Category: History

Herbs, History, The Kitchen

Ixmiquilpan : Land of the Obsidian Arrow Quelite

Ixmiquilpan, equivalent to Nahuatl Itzmiquilpan, from itzmīquilitl (purslane/verdolagas) +‎ -pan (locative suffix), from Mezquital Otomi Nts’u̱tk’ani, from tsꞌu̱tkꞌǎni (purslane). Ixmiquilpan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo. It is located in the central west part of the state of Hidalgo in central-eastern Mexico. The first ethnic group to settle in the Mezquital Valley in Hidalgo state were a group of Otomies … Continue reading Ixmiquilpan : Land of the Obsidian Arrow Quelite

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History, The Kitchen

Nejayote

Cover Image by Carl Nebel – Voyage pittoresque et archéologique dans la partie la plus intéressante du Mexique par C. Nebel, Architecte. 50 Planches Lithographiées avec texte explicatif., Public Domain Nejayote Also nijayote : from Guerrero Nahuatl nexayotl, Tlamacazapa Nahuatl nexayotl Corn was traditionally processed by cooking and steeping the kernels with lime or wood ashes (1), discarding the cooking liquor or nejayotl (from tenextli … Continue reading Nejayote

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History, Native Plants

México’s contributions to the World : The Botanical Treasures of Mexico

This last Saturday (27/06/22) I was blessed with the opportunity of being able to present a talk on México at the Western Australian Museum. I was invited by the Friends of Mexico Society (FOMEX) to present one of a series of four talks on México. Cesar (the President of FOMEX in W.A.) presented the first talk on 10 Interesting Facts About Mexico and Ernesto (the … Continue reading México’s contributions to the World : The Botanical Treasures of Mexico

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History

El Avatar de Xochipilli

The Avatar (1) of Xochipilli an embodiment (as of a concept or philosophy) often in a person (in this case a statue) The most common reference for the discovery of this statue that you will find will likely be “In the mid-19th century, a 16th-century Aztec statue of Xochipilli was unearthed on the side of the volcano Popocatépetl near Tlalmanalco” (1) although others state “His … Continue reading El Avatar de Xochipilli

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History

Xochipilli : A Force of Nature

Yaoehecatl, dancer (1), historian, writer, instructor, lecturer, and Primera Palabra o Jefe del Calpulli Metzcualo-Tonalyeztli (First Word or Chief) of the Calpulli (2) Metzcualo-Tonalyeztli (3) has recently published some material which places Xochipilli into the “force of nature” category from the indigenous point of view of the Mexica. The work “Xochipilli y San Juan Bautista. El sincretismo del Solsticio de Verano” (4) equates the current … Continue reading Xochipilli : A Force of Nature

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History, The Kitchen

Puches : Part 2 : Puches or Puchas?

Cover Image : Puchas from the Panadería La Purisima De Silao in Guanajuato, Mexico My last Post (1) was borne from a readers comment regarding tequesquite. Tequesquite is a natural mineral salt that has been used in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times (mainly as a culinary ingredient/food seasoning). It was mentioned in an historical document from 1844 that was a list of ingredients, and their costs, … Continue reading Puches : Part 2 : Puches or Puchas?

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History, The Kitchen

Puches

Cover Image via Commonwealth of Social Services (Sierra Norte de Madrid) I received some interesting feedback on the Post Tequesquite from an independent historian in New Mexico (1) who noted that tequesquite was listed in a document from 1844 (2) that listed it as an ingredient in a dish called “puches”. The document was part of a folio regarding a 16th of September (3) celebration … Continue reading Puches

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Herbs, History, Native Plants, Uncategorized

Xochipilli : Intoxicating Scent.

Cover image : cacaloxochitl (Nahuatl raven – flower)(Plumeria rubra) or the Frangipani tree. This tree was highly prized in Aztec society. It was planted in the gardens of the elite classes of society and, amongst the Maya, plumeria was associated with deities representing life force and fertility. The flowers became strongly connected with a wide range of expressions of female sexuality (Zumbroich 2013). Intoxication need … Continue reading Xochipilli : Intoxicating Scent.

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Herbs, History, Native Plants, The Kitchen

Quelites in Old Texts

In this case the text in question is Nuevo Cocinero Mejicano (1) En Forma De Diccionario (1888) Mejico or Mexico? and why? See the link to David Bowles etymological journey in the website references. See also my earlier Post : Origins of the words Aztec and Mexico I stumbled across this text purely by luck. In response to a readers comments regarding tequesquite (1) being … Continue reading Quelites in Old Texts

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Herbs, History, Native Plants

Unknown Porophyllum : Zacapapaloquilitl.

zacatl (1) Principal English Translation: grasses, such as hay, used for fodder for animals (loaned to Spanish as zacate) (Cline 1986) dry grass, hay, straw, weeds, zacate (Lockhart 2001) zacate (from náhuatl zacatl.) m. (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Philippines, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua) : Herb, pasture, forage (2) the name zacate is a derivative of Nahuatl zacatl, denoting certain grasses, especially a short pasture-grass (Watson … Continue reading Unknown Porophyllum : Zacapapaloquilitl.

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