The Role of Food in Aztec Society

The Role of Food in Aztec Society

As in most societies, food was the impetus of Aztec culture. Food was a part of their creation myths, a part of their legendary rise to greatness, a part of their social structure and a major player in their religion. In this paper I will explore how food was a unifier of the early Aztec rise to power at Tenochtitlan in the Valley of Mexico and then evolved into a divisive agent and vehicle for social mobility once an elite lineage ruling class rose to rule the empire. The Aztecs were united by their early lake based diet and their staple of corn from the commoner’s worship of corn seeds and the elite sacrifice to the maize god. However, with the evolution of empire building and tribute, foods deemed high in tonalli such as cacao, sacrificial flesh and any intoxicant clearly began divide. Through this divide, there were paths of social mobility provided largely by talent, such as a woman’s prowess in cooking, a warrior’s ability to obtain captives for ritual cannibalism or a calpolli member’s ability to host an extravagant feast. Many of these catalysts for social mobility are rooted in consumption.

According to legend, the Aztecs started on their rise to power after settling in the swamps of Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. While the swampy area may not sound like the ideal place to foster a society, this land was full of natural resources that fed the early Mexica tribes (Coe, 2002). This abundance of natural resources led to the prolific rise in their numbers. The population increased pressure on the natural resources, resulting in domestication and agriculture, specifically chinampa farming practices (Smith, 1987). The increased agricultural intensification was a sign of cultural change for the Aztecs and their success was directly linked to this intensification (Smith, 1987). As their population continued to grow due to sufficient nutrition and surplus of resources, societal and craft specializations began to form which eventually allowed the Aztecs to become the greatest force in the Valley of Mexico. They then began to exert their influence and power over other regional polities (Clendinnen 1985). As these polities became part of the empire, the Aztecs began to exact tribute requirements on them which led to an influx of hard to get, or elite foodstuffs (Smith, 1987). I propose that food is one of the many representations of the duality of Aztec culture. It acted as a unifier and divider. The humble beginnings of the Aztec people found strength in a shared dietary heritage and maize based diet, but as their power grew, their diet expanded to include dishes of political and religious importance that were restricted to those ordained with supernatural authority and tonalli. Without the elite imposed value system put in place under the revolutionary leader, Itzcoatl, there would have been no differentiation in the Aztec diet between commoners and nobility. Both classes grew out of survival on a varied and nutritionally rich lake based diet which included items such as birds, amphibians, fish, algae, and eggs and was superior to those communities which surrounded the valley (Coe, 2002). Even as the Aztec diet shifted to agriculture with the development of the chinampas, there was little differentiation between the foods of the elite and the foods of the commoners (LeCount, 2001). However, once the pattern of social stratification was in place, tribute items began to flow into the ruling class.

In the beginning of Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs were unified by their ability to adapt to marine and estuary resources that other groups in the Valley of Mexico had not yet harnessed, then, as they grew and shifted to agriculture, corn became their cultural bond. The original diet of the Aztecs can be traced back to their meager beginnings in the Valley of Mexico. Relegated to unwanted swamp lands the Mexica tribes were forced to eke out their existence with what was available for hunting and gathering on Lake Texcoco and its margins. Fortunately, this area was teeming with life, such as water insects, fish, aquatic birds, frogs, tadpoles, lizards, snakes and their eggs as well as algae from the lake all of which provided adequate nutrition to sustain and grow the life of the Aztecs (Coe, 2002). As their population increased, agriculture was needed to support the increased pressure on the natural food supply. Some of the first evidences of public works indicating stratification were chinampas, agricultural terracing of the hills surrounding the valley and irrigation systems necessary to keep these areas watered (Smith, 1987). Chinampas were built in the swamps by dredging the fertile lake bottoms for mud, then piling that mud up above the water level. These beds were held in place by planting trees whose roots held the soil in place. They were extremely fertile plots of land (Smith, 2003). These intensively farmed areas provided the growing city with maize, beans, avocados, tomatoes, squash, amaranth, chia and chile peppers (Smith, 2003).

