Mesoamerican

Voices

Art, Writing, and Archaeology of Middle America

A Publication Series of the Chicago Maya Society

Editor: Editorial Staff:

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Department of Anthropology (m/c 027) Brandon Nolin
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All articles copyright © 2008 their respective authors. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1945-7162
JOHN E. CLARK, “Hands and Hearts”
Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

JOHN E. CLARK Hands and Hearts: How Aztecs Measured 5

Their World

CLAUDIA GARCÍA-DES LAURIERS The “House Of Darts”: The Classic 35

Period Origins of the Tlacochcalco

LUCIA HENDERSON Blood, Water, Vomit, and Wine: Pulque in 53

Maya and Aztec Belief

MATTHEW KRYSTAL Colonialism and Continuity in the 77

Guatemalan Dance of the Conquest


LUCIA HENDERSON, “Blood, Water, Vomit, and Wine”
Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

LUCIA HENDERSON
Department of Art and Art History,
University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712

BLOOD, WATER, VOMIT, AND WINE: PULQUE IN

MAYA AND AZTEC BELIEF

ABSTRACT

Close analyses of glyphic, iconographic, and ethnographic evidence from the Maya area reveal that pulque, often associated
exclusively with the cultures of central Mexico, was known, valued, and consumed in the Maya area as well. Such studies also
reveal numerous parallels between the ritual significance of pulque in the Maya area and its meaning in the Aztec world. Both
groups appear to have associated pulque with water, blood, and vomit, all of which were deeply connected with themes of purifi-
cation, sacrifice, and renewal. Far from being the sinful substance so often maligned in colonial accounts, pulque appears instead
to have played a significant and complex role in the religious practices of widespread Mesoamerican cultures.

A first glance at research on the prehispanic and years, a central stalk begins to form inside the heart of
post-conquest consumption of octli, better known by the plant. Within five to six weeks, this stalk, fueled by
its Spanish name, pulque, may lead one to think not an enormous amount of sap, will reach a height of four
only that its use was limited to central Mexico, but to eight meters (Figure 1b). After this stalk flowers,
that it was reviled there as a sinful thing by friars and the plant dies. In pulque production, the nascent stalk
natives alike. “What is called octli is the origin, the (i.e. the maguey “heart”) is cut out of the plant before
root of the evil, of the bad, of perdition” (Sahagún it begins to grow, a process referred to as “castration.”
1950-82:Book 6:68-69; see also 2:106, 148; Durán After being left for up to a year, the cavity left by the
1971:289). A closer look at the iconography associated removal of the stalk is widened and deepened in a
with pulque, however, indicates that it played a pivotal process called “picking,” creating a reservoir in which
role in central Mexican religion. It was also far more the sweet liquid sap called “aguamiel” (honey water)
widespread than generally believed and played an collects. The aguamiel is then harvested over a period
integral role in Maya ritual long before the Aztecs of two to six months and placed in large wooden
came to power. barrels, where a natural process of fermentation turns
Pulque is an alcoholic beverage produced by it into alcoholic pulque within a few days.1
fermenting the sap of the maguey, a plant belonging Before continuing, it must be made clear that some
to the genus Agave. Although it is often misidentified flexibility does exist in pulque-related terminology.
as a cactus, the agave is more closely related to the lily As cited in Parsons and Parsons (1990:1), the word
family. All agaves share certain features: thick, often “maguey” has been used in the highlands of Mexico
thorn-edged leaves clustered close to the ground around and Guatemala since the sixteenth century to refer to
a single base, each tipped by a long, extremely sharp a wide variety of plants in the agave genus. Colonial
spine (Figure 1a). When a maguey plant has reached references to pulque appear to have been similarly
maturity, which generally takes seven to twenty-five elastic. In other words, colonial descriptions of pulque

53
LUCIA HENDERSON, “Blood, Water, Vomit, and Wine”
Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

a. b.

Figure 1: (a) Maguey plant. Note the serrated leaves terminating in a spine (photo by author); (b) Flowering maguey plant (Parsons
and Parsons 1990:Pl.23).

and pulque production appear to refer to a suite of Chih: Evidence for Pulque in the Maya Area
different agave-based beverages, including, but not
limited to, fermented maguey sap. In this article, I When discussing the use of intoxicants by the
am correspondingly flexible in my use of the terms Maya, authors rarely cite pulque. Both glyphic and
maguey and pulque, due to the fact that in both iconographic evidence, however, indicate that the
colonial accounts and iconography, the precise agave maguey plant, as well as the beverage it produced,
species referred to and the particular ingredients and were familiar to the inhabitants of the Maya area.
production processes involved are, for the most part, The Classic Maya called pulque chih, spelling it
unspecified. Therefore, the term “pulque” here serves phonetically chi-hi, with a cupped hand and hi syllable,
as a general reference term for intoxicating beverages or with a logographic CHIH variant, which sometimes
produced both by the maguey and by other members bears agave leaves on the back of its head (Figure 2).2
of the genus Agave. In texts, these glyphs most often follow constructions
The purpose of this article is twofold. First, based on uk’ (to drink) (Stuart 2005). On Altar U at
through the use of glyphic, iconographic, and Copan (Figure 3a), for instance, the ruler Yax Pahsaj
ethnographic evidence from the Maya area, I argue Chan Yopaat is identified as “drinking pulque” (ti uk’
that pulque, far from being limited to the cultures of chih) proving that the beverage was consumed, at
central Mexico, was known, valued, and consumed times, by Maya rulers (Stuart, personal communication
throughout the Maya area as well. Second, I describe 2006). In addition, the narrow-necked jars that form
the numerous iconographic and conceptual parallels such a predominant part of drinking scenes on Maya
found in the portrayal of pulque in the Maya and ceramic vessels are often marked with the cupped-
Aztec regions, demonstrating that this beverage, so hand variant of the chih or chi glyph (Figure 3b-c),
often maligned in colonial accounts, once resonated specifying their contents as pulque. A stucco lid from
throughout Mesoamerica with profound religious Tikal (Figure 3d), which identifies the vessel contents
meaning. In glyphic and iconographic references to as chih, proves that vessel contents were not only
the ritual consumption of pulque, both the Maya and specified in iconography, but were labeled in reality as
the Aztecs utilized a complex system of symbolic well (Stuart 2005).
interchange between water, blood, and vomit, through In Mayan languages, chih cognates are almost
which they alluded to deeper themes of purification, universally associated with the agave family,
sacrifice, and renewal. drunkenness, and sweet-flavored beverages (see Miller
and Taube 1993:85; de Smet and Hellmuth 1986:221-

