For Mesoamerican cultures, the cacao tree was a precious gift brought to humans by the gods.
The beans were used both for consumption, especially ground into a mass that was used to make a bitter drink flavoured with spices.
The grains were also used as currency.
Mythological significance
The Aztecs saw cacao as a means of bridging the gap between the world of us, mortals, and the world of the gods.
In Mayan culture, cacao plays an important role in many creation myths, symbolising fertility, transformation and cosmic order.
Artistic expression and symbolism of cocoa
In Mesoamerican art, cacao takes many forms, from murals to intricately shaped ceramics.
The various artistic representations have always emphasized the cultural significance of the cacao tree and its fruit, which symbolize abundance, life force, as well as a spiritual level in the communication between humans and the gods.
The so-called Mendoza Codex, approx. from 1541
It shows the tax that the Aztecs collected twice a year from the Soconusco region in southern Mexico, where cacao was grown.
Next to jaguar skins are two loads of cocoa beans that were used as payment.
Fejervary Mayer Codex
This image represents the divine essence attributed to cacao.
The cacao tree with its colourful pods is depicted as the sacred tree on the right, located between Centeocihuatl (also Cinteotl), the deity of corn, and Mictlantecuhtli, the god of death.