Of these staples, the primary food source, eaten by all levels of society at every meal was maize (Coe, 2002). Maize was the major unifying element of the Aztec diet. It came in many varieties and each variety had its own specific use (Sahagun v. 11, 1951). Maize was so important to society that it was not only a food, but a religion. The creation myths of the Aztec discuss the belief that humans of this world come from maize and therefore it can stand in as a human or blood sacrifice. In this vein, maize is a suitable food not only for commoners, but for all strata of society, including gods, as it represents fertility and sacrifice. Maize illustrated the circle of life and death -- as maize comes from the ground, people eat it and are therefore made of maize and then when they die they are returned to the ground to be re-born (LeCount, 2001). Due to its importance, depictions of maize are often found in Aztec art, but mainly in context with the worship of a maize or agricultural deity such as Tlaloc, Cinteotl or Chicomecoatl. According to Sahagun, these deities were worshipped not only in public temples but also at home altars indicating that maize was a unifying food item of Aztec culture. It was as accessible to the poorest resident of the empire as well as a daily food item of the emperor (Coe, 2002). Because of the Aztec dependence on agriculture as life, weather was a major concern (Smith, 2003). Therefore agricultural themes are present in state and domestic ritual and religion, and evidence of these rituals can be found in the archaeological record (Coe, 2002).

Along with corn, the other staples of the Aztec diet were combined in a variety of ways to produce many dishes. The basic unit of the diet was the tortilla, formed from dried and nixtamalized corn ground on the metate and cooked on the comal (Barros, & Buenrostro, 2002). The most basic diet of a commoner consisted of tortillas dipped in chile water (Coe, 2002). Another daily meal of all classes was atolli. It was also corn based, but the ingredients varied based on one’s social standing. It could range from a thin gruel of chili and corn, to a more elaborate thicker drink of corn, flowers and fruit or even chocolate (Coe, 2002). The basic diet of the Aztecs consisted of some sort of corn flavored with some sort of sauce. The sauce is what delineated one’s social status (Coe, 2002). According to the Florentine Codex there were over 10 types of tortillas and 27 types of salsas (Barros & Buenrostro, 2002).
As time progressed, the agricultural surplus grew and times of abundant rains continued. This led to the Aztec people’s support of the empire which grew and expanded its reach (Smith, 2003). As it amassed new polities into its society, tribute systems were put in place as was common in Mesoamerica (Smith, 2003). These tribute systems led to exotic food and food related items coming into the Aztec elite. However, this new variety was not available to all members of society at Tenochtitlan. The city had grown into the capitol of a massive empire and within this empire, there was a rigidly stratified between heredity based nobility and commoners since the time of Itzcoatl’s reign (Clendinnen, 1985). In between these two main classes existed a middle class of merchants, warriors, artisans and priests. The nobility mainly concerned itself with maintaining positive reciprocal relationships with the gods, especially those associated with agricultural fertility. These ritual activities often entailed the consumption of flesh, chocolate, pulque and other items associated with high levels of tonalli. The lower classes concerned themselves with attempting to gain social status. There were a few routes possible to both men and women to move up in status. Good cooks, warriors, and hosts were some of the people able to move up based on consumables. One could also climb the ranks of society if they studied to become a great warrior, priest or merchant (Smith, 1987). Individual successes led to increased access to tribute which could then be re-distributed to friends and family (Clendinnen, 1985).

Before discussing the relationships with the gods and restricted consumables, there is a need to define a cultural construct important to the stratification of the Aztec empire, tonalli, defined by Furst as “life force” (2003). The Aztecs held the belief that this life force was present in all items of the universe from rocks, to humans to the sun. However, the amount of tonalli an item possessed could differ. In humans, the amount of this life force could be determined by the status a human had achieved, the more elite one’s status, the more tonalli. This was an important concept regarding human sacrifice and cannibalism. The victims were dressed in the finery of the gods before sacrifice; therefore the decoration bestowed upon the human the vital life force of the god. Only those who already possessed high tonalli could expect to receive more tonalli (Furst, 2003). Therefore, only those of high rank could expect to eat human flesh. This same thought was applied to chocolate, hallucinogenic mushrooms and pulque. All of these consumables were considered to open a conduit to the gods, and only those strong enough in their tonalli could successfully withstand the responsibility that came with that communication (Coe, 2002).