54
LUCIA HENDERSON, “Blood, Water, Vomit, and Wine”
Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

marked serpents found in the rest of the Madrid

Codex. Interestingly, the device that frames the plant
on page 28 of the Madrid Codex is nearly identical to
the crescent-shaped moon sign worn as a yacametztli
a. b. c. (nose ornament) by central Mexican pulque gods
(Figure 5b). This yacametztli form is also frequently
Figure 2: Chih glyphs. (a) Chih spelled yuk’ij chi-hi; (b) found in Mexican codices filled with fluid and a rabbit,
Chih head variant; (c) Chih head variant with agave leaves likening the moon to a jug of pulque (Figure 5c).
on the back of the head. Drawings by David Stuart. If the chih glyph is translated as “pulque,” then
what is to be made of the caban curl which is also
222, 245-247, citing personal communications with seen decorating vessels in drinking scenes (Figure
Justeson; Roys 1976[1931]:213-216; Barrera Vasquez 6a)? Both Reents-Budet (1994:82, 102n.35) and
1980-81:73-74, 76; Kaufman and Norman 1984:118). Barrera Rubio and Taube (1987:13) argue that the
For instance, chij means “maguey” in Chol (Aulie and sign refers to cab (honey) in Yucatec. Although this is
Aulie 1978) and “aguardiente, mezcal, liquor, alcohol” known to be a primary ingredient and fermentation aid
in Chontal (Keller and Luciano G. 1997). Likewise, in balché—an alcoholic drink more often associated
cii in colonial Yucatec is defined as “maguey” while with the Maya that is made from a mixture of honey,
cii uinic and ah cii are both glossed as “drunkard.” In water, and the bark of the balché tree—honey is also
Wisdom’s Chorti vocabulary (1940), chih is defined a common ingredient in pulque (see Gonçalves de
as “maguey, fiber, woody interior of fibrous plants.” Lima 1956:33). Roys (cited in de Smet 1985:66), for
In Cholan and Tzeltalan, cognates of the phonetic instance, discusses an alcoholic beverage consumed
reading ki bear the meanings “maguey,” “sweet; by the Maya that combined honey with the root of the
delicious,” “alcoholic beverage,” and “inebriated,” agave plant.
while Yucatecan cognates include “maguey,”
“sweet, delicious alcoholic beverage; inebriated,” Figure 3: Pulque drinking glyphs. (a) Text from Altar U
at Copán, reading “ti uk’ chih” (drawing by David Stuart);
and “drunkard” (de Smet 1985:62, citing personal
(b-c) Vessels marked “chih” from a painted Maya vase. Note
communication with Fox and Justeson). That pulque that the leaves emerging from the vessel in 3b terminate in
was considered a sweet substance in prehispanic times spines, just as agave leaves do (drawings by author after
is supported by Maya ceramic vessels, in which the Rollout © Justin Kerr, K1092); (d) Painted stucco vessel
contents of pulque cups or jugs are often denoted by from Tikal, stating that the contents are “chih” (drawing by
sweet-smelling flowers (see Boglár and Kovács 1983: David Stuart).
Figure 4).
Iconography on both Classic period vessels and
Late Postclassic codices also demonstrate that agave
plants, if not maguey in particular, were well-known
and familiar to the Maya. One drinking vessel, for
example, shows a skeletal figure crouching in the a.
heart of a maguey plant (Figure 4a). Other vessels
show drinking scenes in which pointed leaves emerge
from jugs or vases labeled with the chih hand glyph
(Figure 4b). “Justeson [pers. commun. 1985] feels that
the form of the rod-like objects is roughly consistent
with maguey leaves, but admits that the execution is
not distinctive enough to make a specific botanical
identification” (de Smet 1985:58). An image from
page 28 of the Madrid Codex is even more explicit, b. c.
as it shows not only the spiked leaves of the plant,
but a maguey worm burrowed within them as well
(Figure 5a). Although this creature is identified as a
snake in Villacorta and Villacorta (1976:281), the
blunt nose, speckled markings, and short, fat body
distinguish it from the slender, long-snouted, variably-
d.

55
LUCIA HENDERSON, “Blood, Water, Vomit, and Wine”
Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

a.

a. b.

Figure 4: Agave plants on vessels. (a) Skeletal figure sitting

in a maguey plant (drawing by author after Robicsek 1978:
f.151); (b) Pulque vessel marked chih, with possible maguey
leaves emerging from its opening (drawing by author after
de Smet and Hellmuth 1986:f.8b)

Barrera Vasquez (1980-81) suggests that balché

was considered a substitute for pulque in regions that b.
could not produce the beverage for themselves: “Balché
was invented by necessity, to supplement the lack of
pulque. They continued calling it cí [ki’] as a generic
name and used balché as a specific name” (1980-
81:75). This statement is supported by the fact that the
production of balché and certain types of pulque may
have been viewed by the Maya as analogous—both
included honey as a key ingredient, and both required
the addition of bark or roots to ensure potency. As one
sixteenth-century chronicler records: “There is another c.
type of tree that the indians call qui and the spanish
maguey…from the root of this tree the indians make Figure 5: Maguey in codices. (a) Maguey worm shown
a wine that is mixed with honey and other tree roots, in a maguey plant (drawing by author after page 28 of
but the root of this tree is the principal one” (Martín the Madrid Codex); (b) The Aztec Pulque god wearing a
yacametztli nose ornament (drawing by author after page 13
D. Palomar, quoted in Barrera Vasquez 1980-81:75).
of the Borgia Codex); (c) The moon shown as a pulque jug
Motolinía provides a similar description: (drawing by author after page 55 of the Borgia Codex).
The sap is fermented in a large earthen jar,
as is done with wine, and they put into it scraping process that led to the production of aguamiel,
certain roots, called by the Indians ocpatli, others may have utilized the roots or hearts of other
which means ‘medicine or sauce of wine.’ In agave varieties instead, thus creating beverages more
this way they produce so strong a wine that it analogous to balché. The caban curl therefore cannot be
heavily intoxicates those who drink it freely linked unequivocally to balché, as pulque production
[Speck 1951, cited by Parsons and Parsons utilized honey as well. Interestingly, an image of a
1990:273]. caban-marked jug on page 35 of the Dresden Codex
(Figure 6a) shows a rounded froth emerging from the
One must not forget that many agave species vessel’s opening, very similar to Aztec representations
thrive in the Mesoamerican area, so it is quite possible of pulque, which show foam rising out of the tops of
that different Maya regions created their own versions vessels (Figure 6b).
of pulque, the ingredients and production methods of The connection between pulque and honey,
which were dependent on what specific agave species however, is not limited to the use of honey in pulque
were available in the area. Therefore, while some may production. Guerrero (1980) provides a metaphoric
have had access to the maguey and the boring and association by referring to pulque as the “honey” of

56
LUCIA HENDERSON, “Blood, Water, Vomit, and Wine”
Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

rates and across greater distances than pulque, which

has an extremely short shelf life and thus travels poorly
(Parsons and Parsons 1990:347-348). The authors
note the presence of “maguey honey” on Aztec tribute
lists (Figure 6c; Parsons and Parson 1990:353, citing
Barlow 1949:47, 50). Motolinía emphasizes this direct
association of aguamiel with honey, stating “from this
sap they also make good syrup and honey, although
a. b. c. the honey has not so good a flavor as that obtained
from bees” (Speck 1951, cited in Parsons and Parsons
1990:273). This honey association is also referenced
in Sahagún:

He who sells maguey honey has maguey

plants, and sells wine made of maguey
honey…and in order not to ever be without
honey he plants the offshoots of the maguey
plants; and after the plants are mature, he
opens them up, or bores into them, or digs
out the central leaves, and in this state they
d. are scraped so that the honey from which
they make pulque drips out…[translated by
Parsons and Parsons 1990:281].

