#pulque

Pulque: Ancient Mesoamerica’s Sacred Drink

Pulque is a traditional alcoholic drink made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It was first enjoyed by the Maya, Aztecs, Huastecs, and other Mesoamerican cultures. Mildly alcoholic, pulque was often enhanced with herbs or roots to increase its potency, making it a unique and culturally significant beverage.

Consumed daily in moderate amounts and abundantly during religious festivals, weddings, and fertility rites, pulque held a sacred place in ancient societies. It was even personified as a goddess and featured in mythology. Beyond drinking, some groups like the Huastecs used pulque for medicinal or ritual purposes, including as an enema to administer hallucinogens.

Key Facts

Made from fermented sap of the maguey (Agave americana) plant.

Known as octli in Nahuatl (Aztec language) and chih by the Maya.

Mildly alcoholic but sometimes enhanced with roots and herbs.

Central to religious festivals, weddings, and fertility rites.

Associated with the Aztec god of Summer, Xochipilli.

Had a goddess representation in Mesoamerican mythology.

Used both for drinking and ritual medical purposes (e.g., enemas).

Historical Context

Pulque was an integral part of daily life and ceremonial occasions across ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, illustrating how beverages were woven into social, religious, and medicinal practices.

Historical Significance

Pulque reflects the deep cultural connections between agriculture, religion, and social rituals in Mesoamerica. Its use highlights ancient knowledge of fermentation and the spiritual symbolism attributed to food and drink in indigenous societies.

Ca.1900.

A diferencia de las cantinas, que en su mayoría eran visitadas por sectores de clase media y alta, las pulquerías atraían a un público más popular, principalmente de la clase trabajadora. Eran un lugar de encuentro donde campesinos, obreros y ciudadanos de distintas ocupaciones se reunían para disfrutar de la bebida y socializar.

Hubo catas de pulque y mezcal, obras de teatro, tlayudas y un taller de barro.

“The Aztecs regarded pulque or the wine of the country as bad, on account of the wild deeds which men did under its influence. But these wild deeds were believed to be the acts, not of the drunken man, but of the wine-god by whom he was possessed and inspired; and so seriously was this theory of inspiration held that if any one spoke ill of or insulted a tipsy man, he was liable to be punished for disrespect to the wine-god incarnate in his votary."

—J. G. Frazer, Taboo & the Perils of the Soul (The Golden Bough, vol. III, 1914, p. 249)

Ometochtli, one of the gods associated with the imbibing of pulque.