Flavor ritual: How to add achiote to the mix for ‘out of this world’ wings

Published October 5, 2024

In the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Maya, Hun Hunahpú, the maize god, is tricked and killed by the lords of the underworld, the Xibalbá. His head is placed in a calabash tree, and from it, the twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, were born. The twins grow up to be cunning and skillful warriors, eventually avenging their father’s death by defeating the lords of Xibalbá in a series of epic trials.

According to a lesser-known version of the tale, after the twins triumphed and returned to the earth’s surface, they planted maize, their father’s sacred crop, in the soil. However, the maize did not sprout immediately — it needed something more, a divine offering. The twins, seeking a way to breathe life back into the earth, turned to the achiote plant, whose seeds symbolized blood and life.0

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