Imagery of the supernatural Mok Chih (Figure

6d), a manifestation of the Maya pulque deity
Akan, also known as God A´ (read “God A Prime”),
illustrates that the ancient Maya similarly associated
pulque and honey. Mok Chih, explicitly connected to
pulque through the chih in his name, is often shown
either dressed as a bee or carrying bees in a jar (Grube
2004a:68). In two cases (K2284 and K3924), the
jar has the same narrow-necked form as pulque jars
e. (Figure 6d). In addition, on page 110 of the Madrid
Codex (Figure 6e), a bee can be seen hovering over
Figure 6: Pulque drinking vessels. (a) A foaming pulque a maguey plant, further indicating that bees, honey,
vessel marked with the caban sign from Dresden Codex page maguey, and pulque were connected in the minds of
35 (drawing by author); (b) Aztec depiction of a foaming the ancient Maya.
pulque jug (drawing by author after page 71r of the Mendoza
Therefore, though the caban curl can easily be
Codex); (c) Tribute item labeled “maguey honey” from page
27r of the Mendoza Codex (drawing by author); (d) Mok read as signifying honey, it may be wise to use caution
Chih with bees and possible pulque vessel (Rollout © Justin when considering it a straightforward and specific
Kerr, K2284); (e) Bee hovering over a maguey plant on page reference to balché. Not only was honey equally
110 of the Madrid Codex (drawing by author). important in the making of pulque, but balché may
have been viewed as a substitute for pulque when
the maguey throughout his publication. One should pulque was unavailable. The production of maguey
also recall that the liquid harvested from the maguey, honey and the metaphorical link between the liquid of
before its fermented transformation into pulque, is the maguey and honey further emphasize that vessels
called aguamiel. In addition, Parsons and Parsons marked with the caban curl are as likely to contain
(1990) discuss the production of sweet syrup, or pulque or maguey syrup as they are to contain balché.
“honey,” and sugar from aguamiel. They argue that,
because of their smaller volume and greater stability,
such maguey products were possibly traded at higher

57
LUCIA HENDERSON, “Blood, Water, Vomit, and Wine”
Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

01:88) states, “In Cuextlan, the land of the Huaxtecs,

the pulque gods had their home. For the Mexicans,
the Cuaxteca were the prototypes of excess, of the
drunkard.” Such Aztec stereotypes, which brand the
Huastecs as drunks prone to debaucherous behavior,
show how closely the Huastecs were associated with
pulque in the minds of the Aztecs. This association
is also evidenced by Aztec stories, the most famous
of which recalls the embarrassing escapades of the
Figure 7: A Teotihuacano seated in a cross-legged Maya Huastec ruler who, invited to a feast celebrating the
pose vomits up beans (Taube 2003:fig. 11.5). discovery of pulque, drinks too much, throws off his
loincloth, and flees in shame (see Sahagún 1950-82:
Book 10:193). The Huastecs were therefore connected
to the origins of pulque in the minds of their Aztec
contemporaries, and they provide a temporal and
cultural link between earlier Classic Maya pulque
iconography and the later adoption of pulque imagery
by the Aztecs.
Linguistic evidence verifies that the Aztecs
associated pulque with the Huastecs and Maya. The
Aztecs called the origin place of pulque “Tamoanchan”
(see Sahagún 1950-82:Book 10:193; Anawalt
1993:26). As shown by Seler (1990-93:3:265), this
term is linguistically Mayan, comprised of ta, a
locative prefix meaning “at” or “in;” moan or muan,
meaning “covering with mist, the cloud covering;”
a. b. and chan, meaning “sky.” As such, Tamoanchan
not only references the plentiful rains of the verdant
Huastec area, but may allude to the fertile landscape
of the eastern Maya as well. As David Stuart (personal
c. communication 2003) has noted, the similarity in
speech patterns between the Huastecs and the rest of
Figure 8: El Tajín iconography. (a) South Ballcourt Panel their Maya counterparts may have set them apart from
6 showing maguey plants outlined by a scrolling mountain their Nahua neighbors, so it is possible that pulque
form (drawing by author after Kampen 1972:f.24); (b) Scene
was not only considered by the Aztecs as Huastec in
from Mound of the Building Columns Sculpture 5 showing
flowering maguey plant. It appears that the figure is either origin, but, by extension, associated with their more
bloodletting or urinating on the plant. (drawing by author distant Maya kin. Even at Teotihuacan, a well-known
after Kampen 1972:f.33c); (c) Maguey plants from Mound pulque production center (see Sheehy 2001), drinking
of the Building Columns Sculpture 1 (drawing by author seems to have been associated with the Maya. This is
after Kampen 1972:f.32a). evidenced by a mural which depicts several drunken
Maya figures, one of which is seated in a Maya cross-
The Huastecs: Maya Origins of Pulque legged pose, vomiting up beans (Figure 7; Taube
Iconography? 2003:281-283).
The close association of the Huasteca with
Interestingly, the Aztecs themselves never pulque ritual is further evidenced by Late Classic
considered pulque to be central Mexican in origin, iconography at the site of El Tajín (Figure 8). In scenes
so it is strange that they are often associated so that apparently trace ballgame ritual from start to
exclusively with the beverage. In fact, both pulque and finish (Wilkerson 1984, 1991), vats of liquid, jars, and
its associated complex of gods were understood by the flowering maguey plants are combined with imagery of
Aztecs to have originated in the region occupied by the the ballgame, decapitation, and disembowelment. The
Huastecs, an isolated group of Mayan speakers living specifics for interpretations of these panels vary. While
along the central Gulf Coast of Mexico. As Seler (1900- Wilkerson (1984, 1991) identifies the liquid shown in

58
LUCIA HENDERSON, “Blood, Water, Vomit, and Wine”
Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

a.

b. c.

Figure 9: Maya depictions of enemas. (a) Enema scene showing self-application and female attendants (Rollout © Justin Kerr,
K1890); (b) Enema scene (Rollout © Justin Kerr, K1550); (c) Two deities on page 52 of the Madrid Codex shown in a scene with
four enema syringes. Two syringes float above the deities’ offering plates, while two lie on top of the ceramic vessel between them
(drawing by author).

the corners of the south ballcourt panels (Panels 1-4) was populated by Totonac or Huastec people (see
as vats of pulque, Koontz (1994:37) describes them Castillo Peña and Piña Chan 1999; Wilkerson 1990).
as the “waters of the Itzompan,” connecting them to Regardless of which cultural group populated El Tajín,
water storage, irrigation, and drainage systems. All the location of the site in the Huasteca region and its
authors, however, agree that Panels 5 and 6 (Figure 8a) iconographic emphasis on maguey and pulque establish
emphasize maguey plants and very likely the beverage that pulque played an important role for the inhabitants
they produced (Piña Chan and Castillo Peña 1999:75). of the Late Classic Gulf Coast. Wilkerson (1984:127)
These two panels show maguey plants in a large states, “pulque…became a major ritual drink among
scale, framed by the scrolling sides of a mountain, an the cultures of the Veracruz coast. While primarily
element Koontz (1994:37, 75) identifies as “flowering associated in the early literature with the Huastecs of
mountain” and Wilkerson (1984:126, 1991:65) the north Gulf area in Postclassic times…its origins
identifies as the Tajín version of “Poçonaltepetl,” the are earlier.” Notably, several El Tajín sculptures,
“Mountain of Foam” where pulque was first made especially Sculpture 1 from the Pyramid of the Niches
(Sahagún 1950-82:Book 10:193). Maguey plants are and the pair of sculpted feet that likely represent its
also seen on Sculptures 5 and 1 (Figure 8b-c) from the match (Kampen 1972:f.17a,b), are fashioned in an
Mound of the Building Columns (Kampen 1972:f.32a, obviously Maya style. El Tajín was therefore, at some
33c). The prevalence of this plant in the carvings of El point in time, directly tied to the Maya area (Kampen
Tajín demonstrates that maguey and pulque played an 1972:16). This is further evidence that the origins of
important role in the rituals, ballgame and otherwise, pulque ritual are not only located outside of central
of this Gulf Coast site. Mexico, but are repeatedly linked to the Maya—
There is still disagreement over whether El Tajín linguistically, iconographically, and culturally.

59
LUCIA HENDERSON, “Blood, Water, Vomit, and Wine”
Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

a. b. c.

