as pulque
Pulque
Pulque, or octli, is a milk-colored, somewhat viscous alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, and is a traditional native beverage of Mexico. The drink’s history extends far back into the Mesoamerican period, when it was considered sacred, and its use was limited to...
, used prominently in many public ceremonies and on other ritual occasions. By extension, Mayahuel is often shown in contexts associated with pulque. Although some secondary sources describe her as a "pulque goddess", she remains most strongly associated with the plant as the source, rather than pulque as the end product.
Mayahuel has many breasts to feed her many children, the Centzon Totochtin
Centzon Totochtin
In Aztec mythology, the Centzon Totochtin are a group of deities who meet for frequent parties; they are divine rabbits, and the gods of drunkenness. Some of their named members include Tepoztecatl, Texcatzonatl, Colhuatzincatl Macuiltochtli and Ometotchtli...
(the 400 Rabbits). These are thought to be responsible for causing drunkenness.