Mayan Honey

Did you know?

Mayan Priests specifically bred stingless honeybees for religious ceremonies.

Honey was used as a sweetener, antibiotic and an ingredient for the Maya version of mead (Balche), a fermented drink.

• The hallucinogenic properties come from tan alkaloid in the bark of the Balché tree
  
• Toxic and hallucinogenic substances can be found in all honey, if bees collect nectar and pollen from certain types of vegetation.
  
• It is a combination of the two, since balché is made from both the Melipona honey gathered from the Balché flowers, and from the bark of the tree, brewed and fermented together.
• Modification of honey production produced "psychoactive" effects and the consumption was integrated into worship ceremonies. Honey laced with narcotics was common.

"Ah Muzencab" Deity for Bees, Honey, Beekeeping and Creation

The Mayan word for honey is the same Mayan word for "world"

The name of the native honey bee is called "Xunan-Kab"




Works Cited:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0628_050628_maya_bees.html