Figure 10: Enemas and pulque. (a) Detail of a doorjamb

on which a figure carries a chih vessel topped by an enema
syringe on his back (Barrera Rubio and Taube 1987:f.2); (b)
Vessel marked chih with an enema syringe on top (drawing
by author after de Smet and Hellmuth 1986:f.3b); (c) Vessel
marked chih with an enema syringe on top (drawing by a.
author of a ceramic vessel in a private collection).

Another indication that pulque ritual in the Maya

area should be seen as an original, perhaps even
originating, phenomenon is the widespread use of
enemas in Maya and Huastec drinking ceremonies, a
practice never seen in central Mexican iconography
and often condemned by Aztec informants in post-
conquest documents. In Maya art, enema syringes
are surprisingly prevalent: they are shown in simple
scenes of self-application or more complex scenes with b.
richly-attired female attendants, and are even depicted
on page 52 of the Madrid Codex in an offering scene Figure 11: Pulque vessels. (a) Tied pulque vessels shown in
with two deities (Figure 9a-c). That enemas at times transport on a carved Maya vessel (Rollout © Justin Kerr,
employed pulque is clearly established by a relief K1550); (b) Tied pulque vessel from page 89 of the Codex
sculpture and two Maya vessels, all of which depict Vaticanus B (drawing by author).
enema syringes sitting atop vessels marked with the
chih glyph (Figure 10a-c). their legs, have the wine poured into their anus through
That the Huastecs were similarly well-known for a tube until the body is full” (Anonymous Conqueror,
enema use is made clear in two conquest-era accounts. quoted in Anawalt 1993:27). The characteristics of
The first, by Bernal Diaz de Castillo, states: alcoholic enema use thus appear to have continued
uninterrupted from the Classic period Maya through
About drunkards I do not know what to
to the conquest-era Huastecs, though such rituals were
say, so many obscenities take place among
never adopted by the Aztecs.
them; I wish to note only one here which we
found in the province of Panuco; they make
“The Pulque Ran Like Water”
an injection by the anus with some (hollow)
canes and distend the intestines with wine,
Having established that pulque was consumed in
and this is done among them in the same way
the Maya area, one can now explore the many parallels
as among us an enema is applied [quoted in
between its iconographic expression in Maya art and
de Smet and Hellmuth 1986:215].
that found in Aztec imagery. For both the Aztecs and
A second even more condemning record states, “The the Maya, pulque was multifaceted, embracing themes
men are great sodomites, cowards, and, bored with of generation, purification, and sacrifice through
drinking wine with their mouths, lie down and extending complex connections to water, vomit, and blood. In
both regions, pulque was considered equivalent to

60
LUCIA HENDERSON, “Blood, Water, Vomit, and Wine”
Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

a.
N N C

b.
N N C C

Figure 12: (a) God N faces a buxom female and holds an enema syringe in his hand (Rollout © Justin Kerr, K5862); (b) Four
Chahks (marked with “C”) and four God Ns (marked with “N”) in a scene combining pulque and enema use with the sounds of an
oncoming rainstorm (Rollout © Justin Kerr, K0530).

water, in both practical and ritual use. Especially in as easily be pulque vessels (see Parsons and Parsons
the more arid zones of Mesoamerica, where water 1990:294-296). Images of contemporary three-handled
was often unavailable or contaminated, pulque or pulque jugs show the iconographic similarity between
its weaker cousin aguamiel were oftentimes used as this modern form, tied and ready for transport, and that
nutritious substitutes for water, containing not only seen in Maya and Aztec imagery (Figure 11; Parsons
protein and calcium, but also phosporous, thiamin, and Parsons 1990:124-125, pl. 44-45). If indeed
riboflavin, niacin, ascorbic acid, and iron (Bye and some of these vessels, when found in archaeological
Linares 2001:39; see also Evans 1990:118; Gonçalves contexts, were shown to hold pulque rather than water,
de Lima 1956:28-30). Even Motolinía refers to this it would indicate more general consumption of the
aspect of pulque: “actually, however, if taken with beverage by the Maya than has hitherto been assumed.
moderation, it is wholesome and very nutritious” Eber (2000:18) provides an interesting aquatic parallel
(Speck 1951, cited in Parsons and Parsons 1990:273). for balché: “they…purified it by offering it to the
In archaeological contexts as well as in Maya Gods, calling it ha (water), water of the Gods.”
iconography, water jars and pulque jars are In central Mexico, the deities of pulque and
indistinguishable. Unless labeled otherwise, these water were inextricably connected and at times were
round-bodied and narrow-necked jars traditionally substituted for each other. Tlaloc, the Mexican rain
have been called water jars, though they could just god, for instance, was connected to pulque and often

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a. b. c. d.

Figure 13: Conflation of pulque and water deities. (a) Chahk sits atop a maguey plant (drawing by author after page 32 of the
Dresden Codex); (b) Chahk sits atop a water place, possibly a cenote (drawing by author after page 39 of the Dresden Codex); (c-d)
Maguey plants with Chahk faces (drawings by author after Kerr K1384 and K1882).

a. b.

c.

Figure 14: Aztec images of maguey, pulque, and water. (a) Codex Vaticano B scene of a fish swimming in the roots of a maguey
plant (drawing by author); (b) Mayahuel suckles a fish (drawing by author after page 16 of the Borgia Codex); (c) Bilimek pulque
vessel showing a decapitated earth goddess with pulque flowing from her breasts into a pulque vessel below (Taube 1993:f.7).

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wore the headdress of pulque deities (Seler 1900-

01:68).3 Similarly, Nicholson discusses the overlap
in the names of pulque gods mentioned in Sahagún
“…that obviously merge the octli gods with the rain/
mountain deities, the Tepictoton and the Tlaloque”
(1991:169, citing Sahagún 1950-82:Book 1:194).
The site of El Tajín may also blend rain and pulque
gods. According to Wilkerson (1984:126), Panel 5,
which shows an individual with a fish headdress as the
recipient of a penis bloodletting ritual,

…illustrates the reason for the entire ritual

and sacrifice. The supplicant is requesting
the ritual drink, pulque, from the gods, and
the rain god in particular. The pulque gods
at El Tajín appear to be alternative forms of a.
the rain god and/or are controlled by him.