Some of the deities with which the rulers communicated were Tlaloc, Tlalteuctli, Tonatiuh, Cinteotl and Chicomecoatl who are all associated with agricultural fertility. Tlalteuctli, the earth lord or earth monster was acknowledged at feasts by participants dropping pieces of food to the ground before they ate (Coe, 2002). Tonatiuh was the god of the sun which provided the warmth needed to provide crops with their life force and he was honored with human sacrifice (Furst, 2003). Tlaloc was the god of storms who was honored by child sacrifices, as the tears of the child were thought to bring forth the rains (Sahagun v.2, 1951). The maize god had several incarnations, two of which were Cinteotl and Chicomecoatl and this god was honored in many ways from the commoners who addressed corn kernels directly before planting, and women who would gently warm them with their breath before adding them to the olla for cooking, to the nobility who would honor them with sacrifice, great sculptures and the playing of the ballgame (Clendinennen, 1991). Of these deities, the prevalent ones represented in Aztec art are Tlaloc and the maize god. Tlaloc was the main deity of sustenance as he represented rain and storms and therefore agricultural fertility. He often is associated with water, lightening and maize. Tlaloc was considered the provider and one of the sides of the Templo Mayor was dedicated to him (Miller & Taube, 2003). Most recently, a huge stone monument has been discovered in Mexico City, in front of the ruins of Tenochtitlan’s Templo Mayor that appears to be an altar or tomb with Tlaloc on one side and the maize goddess on the other (Lujan, 2006). This would incorporate the two main Aztec deities related to agriculture and such a monumental piece would place significant elite value on their relationships with the gods who provide sustenance. The maize god’s incarnation of Chicomecoatl, is a goddess of food, especially maize (Miller & Taube, 2003). Cinteotl is the masculine incarnation of the corn deity. He is typically depicted in Aztec and Maya art with a double line that runs vertically down his face and jogs at his temple (Miller & Taube, 2003). The Aztec emperors accepted it as their duty to maintain relationships with these gods through sacrifice, bloodletting, fasting, feasting and offerings in order to maintain agricultural fertility which led to continued support by their constituents. Much of their day was spent in reflection and ritual to appease the gods as their success as a ruler was often judged by the success of the harvest as a reflection of their relationships with these gods. According to Furst, commoners could not afford the great sacrifice of human life; they constructed offerings of food that typically involved maize, since maize was considered a representation of human flesh (2006). Food made from maize and maize god effigies were taken to tribal temples in the calpolli and in the homes of commoners (Sahagun v. 2, 1951). In the Aztec belief system, both the commoner sacrifice of corn and the elite sacrifice of flesh fulfilled the cultural responsibility to feed the gods, so, one could argue that this unifies the classes, however, because the life force provided by blood and flesh yielded greater tonalli for the elite, the classes remained divided.

Besides the ability to consume human flesh, there were specific consumables also associated with the tonalli force such as cacao and pulque. Of these, cacao was the main elite tributary consumable. It could not be grown in Central Mexico and so was a highly valued tribute item. Cacao grew in demand as it became a source of currency for the poor and a prized beverage for the elite (Rust). Commoners, especially those at the low end of the spectrum had little access to cacao, except as they could scrounge for it in Tapir feces (Sahagun v.11, 1951). Otherwise it trickled down from the nobility who received 980 troxes of it per year (a troxe contains 8,000-10,000 bushels), (Coe, 2002). Cacao could also be purchased at markets but commoners were restricted to using the beans for money, not consumption. Commoners were restricted from consuming cacao due to the belief that cacao was an intoxicant and would therefore create a conduit between the drinker and the gods. It was the Aztec belief that only those of nobility and training could open themselves to the gods without repercussions (Clendinnen 1991). Along with the import of cacao, came the import of cacao related serving vessels such as the decorative cacao pots and batadors (Barros & Buenrostro, 2002). The batadors were whisking utensils used to give the chocolate beverage its much prized head of foam. The cacao drinks were prized for the amount of froth that could be produced on them and the skill of producing this foam was prized and held by women (Coe, 2002). The drinking of cacao was reserved for use by the elite in rituals and in feasting (Coe, 2002), however, the nobility could provide cacao to other highly regarded people such as valued warriors or favored long distance traders (Rust). In Mesoamerica, according to LeCount, cacao was used more in private political and social displays of power and reciprocity than in public religious rituals (2001). Possibly this was due to the Aztec myth that depicted the powerful Aztec leaders returning to visit their ancestors in their homeland of Chichimeca. There they were chastised for their use of cacao, the ancestors saying it had made them soft, weak and heavy, for they could no longer walk in the sands of their homeland without sinking (Coe, 2002). Perhaps this was a warning of overindulgence; perhaps it was a warning to the Aztecs to not forget their humble beginnings based in hunger and exile now that they were great rulers with such luxuries.

