With This Chocolate, I Thee Wed |
Eight Deer Jaguar Claw, a 11th or 12th century ruler of Oaxaca (southwest Mexico), was known for his military prowess, expansionist ambitions (94 cities were annexed during his rule), ability to unite three Mixtec kingdoms, and enough family drama (including but not limited to incest) to make the noble houses of Westeros look like utter noobs...
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...The most enduring image from his reign, however, is that of his marriage with his consort, 13 Serpent (she was the daughter of Eight Deer’s half-sister — who was also his former fiancée until she was wed to his archrival, a marriage that lasted until Eight Deer slaughtered the husband and most of his male relatives. You see what we mean about the family drama?). The brightly coloured drawing depicts 13 Serpent holding up a clay pot with a spout, offering it reverentially to Eight Deer. The pot contained chocolate, and when Eight Deer drank from it, the ceremony was complete.
Royal though he may have been, Eight Deer was not engaging in a particularly unusual practice. Chocolate was routinely used by young men hoping to win over prospective fathers-in-law: they would serve a cup of the bitter, frothy drink (made by mixing the powder of roasted, fermented and ground cacao beans with some water) to the father of their bride-to-be. Bride price and dowry was also paid in cacao beans, a crop that was considered as sacred as maize by the people of Mesoamerica (its origins were traced to the god Quetzalcoatl), and extremely valuable as currency. Women often had to prove their “worthiness” or desirability as brides by preparing a pot of chocolatl for their groom and his tribe.
Contracting marriages wasn’t the only ritual chocolate played an important role in. Its supposed powers as an aphrodisiac made it a favourite of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II, who drank “up to 50 pitchers” of the brew for making himself irresistible to women. Soldiers were given a drink of chocolatl when they were headed for the battlefield, as it was believed to impart strength. There was a more sinister use for it as well: human sacrifices were made to drink chocolatl mixed with the blood of the victim who had preceded them at the altar, in order to calm them down for the ordeal to come.
Chocolate may no longer be enough to solemnise marriages (a missed opportunity) but it continues to play an important role in the courtship rituals of humans. Long may it reign.
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Makes 1½ cups of fondue. Total time: 30 mins. |
180 gm dark chocolate 1/2 cup cream 1/4 cup milk 3 tbsp butter 1 tsp vanilla essence Pinch of salt 2 tbsp rum or bourbon |
Place the chocolate in a double boiler, and let it melt gently, being careful to avoid any contact with water. Once melted, add the cream and butter. Whisk constantly. |
Pour in the milk and mix it in. Lastly, stir in the vanilla essence and liquor. |
Pour into a fondue pot or large bowl with a tea light below it. Serve with a choice of dippings skewered on toothpicks or fondue sticks: strawberries and other seasonal fresh fruits, sponge cakes, marshmallows, chips etc. |
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