Just as the central Mexican Tlaloc overlaps with

octli deities, the four Chahks, rain gods of the Maya,
are seen in close connection to God N, a deity often
associated with drinking rituals and enema scenes.
A grizzled, lecherous man prone to fondling young
women, God N wears a characteristic net headdress
which when worn around the neck is called a “vomit
bib” due to its presence in scenes of inebriation and b. c.
vomiting (Figure 12a).4 His name is read “Pahuahtun”
(Coe 1978:82) and he most certainly is the quadripartite
god who supported the four corners of the world and
sky. Taube (1989; 1992:96) concurs that in the minds
of the Maya, God N was inexorably linked with
Chahk, a similarly quadripartite deity of rain and
thunderstorms.
This close relationship is clearly seen in a Maya
d. e.
vessel depicting four God Ns, three of whom face
enema syringes that have been placed on vessels
Figure 15: Cleansing properties of pulque and water. (a) A
before them (Figure 12b). Behind them, three Chahks cleansing flood pours from Chalchiuhtlique on page 3 of
play drums, rattles, and rasps, an analogy to the the Codex Borbonicus (drawing by author); (b) Waterlily
sounds of an oncoming rainstorm (see Coe 1978:76- Jaguar, wearing a vomit bib, vomits into a pulque vessel.
78). De Smet and Hellmuth (1986:220, Figure 2) (drawing by author after de Smet and Hellmuth 1986:f.7);
describe these drinkers and musicians as confronting (c) Waterlily Jaguar vomits into a drinking cup (drawing by
a “monstrous deity seated in a hut composed of a stack author after Rollout © Justin Kerr, K4605); (d) One monkey
of monster faces,” suggesting that this figure may be with a phallus laughs at the emetic results of enema use by
God GI. However, as evidenced by his spondylus a second monkey. Note the syringe held in second monkey’s
hand. (drawing by author after Hellmuth 1978:183); (e)
ear ornament, shell chest pendant, jaguar skirt, belt,
Scene of self-induced vomiting associated with drinking
and headdress, this last figure is none other than the (drawing by author of a vessel in a private collection).
fourth Chahk, dressed in a manner identical to his
three fellow Chahks and seated within a personified just as he is so often shown sitting over watery places
mountain that marks the event as an underworld scene. (Figure 13a-b). This conflation of water and maguey is
That the Maya, like their central Mexican counterparts, even more explicit on several ceramic vessels where
conflated pulque and water deities is made even more a maguey plant is shown as a Chahk head crowned
clear on page 32 of the Dresden Codex, where a Chahk with thorny agave leaves (Figure 13c-d; see Grube
carrying his characteristic axe sits atop a maguey plant, 2004b).5

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b.

a. c.

Figure 16: Enema scenes. (a) Figure vomits blood over enema syringe (Rollout © Justin Kerr, K5538); (b) God A´ vomits blood
over an enema syringe (Rollout © Justin Kerr, K0927); (c) Figure, right, wearing a vomit bib holds an enema syringe towards a
second vomiting figure, also wearing a vomit bib (drawing by author after Robicsek 1978:f.146).

The Aztec goddesses associated with water the Aztec invocation of Chalchiuhtlique during the
and pulque are treated in a similar manner. In bathing of infants after birth.
Late Postclassic imagery, Mayahuel, goddess of That many Maya vases show vomiting as a result
maguey, is often substituted for or shown with the of drinking as well as the emetic (and sometimes
features of Chalchiuhtlique, goddess of terrestrial amusing) results of enema use (Figure 15b-d), may
waters (Gonçalves de Lima 1956:111; Miller and be a similar reference to the purifying role played by
Taube 1993:111). Tlazolteotl, a goddess of filth pulque in the minds of Mesoamerican peoples. Alfred
and purification who overlaps in many ways with Tozzer (1907:136) described this result of inebriation
Chalchiuhtlique, was also often shown in the guise of as fully acceptable, even encouraged: “everyone,
the pulque gods. The watery nature of the maguey is with the exception of a few of the women, seems to
explicitly referenced in Codex Vaticano B 40, where a think it is his duty to become intoxicated… Many are
fish swims in the roots of a maguey plant (Figure 14a). naturally sick, but this seems only to be a reason for
Page 16 of the Borgia Codex even shows Mayahuel drinking more.” McGee (1990:71) describes a similar
suckling a fish (Figure 14b), while an analogous scene occurrence in contemporary Lacandon balché drinking
depicts an earth goddess with pulque flowing from ceremonies: “Lacandon men drink bowl after bowl
her breasts into a jar below (Figure 14c; Seler 1990- [of balché] until they throw up, then begin drinking
93[3]:199-223 and Taube 1993:4). In the first case, the again.” Like pulque, balché does not preserve or travel
breast milk of Mayahuel is equivalent to water. In the well, which means in ceremonies the attending men
second, the breast milk is pulque itself.6 must drink until the trough is dry (McGee 1990). It
In the Aztec codices, the cleansing properties seems, however, that the emphasis on vomiting in
of pulque and water are referenced through the balché ceremonies revolves around purification and
interchanges among Chalchiuhtlique, Mayahuel, and cleansing. As one colonial Spanish source describes,
Tlazolteotl, all goddesses associated with pulque and
water who at times are shown with water pouring from after they were drunk they vomited and
their wombs in a purifying flood (Figure 15a). Although were purged, which left them cleansed and
the case is more vague in the Maya area, there are hungry…Some of the old men say that
certainly parallels. For instance, in the Madrid Codex, this was very good for them, that it was a
the ci root is often found in compounds referencing medicine for them and cured them; because
baptism (Justeson, personal communication cited it was like a good purge [quoted in Roys
by de Smet 1985:63), a context strikingly similar to 1976(1931):216].

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a. b.

c. d.
Figure 17: Vomit as water. (a) Waterlily Jaguar vomits into the hands of the Earth Goddess (Rollout © Justin Kerr, K6020); (b)
A sky serpent vomiting water from page 74 of the Dresden Codex (drawing by author); (c) Teotihuacan mural showing a serpent
vomiting water over flowering plants (drawing by author after Berrin and Pasztory 1993:pl.50); (d) Chahk vomiting (drawing by
author after Rollout © Justin Kerr, K2772).

This cleansed state was considered necessary for men to a third vessel depicts a monkey holding an enema
communicate with the gods: “Contrary to drunkenness syringe toward a vomiting figure (Figure 16c).
in our own society, intoxication on balché is thought to Although the contents of the syringes in these scenes
confer a special level of ritual purity that is necessary are unspecified, they may very well be pulque. As de
to interact with the deities” (McGee 1990:8). That the Smet and Hellmuth (1986) argue, enemas—commonly
ancient Maya may also have viewed vomiting, at least viewed as a method of avoiding nausea and allowing
at times, as a necessary part of drinking ceremonies quicker absorption of intoxicants into the blood stream
may be referred to on an extraordinary ceramic vessel, than oral use often permits (de Smet 1985)—may have
which among other interesting scenes associated with been used to induce rather than prevent vomiting.
a drinking pot and cups, depicts a figure thrusting Vomit, like pulque, can also be seen as an
his hand into his mouth in what appears to be a clear equivalent of water. Classic Maya imagery of the
example of self-induced vomiting (Figure 15e). Waterlily Jaguar vomiting into the hands of the earth
Enema scenes on Maya vessels are also often goddess, for instance, is conceptually identical to both
associated with vomit imagery. Two scenes, for page 74 of the Dresden Codex, in which a crocodile
instance, show figures vomiting over the enema spews forth water over the earth, and iconography at
syringes that they are holding (Figures 16a-b), while Teotihuacan, which depicts serpents vomiting water

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a. b.
Figure 18: Pulque as blood. (a) Pulque vessel wearing sacrificial banners and pierced with an arrow (drawing by author after page
12 of the Borgia Codex); (b) A drinker and Mayahuel flank the sides of a foaming pulque jug. A heart pierced with a sucking reed
is shown below (drawing by author after page 56 of the Codex Vaticanus B).

a. b. c.
Figure 19: Heart excision as pulque production. (a) Maguey plants with excised hearts next to an overflowing pulque jug and two
drinking cups (drawing by author after page 25 of the Codex Vindobonensis); (b) Heart sacrifice, from page three of the Dresden
Codex (drawing by author); (c) Heart sacrifice on a painted Maya vessel (drawing by author after Rollout © Justin Kerr, K0928).

