It would appear that in the Chocolate origin myth, as with all myths and legends, that years of retelling, analysis, research and interpretation by scholars and acedemics and anyone else for that matter, has only gone to confuse the matter. The one things that is agreed on throughout all retellings is that this 'Food of the Gods' is just this, a gift from the gods, brought from paradise containing within it wisdom and power that is bestowed within us when eating the fruit of the tree.... if we ever needed a reason to eat more of the stuff, there it is!
Both Aztec and Mayan Cultures worshipped a feathered serpent deity best known as Quetzalcoatl who was a symbol of fertility, the wind, the dawn, merchants and of the arts, crafts and knowledge. It is said that Quetzalcoatl descended from heaven on the beam of a morning star, carrying with him a cocoa tree stolen from paradise as a gift to those on earth.
A princess was entrusted by her husband to watch over a great treasure whilst he was away defending the borders of the empire. In her husbands absence she was attacked by his enemies who tried in vain to force her to reveal the hiding place of the great treasure. As revenge for her silence they killed her and from her blood sprouted the cocoa plant whose fruit hid a treasure in its seeds, which were as bitter as the sufferings of love, as strong as virtue and as red as blood. Cocoa was Quetzalcoatl's gift for the women's faithfulness to her husband even unto death.
I can only assume those that killed this princess somehow overlooked this sprouting cocoa plant and the treasure contained within its fruit, otherwise Quetzalcoatl's gift obviously fell into the wrong hands! Either way it was a gift that was here to stay and for this I thank the princess for her love and loyalty.
