''Balché'' is a mildly
intoxicating beverage
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...
that was commonly consumed by the
ancient Maya in what is now
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and upper
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. Today, it is still common among the
Yucatec Maya
Yucatec Maya (; referred to by its speakers simply as Maya or as , is one of the 32 Mayan languages of the Mayan language family. Yucatec Maya is spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula and northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic commu ...
. The drink is made from the bark of a leguminous tree, ''
Lonchocarpus violaceus
''Lonchocarpus violaceus'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to the Caribbean and northern South America. It has been introduced to Florida. Its names include lilac tree, greenheart, Spanish ash, and lancepod.
A ...
'', which is soaked in
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
and water, and fermented.
A closely related beverage, made from honey produced from the nectar of a species of
morning glory
Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...
''(
Turbina corymbosa
''Ipomoea corymbosa'' is a species of morning glory, native throughout Latin America from Mexico as far south as Peru and widely naturalised elsewhere. Its common names include Christmasvine, Christmaspops, and snakeplant.
Description and names ...
)'', is called ''
xtabentún''.
Ritual enemas and other psychoactive substances were also taken by those who drank balché.
According to food writer
Sandor Katz
Sandor Ellix Katz (born May 20, 1962) is an American food writer and DIY food activist.
Work
A self-described " fermentation fetishist", Katz has taught hundreds of food workshops around the United States, and his book '' Wild Fermentation'' (2 ...
, the ancient Maya consumed ''balché'' in enema form to maximize its inebriating effect. After the Maya were
conquered by the Spanish, the drink was banned and their orchards were destroyed.
[ Monday, 12 April 2021 ]
See also
*
Pox
Pox may refer to:
Diseases
*Poxviridae, a family of viruses
*Buffalopox, a disease of buffaloes
*Camelpox, a disease of camels
*Canarypox, a disease of wild and captive birds
*Chickenpox, a highly contagious illness caused by a primary infection ...
*
Pulque
Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, a rather viscous co ...
References
{{Honey-based alcoholic drinks
Mead
Mexican alcoholic drinks
Honey-based beverages