THE
GIFT OF GOD QUETZALCOALT
Around the year
600 the Mayas were the first planters of the Cocoa trees. Two centuries later
the Tolteques civilization worshiped the tree due to its mystic origin. The Indian
legend tells that the Tolteque pacific king, Quetzalcoalt, before entering the
Aztec god's pantheon had brought as a gift to human kind the cocoa tree source
of fortune and strength.
The
word cocoa comes from the Aztec cachualt which is the pulp extracted from the
fruit of the cachuaquahuitl tree. The word chocolate comes from tchocolatl or
xocolatl drink of the Maya gods. "Choco" would mean noise or sound and
"alt" water. The chocolate was whipped in boiling water and then drunk.
''The
divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue.
A cup of this
precious drink permits a man to walk a whole day without food''
Montezuma,
Aztec Emperor
(c.1480-1520) |