over agricultural fields (Figure 17a-c). An even more Pulque and Blood: Decapitation, Strangulation,
explicit scene shows a dancing Chahk wielding his and Rebirth
axe and vomiting (Figure 17d).
A Navajo ceremony discussed by Vogt (1994:43- In both the Maya area and central Mexico, pulque
45), in which participants take a purifying emetic also appears to have been equated with blood.7 In
and vomit into piles of sand, shows interesting Mexican codices, for instance, the pulque jug is often
parallels. One of the photographs, which shows a depicted as a sacrificial victim, wearing paper ear
man vomiting into his hand and a pile of sand below, ornaments and paper flags and pierced through the
is remarkably similar to the image of the Waterlily heart with an arrow, an item symbolically linked to the
Jaguar vomiting into the hands of the earth goddess sucking reed used in the consumption of pulque (Figure
(Figure 17a), especially if one thinks of the sand piles 18a; Seler 1900-01:69). This pulque-as-blood analogy
as representing the earth itself. Drinking rituals that was explicitly referenced in the Aztec capital during
included rites of vomiting might therefore be seen rites of gladiatorial sacrifice. Before the gladiatorial
as rites meant to ensure the fertilization of the earth battle and inevitable sacrifice, the captive (some
with fluid. Here, regurgitated fluid (namely pulque) say captor) drank pulque through a straw. Once the
becomes equivalent to the purifying, fertilizing aspect sacrifice was over and the heart had been excised, an
of water when spewed forth from the bodies of water attendant placed a straw into the victim’s blood-filled
deities. chest cavity, thereby likening it to a vessel filled with
pulque. As Sahagún (1950-82:Book 2:52-53) states,
“Thus he giveth [the sun] to drink.” Interestingly, the
contemporary harvesting of pulque sap is accomplished

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ligament” (Keller and Luciano G. 1997). As Keller and

Luciano G. (1997) explain, “There are two things that
are called ‘chiji’ in Chontal; one is the veins through
which blood passes and the other is tendons.” In other
words, the maguey’s fibers were seen as equivalent
to blood-filled veins. The plant body, therefore, was
comprised of nerves and tendons that were severed,
scraped, and cut out in order to provide mankind with
pulque. This theme of the maguey plant as offering
itself as a sacrifice for mankind finds its way into
a. b. myth, where pulque-related deities are often deities of
self-sacrifice. This theme is discussed in further detail
Figure 20: Blood sacrifice. (a) Figure holding sacrificial bowl
below.
with obsidian blade and maguey leaf (drawing by author
after page 86 of the Madrid Codex); (b) Figure pierces penis
Pulque may have been further linked to blood in
with a maguey leaf (drawing by author after page 18 of the Maya belief by the use of maguey thorns for blood
Paris Codex). sacrifice. That the Maya may have used these thorns for
bloodletting, as the Aztecs so often did, is suggested in
by sucking the liquid out of the maguey’s scraped several codex scenes, in which what appear to be spiky
out reservoir with reed tubes (Parsons and Parsons maguey leaves are placed alongside obsidian blades
1990:291), offering a close analogy to this ritual. in shallow sacrificial bowls (Figure 20a). In a more
Images in several Mexican codices of sucking reeds explicit bloodletting scene in the Paris Codex, a figure
that pierce hearts (Figure 18b) further reflect this close thrusts a spiked maguey leaf through his penis (Figure
association between heart sacrifice and the imbibing 20b). These objects are often identified as stingray
of pulque. spines, but their iconographic similarity to maguey
The metaphor of heart excision as pulque imagery in other codex scenes, particularly their close
production extends to (or perhaps from) the harvesting resemblance to the plant shown sheltering the maguey
of pulque, which requires an incision into the worm on page 28 of the Madrid Codex (see Figure 5a),
meyóllotl, the “heart of the maguey.” The collection support a maguey reading instead.8
of maguey sap relies heavily upon the timely removal Several drinking scenes on Maya vessels depict
of its nascent stalk. The sap collects for the single vomit as a series of small red dots, likening the
purpose of ensuring the growth of this stalk, and so all regurgitated liquid to blood. One vase, for instance,
of the stalk, including its leaf bases, must be cut out shows God A´ vomiting blood over an enema syringe
from within the maguey plant. The cavity left behind (Figure 16a; Coe 1982:108), while another shows
is later scraped, acting as a reservoir for the plant sap. a Waterlily Jaguar vomiting blood into the hands
The removal of the stalk and the subsequent scraping of Goddess O, the earth goddess (Figure 17a). The
process is very similar to heart excision, in which the same imagery is observed in scenes of decapitation
removal of the heart leaves behind a blood-filled cavity. and bloodletting, where blood is shown as a row of
The maguey plants seen on Codex Vindobonensis red dots spraying out or dripping from flesh (Figure
page 25 (Figure 19a) show the iconographic similarity 21a). This extends the connections to water discussed
between the plant, hollowed out for the drawing off earlier by further equating vomiting with bloodletting
of pulque, and victims of sacrifice by heart excision, and the regurgitated liquid with blood. On one vessel
shown so often in both Maya and Aztec imagery with discussed above, self-induced vomiting is combined
identical openings in their chests (Figure 19b-c). with a curious scene in which two figures with bloody
The maguey plant itself, then, was viewed as a noses and mouths grasp each other’s hair (Figure 21b).
bloody sacrificial body. Not only does the terminology A similar vessel depicts a man with blood pouring from
associated with the cultivation and harvesting of the his nose and mouth administering an enema to another
plant and its sap resound with sacrificial imagery, but figure who grasps his hair (Figure 21c). Although the
the word for “maguey” in several Mayan languages hair-grasping aspect of these interactions is enigmatic,
likens the internal, fibrous structure of the plant to the the action of vomiting appears, in all cases, to be
internal structure of the human body. For instance, considered conceptually linked to bloodletting, with
in Chontal, chij is defined not only as “aguardiente, the vomit itself often shown as a blood substance.
mezcal, liquor, alcohol,” but as “vein, tendon, Drinking ceremonies in both central Mexico and

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the Maya area also appear to have been replete with

