Mayahuel

Since I'm in current production on the novel, Tlalli, I wanted to practice my hand at illustrating a few other Aztec deities. Though the story, itself, revolves around Tia (a human girl) and her journey with the gods, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl, there will be others featured along the way as Tia grows to learn more about her own culture and the mythology that surrounds it. 

One such character is Mayahuel, goddess of the maguey plant and fertility. Throughout Southeastern Mesoamerica, the maguey plant was highly coveted due to the many resources one could reap from a single source...

• The fibers were used to make rope and cloth for clothing.
• It's spines could be used for tools and blood letting.
• The pulp used as medicine due to the antibiotic properties. 
• But most importantly the sweet liquid that accumulates within the plant made a delectable beverage, as well as an intoxicating one. 
  

This liquid can be drunk straight from the plant, like a honey water, or fermented into the alcoholic beverage known as pulque. The drink was used as both a healthful elixir and aphrodisiac, and a popular beverage among those who were deemed mature enough to drink (pulque was typically reserved for the elderly).

In modern times, the fermented sap of the maguey has been domesticated into the distilled beverage we know as tequila, a drink so highly coveted that Mexican laws state tequila can only be produced in certain parts of Mexico. 

The story about Mayahuel and her ascension into the Aztec pantheon, is also interesting tale, filled with both danger, romance, and the myth of the origin of the maguey.

[However, this topic shall be discussed later, in current illustration I am working on, which features her. So stay tuned!]

~Chrissy