- PII
- S0044748X0000617-7-1
- DOI
- 10.7868/S0000617-7-1
- Publication type
- Article
- Status
- Published
- Authors
- Volume/ Edition
- Volume / Issue 9
- Pages
- 82-95
- Abstract
- Cocoa (plant, beans, and drink) was discovered by Mesoamerican Indians over 3000 years ago. Specific conditions and cultivation techniques necessary for the plant growing were reflected by ancient Indians in their iconography, texts, sculpture and myths. Cocoa was not only an important commodity it also was of religious significance. However, for all its importance there is no a single consistent myth about cocoa origin. Study of sources showed that Mesoamerica myths date back to archaic sacred believes that a cocoa tree – is the Cosmic Tree that saves the forefathers blood needed for souls reincarnation. The Tree is equated to the heavenly Reptile – Father Earth. And the cocoa drink was the blood of a soul of Man, which made up a well-known fable on how the flesh of the first man was made of maize. Moreover, in ancient time, the symbol of a cocoa fruit, a half of which contains 20 beans precisely, was used for creation of a symbol of zero which had the shape of two halves.
- Keywords
- cocoa, Mesoamerica, Maya, ritual drink, Cosmic Tree, origin myths, mythic ancestors, caves, reincarnation, blood and flesh in the myths about creation, ritual sacrifice, hieroglyphic texts, Mesoamerican iconography
- Date of publication
- 01.09.2010
- Year of publication
- 2010
- Number of purchasers
- 2
- Views
- 1109
RAS Global AffairsЛатинская Америка Latinskaia Amerika
- ISSN (Print) 0044748X
- ISSN (Online) 3034-557X
Cocoa in Mesoamerican history and myths
Индексирование
Scopus
Crossref
Higher Attestation Commission
At the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Scientific Electronic Library