Another of the stratifying consumables was pulque. While in the outskirts of the empire, there was ample access to the maguey plant, from which pulque was made, within the confines of Tenochtitlan, it was strictly regulated. Pulque was used primarily as a medicinal treatment for the elders to cure their “cold blood” (Coe, 2002). Pulque was a vitamin-rich milky liquid and was believed to be derived from the milk of the Earth Goddess. (Miller & Taube, 2003) In fact, pulque was popular liquid in which to stew a snake ragout which was thought to produce a strengthening effect for the elderly. (Coe, 2002) At feasts, of those the middle and higher classes only old men and women were allowed to indulge in the mildly alcoholic beverage (Coe, 2002). Coe goes on to state that it was reserved specifically for old women and men over seventy who had children and grandchildren. Even then, only a few small cups were allowed. “Drinking was acceptable, intoxication was not” (2002).

The most sacred and restricted of all elite consumption came in the form of cannibalism. Contrary to sensationalized colonial accounts, human flesh was not considered a part of the diet, but a ritual act of consuming life force (Furst, 2003). While emperors and nobility were always included, only the friends and family of those wealthy enough to afford slaves to be given as sacrificial victims or warriors fierce enough to capture victims could expect to be included in the ritual consumption of human life force (Furst, 2003). The captors of the sacrificial victims were given a portion of flesh based on their involvement in the capture. They then took the remains and stewed them with maize and salt. No chiles were included in order to preserve the idea of the human body as pure corn. By the time they had divided this stew amongst their friends and relatives; it amounted to one half ounce per person and was not regarded for its flavor (Coe, 2002).

Another stratifying food event was feasting. Idyllically, feasting was seen as a way to increase social standing for lower classes, but mainly it was another mechanism used to reinforce the separation of the commoner and elite classes. Many of the elite from polities surrounding the Aztec empire willingly joined the empire in order to benefit from the power of Tenochtitlan via the redistribution involved with tribute and feasting within the empire (Smith, 1986). Feasting was a way to accomplish religious, political and social goals in Aztec society (Clendinnen, 1991). By lavishly eating in times of drought or when stores are depleted before planting season, the rulers are showing their faith in Tlaloc and the coming rains that will give the crops success (Clendinnen, 1991). By sharing food within a calpolli, neighbors are establishing a hierarchy and sense of community as well as re-distributing goods. By inviting nobility from other polities, Aztec rulers were also establishing a hierarchy and promoting unity among the noble classes of the empire (Smith, 1986). Even the serving utensils used at feasts served as a reminder of class delineation. At times, there was not a large differentiation in the types of food served by commoners and elites, but in this case the high quality polychrome vessels used for serving were used to reinforce wealth and division (Brumfiel, 1987). While all classes may have resorted to serving a slurry of corn in hard times, the elites would have served their guests with fine pottery while the commoners would have used gourds (LeCount, 2001).

For the poorest of commoners, especially within the confines of the urban environment of Tenochtitlan, life was difficult. Access to food was restricted to the marketplace, and there were those who could not afford to purchase foodstuffs. These people were dependent upon the kindness of neighbors and of the government. Clendinnen discusses that food gifting and sharing were common and resulted in a sense of community during the smaller rituals (1991), Smith and Sahagun also describe several types of redistribution. There are depictions of people of all societal levels offering others containers of food and drink in the illustrations of the Florentine Codex (Sahagun v. 11, 1951). Smith discusses several large scale ceremonies that acted as redistributive devices to unify the nobility of outlying areas who had less access to tribute (1986). The Florentine Codex outlines at least one specific feast given in honor of the poor. It was called Uei Tecuilhuil, “Great Feast of the Lords”. It lasted for seven days and was intended to show the generosity of the emperor during a famine-prone time of year. It was given when dried maize was running out at the end of the dry season. In the morning, each person was allowed to bring their own vessels, as big and as many as they could carry, to fill with the atolli of lime, sage and honey supplied by the ruler. They could take as much as they could but could not return for a second time. Later in the day, they were fed as many tamales as they could carry in one hand (Sahagun, v.2, 1951). These types of feasts however, were the only ones that were intended as welfare and not involved in the reciprocal idea of feasting that was the norm in Aztec society. According to Clendinnen, those who could not afford their own feasts were not invited to the feasts of others, and merely had to wait by the margins to scavenge on leftovers and were mocked and humiliated (1991). It is this level of society that suffered most as they were unable to work their way up to be a part of society and for them, there was no real notion of community or charity (Clendinnen, 1991).