decapitation imagery, perhaps a metaphorical allusion
to the severing of the central stalk of the maguey to
begin the flow of aguamiel. The Bilimek pulque vessel
of the Aztecs (Figure 14c) is carved with the image
of an earth goddess, probably Coatlique or Cihuacoatl
(see Taube 1993), who holds two anthropomorphic
sacrificial blades in her jaguar-paw hands, her severed
head lying upside-down on her chest. The liquid seen
pouring from her breasts into a pulque vessel below
indicates that she is a pulque goddess as well (Seler
1990-93[3]:199-223; Taube 1993). The Mixtecs portray
the goddess of maguey, “11 Serpent,” in a similar way: a. b.
with a severed head that falls from a bleeding throat
(Figure 22a; Miller and Taube 1993:108).
Likewise, God A´ or Akan, the Maya deity most
closely associated with pulque, is also a deity of death
by decapitation. The name of one of his manifestations,
Ch’ak B’aah Akan, even reads “head-cutting Akan,”
and he is often shown cutting off his own head with an
axe or knife (Figure 22b; see also K8936; see Grube
2004a). At times, Akan’s hair is shown as a long,
twisted cord with a looped end (Figure 16b), probably c.
in order for the head to be suspended after decapitation
(see Coe 1982:108). Akan’s close link to pulque is
Figure 21: Vomit as a blood substance. (a) Blood pours from
evidenced by Altar U at Copán, whose text describes a decapitated head (drawing by author after Rollout © Justin
ruler Yax Pahsaj Chan Yopaat as “the impersonator Kerr, K0680); (b) Two figures in a drinking scene grasp
of Akan, god of drink, in the act of drinking pulque” each other’s hair while bleeding from the nose and mouth
(David Stuart personal communication 2003; see also (drawing by author of a vessel in a private collection); (c)
Grube 2004a:63). “Acan” is listed as the god of wine Figure bleeds from the nose and mouth while administering
and linked to Bacchus in the Motul dictionary, though an enema to a second figure, who grasps his hair (drawing by
his more morbid aspects are apparently overlooked author after Robicsek 1978:pl.20).
(cited in Grube 2004a:61).9 This close connection
between pulque and decapitation is demonstrated by at the site depicts a man signing chih with his hand,
several painted scenes on ceramic vessels which show possibly indicating that the substance responsible for
decapitated heads situated on or above pulque jars the depicted behavior was pulque (Figure 23c; see
(Figure 22c-e). also Figure 4a). This imagery of strangulation in the
Though far less widespread than imagery Maya region is paralleled in Sahagún’s description
of decapitation, references to strangulation also (1950-82:Book 1:51) of the Aztec pulque god:
accompany pulque iconography in both central Mexico “…he hurled people off crags, he strangled people,
and the Maya region and appear to be conceptually he drowned people, he killed them.” Interestingly,
related. Rancho San Diego, a site south of Mérida, with the exception of being hurled off of rocks, these
contains two relief sculptures that appear to associate are all references that have already been discussed:
practices of strangulation with intoxication (Barrera strangulation, water imagery, and sacrifice, both by
Rubio and Taube 1987). One relief depicts a man decapitation and heart extraction.
touching a second figure with a bowed head while Concepts of bloodletting and sacrifice inevitably
simultaneously practicing self-strangulation (Figure lead to themes of rebirth and renewal, for, throughout
23a; Barrera Rubio and Taube 1987:9). A second relief Mesoamerica, the birth of humankind was believed
depicts what the authors describe as a figure holding a to have come about as a result of self-sacrifice on
ritual cloth (Barrera Rubio and Taube 1987:7), though the part of the gods. In Aztec myth, Nanahuatzin and
it appears instead to be an individual in the process of Tecuciztecatl throw themselves into a great pyre to
strangling him- or herself (Figure 23b). A third relief create the Fifth Sun. For the Maya, it is the Maize

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a. b.

c.

d. e.
Figure 22: Decapitation and pulque. (a) Maguey goddess 11 Serpent decapitates herself (Nuttall 1975:pl.3); (b) God A´ decapitates
himself (Rollout © Justin Kerr, K1230); (c) A jaguar drinks from a vessel topped with a decapitated head (drawing by author after
Kerr K1376); (d) Two figures interact over a vessel topped by an enema syringe while a third figure holds a bleeding head over a
drinking vessel (drawing by author after Kerr K2669); (e) A death god holds a drinking pot in his lap and offers a drinking cup to
a second figure (not depicted in drawing) while an inverted jaguar holds a bleeding decapitated head over them (drawing by author
after Rollout © Justin Kerr, K8936).

God who gave his own flesh to form the first humans. mankind, so men were obliged to offer a
The gods associated with pulque are no different for return sacrifice to them [Keber 1989:79].
either area. The Aztec Mayahuel is sacrificed by the
tzitzimime demons, and the first maguey plant emerges God A´, the Maya pulque god, is also a god of self-
in bloom from her buried bones. As Keber (1989) sacrifice, while Ome Tochtli, the primary Aztec pulque
states, god, has a story of self-sacrifice as well. Nicholson
(1991) recounts:
The myth of maguey thus reinforced the
supposition central to Aztec religions and [Tezcatlipoca]…killed the god of the wine,
political ideologies that since the gods with his consent and acquiescence, saying
had sacrificed themselves for the good of that in this way he became eternal and that,

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a. b. c.
Figure 23: Strangulation and intoxication. (a) Relief 5 at Rancho San Diego depicting a figure practicing self-strangulation (Barrera
Rubio and Taube 1987:f.17); (b) Relief 1 at Rancho San Diego depicting a figure practicing self-strangulation (Barrera Rubio and
Taube 1987:f.2); (c) Relief 2 at Rancho San Diego depicting a figure signing “chih” (Barrera Rubio and Taube 1987:f.3).

if he had not died, all those who drank wine practices and imagery were exchanged between these
would die. But that the death of Ome Tochtli groups. The role played by the site of Cholula in this
was as the dream of a drunkard, which, cultural interchange also deserves attention, especially
when he returns from it, leaves him healthy as pulque appears to have played such an important
and well [1991:160-161, citing Gabriel de role in the imagery of the site.10
Chávez 1986:62]. Another potential path of research is the
correlation of the iconographic arguments provided
This “dream of a drunkard” clearly refers to the above with archaeological evidence from the Maya
“passing out” of a drunk, an event shown in numerous area. If the tools known from the Basin of Mexico to
drinking scenes on Classic Maya vessels (Figure have been used for maguey cultivation and harvesting
24a-c). Sahagún even dubs pulque “sleep-producing are present in the Maya area, then differences in their
wine” (1950-82:Book 2:90). In the case of pulque, design can aid us not only in determining what kinds
this interim state of semi-consciousness has scientific of agaves were once used, but to what purposes these
support, for, according to de Smet (1985:21), “…acute plants were utilized. Although addressed above in its
ingestion [of ethyl alcohol] can lead to an inebriation sacred and ritual context, maguey was also a very
characterized by stupour….” This unconscious state practical agricultural commodity that provided food,
was seen as a metaphoric death, which is probably water, rope, cloth, paper, fuel, and other products for
why so many drinking scenes on Maya vessels trade and exchange (see Evans 1990). It is important to
appear to occur either in the Underworld or in the understand the ways in which the identity and value of
presence of Underworld creatures, including Waterlily maguey as a practical resource overlapped, interacted
Jaguars, Gods A and A´, dancing bats, and skeletal with, and informed its identity as a ritual and sacred
animals. Drinkers were considered to have entered substance.
the underworld for a brief time, and therefore their One of the most important questions that remains
“coming to” was seen as a rebirth from this dark realm to be answered is: why pulque? How and why did this
(see Seler 1990-93[3]:206). particular beverage become so deeply entrenched in
Mesoamerican belief systems? First, I would argue that
Discussion pulque is derived from a plant that is completely unique
in the Mesoamerican world—the agave is unparalleled
The current study acts as a preliminary glimpse in terms of variety and breadth of uses to which it can
into pulque iconography and symbolism in the Maya be put. Aguamiel was seen as a practical and nutritious
and Aztec worlds. As the work presented above substitute for water, and the plant’s heart, when not
makes clear, many additional aspects of pulque use removed for pulque production, can be roasted and
and symbolism remain open for further research. For eaten. Agave spines were used for bloodletting, and
instance, a more targeted analysis of not only Huastec the plant’s fibrous leaves could be used to create paper,
pulque use, but of the nature of cultural interaction thread, cloth, rope, and building materials. In treeless
among the Maya, Aztecs, and Huastecs would provide areas, the dried agave could also be used for fuel. As
invaluable information about the ways in which pulque Evans (1990:117) states, maguey allows life in the

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a.

b. c.

Figure 24: Maya drinking scenes. (a) Figure wearing a God A´ eyemask and animal headdress falls down behind a God A´ mummy
bundle (who drinks in front of a vessel with an enema syringe on top). Justin Kerr notes in his description that the badly over-
painted glyph on the vessel was originally chih. (Rollout © Justin Kerr, K1381); (b) A drunk individual is held up by two attendants.
Two vessels in the scene, only one shown here, are marked with the chih glyph, implicating pulque as the culprit (Rollout © Justin
Kerr, K1092); (c) Figure wearing bird headdress falls down holding a pulque jug while God A´ looks on from behind another jug
(drawing by author after Rollout © Justin Kerr, K1900).

most marginal of areas by providing food, water, and perishable and travels extremely poorly. This
trade materials. No other plant in Mesoamerica can evanescent quality of pulque, combined with the
boast such a vast variety of uses. It is not surprising, difficulty of production, may have further added to its
then, that it would play such an important role in the value as a sacred substance.
ritual life and cosmology of Mesoamerica as a whole. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, pulque was
Second, though the widespread consumption of envisioned as the product of self-sacrifice on the part
pulque may lead one to believe that the production of the maguey plant. In other words, pulque was the
of the beverage is rather simple, the process involved lifeblood that once ran through the maguey’s fibrous
in converting a single maguey plant into vats of veins. The consumption of maguey blood, for both
foaming pulque is extraordinarily complex and time- practical and ritual use, would have been just as sacred
consuming. As Parsons and Parsons (1990) describe, and symbolic an event as the consumption of maize,
the entire process, from the cultivation of the maguey the flesh of the corn god. In both Maya and Aztec
plant to its castration, picking, and the harvesting myth, gods and goddesses associated with maguey and
of aguamiel, is dependent almost entirely on proper pulque embody that fundamental Mesoamerican belief
timing and a profound understanding of (and correct in sacrifice and restoration, in the reciprocal blood debt
response to) the varying, often competing effects of between mankind and their gods. It is not surprising,
the environment. In addition, pulque is extraordinarily then, that pulque would have been conceived of as

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Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

analogous to water and vomit in addition to blood, for the consumption of pulque—punishments for illicit
each of these, in its own way, is also a kind of ch’ulel, consumption included whipping, slavery, and even
or sacred body substance. Pulque, blood, vomit, and death (Sahagún 1950-82:Book 6:69; Book 2:106,
water are all internal, precious, animating fluids—of 148; Durán 1971:289)—but it should be made clear
plants, humans, gods, and even (particularly in the that such controls were established because of the
case of water) the celestial and terrestrial realms. ritual potency and importance of pulque, not because
its use was considered immoral or sinful, as colonial
Conclusion accounts imply. Imagery from the Maya area, though
perhaps revealing a much freer use of the beverage,
Though pulque has often been considered nevertheless indicates a close relationship between
an exclusive characteristic of central Mexico, pulque and underworld imagery, further evidence of
iconographic and glyphic evidence indicate that not pulque’s close association in Mesoamerican thought
only was it consumed in the Maya area long before with death, transformation, and the otherworld.
the Aztecs rose to power, but it played a pivotal role in Having outlined the visual system employed in
Maya religious belief. Aztec myths that associate the the depiction of pulque in both the Maya and Aztec
origin of pulque with the Huastecs, an isolated group worlds, the consistency with which this alcoholic
of Maya speakers located on the Gulf Coast, indicate beverage was treated across time and space can be
that the Maya may have had much more to do with the better appreciated. Pulque not only was considered
origins and development of pulque ritual and imagery integral to ritual practice, but maintained specific and
in the Aztec world than has previously been imagined. detailed associations from the Classic Maya period
As such, further study of the role played by pulque in through to the conquest period Aztecs. Pulque, for both
Maya thought and ritual may serve to illuminate details the Maya and the Aztecs, embodied the fructifying
not only about Maya religious practice itself, but also and purifying aspects of water, blood, and vomit as
the nature of pulque and its associated imagery in the well as the sacrifice and restoration of men and gods.
rest of Mesoamerica. This interconnected symbology of fertilizing fluids,
The overlap of rain gods with pulque gods, sacrifice, purification, death, and renewal continued,
contexts of sacrifice by decapitation, strangulation, for the most part unaltered, from the Maya to the
or heart extraction, and metaphors of the fertilizing Aztecs, across great spans of time and geography.
and purifying powers of pulque, water, blood, and The role pulque has played in Mesoamerican ritual
vomit, demonstrate the profound way in which this thus deserves further thought and investigation and
intoxicating drink was inextricably and universally promises to reveal a great deal about a rich, complex,
woven into Mesoamerican cosmology. The Aztecs, and significant aspect of Precolumbian belief
for their part, were extremely careful in regulating systems.

Acknowledgments

This article would have never been written had it not been for the generosity of several scholars who shared
their thoughts and opinions with me so considerately. I would like to thank Karl Taube and David Stuart in
particular for their guidance and kindness in sharing their time, images, and vast stores of information with me.
I am also indebted to them for their editorial advice, as well as that of Geoffrey Braswell, Elizabeth Newsome,
and Caitlin Earley. I was also very fortunate to have received extremely thoughtful advice and helpful suggestions
from several anonymous reviewers. Lastly, I would like to thank Joel Palka, whose opinions and critiques
have been of the utmost value in improving the arguments and substance of the research presented above.

Notes

1. For more in-depth descriptions of this process, see Bye and Linares (2001) and Parsons and Parsons (1990).
2. The chih reading has been known and accepted by Maya epigraphers for some time. First proposed in an unpublished study
by John Justeson, the term has been both confirmed and elaborated on in subsequent work by numerous scholars.
3. Though the contention that “Tlaloc” is a fusion of the words tlalli (earth) and octli (pulque) (Guerrero 1980:38 citing Seler)
would further enhance this argument, a strict application of Nahuatl grammar indicates that such a fusion would have produced
the name “Tlaloctli.” Instead “Tlaloc” should be understood as a reduction of an original word tlalloqui, meaning “full of earth”
(Sullivan 1972).

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Mesoamerican Voices, 3 (2008)

4. The prevalence of this headdress in palace scenes has been noted as a possible indication that it was considered general
courtly dress rather than a specific attribute of God N. If this is the case, rather than people of the court wearing the headdress to
emulate God N, the deity may instead be depicted with the headdress as a perversion of reality, a gesture of ritual clowning in
which an emaciated, bald, lecherous drunk can assume the dress of courtly men (See Taube 1989).
5. This maguey plant, seated on a throne with kawak markings, is frequently found in early inscriptions and appears to refer to
either a mythical or historical site associated with early dynastic founding (See Grube 2004b). It would, indeed, be interesting to
discover the identity of this site and why it is so closely associated with maguey.
6. Although beyond the scope of the current article, it would be interesting to examine the ways in which both breast milk and
semen, as sacred and powerful bodily fluids, interacted with the complex of pulque imagery currently discussed (see, for instance,
Monaghan 1990:567).
7. The Maya also considered balché, made from tree bark, to be identical to blood, since tree sap was considered “the blood of
the tree” (Schele and Miller 1986:43; Gonçalves de Lima 1956:34). In modern day Communion, the Maya substitute tortillas and
balché for the flesh and blood of Christ (Tozzer 1907:161).
8. Gonçalves de Lima (1956:166; see also Villacorta and Villacorta 1976) argues for the presence of maguey plants in the
hands of God A (the death god) and God B (Chahk) on Dresden page 13. The items identified as maguey plants are also seen on
Dresden page 12, carried by the Maize God. Thompson (1972:36-37) argues instead that these represent cacao pods. However,
he also mentions that such items are often found splattered with blood and associated with bloodletting rituals, a point that might
support a maguey reading instead. Unfortunately, in this instance, no glyphs are available which aid in identifying the plants.
9. Grube (2004a) associates these darker aspects, including connections to disease and death (Mok Chih, for instance, trans-
lates as “nausea pulque” [Grube 2004a:69]) to the central Mexican ahuiateteo, similarly linked to drinking, excess, disease, and
death, a parallel that bears further investigation.
10. For general studies on the Cholula drinking scenes, see Ashwell (2004), Müller (1972), and Rodríguez Cabrera (2003).

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