Contrary to popular thought, the Aztec woman had the ability to move between social classes independently of her male counterpart. Where men could move up by becoming a soldier or priest, the woman could move up by being a merchant, a healer or a cook. Women’s societal success in Aztec culture was defined by her ability to feed people (Kellogg, 1995). Upon birth, a female baby’s umbilicus was buried under a metate and a prayer was given to the goddesses to make her a good cook (Coe, 2002). A woman could progress through the ranks of society by actively pursuing her responsibilities of hostess of feasts or by becoming a respected cook (Kellogg, 1995). Not all women were chosen to be cooks for royal feasts. Some were considered “inedible” people, a judgment of not only their food but their character (Coe, 2002). Others were able to progress as “edible” and some even were able to cook for the feasts of the emperor (Coe, 2002). Cooks in the home and the market place were women, and those who were successful, could become part time or full time specialists (Coe, 2002). Of those, a few were selected to be professional cooks for imperial feasts. The most highly prized cooks were those who could beat a great foam on top of the cacao beverages (Coe, 2002).
By the time of Moteuczomah II, the demarcation between commoners, rulers and gods had its roots in diet. According to Coe, the Tlaxcalans sent to Cortes’ men:

…five slaves, incense, domestic fowl and cakes, so that if he was, as they had heard, a fearsome god, he could feed on the slaves, if a benevolent one, he would be content with the incense and if human and mortal he would use the fowl, fruit and cakes that had been prepared for him… (2002).

Moteuczomah also provided diet related tests to decipher Cortes’ status by sending food along with chocolate beverages to test the Spanish. He presumed if they drank the chocolate, they were royalty (Coe, 2002).

For the noble classes, there were many responsibilities in regard to food, not only were they responsible for the redistribution of tribute via feasting, but included in their inherited right to rule was the inherited responsibility to maintain relationships with the gods, especially those gods who were related to weather, agriculture and fertility. Elite monumental Aztec art such as architecture and altars were created to reinforce these relationships, in fact, the tzompantli and sacrificial stones were all symbols of this relationship that remain today in the archaeological record. The artistic accounts signifying the commoner’s relationship with food comes from colonial codices.

From ethno historical accounts in the Mesoamerican codices and archaeological evidence of carved monuments, utensils, serving items and seeds, we have evidence of food use in Aztec culture. It begins with the legends of the adaptable and tenacious Mexica who eked out their existence in the margins of society and rose to become a superpower. United in their general diet and religious use of food, they were divided in the details. It was the Aztec elite’s love of embellishment that separated them. While the staple diet was accessible to all levels of society, it was the manner in which these staples were served that delineated one’s stratification. The commoner’s plain maize cakes served from gourds were juxtaposed with the elite maize cakes drenched in rich sauces and served on beautiful pottery. While the entire society shared the responsibility of feeding flesh to the gods, it was the level of tonalli involved in the offering that divided, flesh from the elite far outweighed maize as the representation of flesh from the commoner. While food could restrict one’s societal reach it could also provide a vehicle by which one could ascend levels of society. For males the capture or purchase of a sacrificial victim and its following consumption by family and friends allowed warriors to move up in the military and merchants ascend in the hierarchy of their calpolli. For women, success in the market place and society was judged on the quality of her hosting, cooking and generosity. The ability for her to feed the community led to a chance to become a full time specialist for the royal court or her lack of skills led to her failure and relegation as an “inedible” member of society. The dual aspects of food as uniter and divider of cultures was commonplace for the Aztecs just as it is today in modern society. Access to certain foods continues to be restricted by religion, cost, culture and availability just as it was then. The “elite” goods have changed, but the idea of tonalli lives on in human discourse as class and privilege.

Works Cited

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