Down The Rabbit Hole of Chocolate Ceremonies
Instead of New Year's Resolutions Create Mindful Intentions
December is the month that we rush through in preparing for the holidays, decorating windows, baking cookies, buying gifts, counting down days towards the end of the year and anticipating the new year with setting new resolutions that will probably be forgotten before Valentine’s Day. Some of us happily go down this rabbit hole and accept this insanity as part of December’s charm but for some this odyssey is hard to take despite wanting to be a part of it. So, we seek inspiration, guidance, signs to follow.
Nowadays, there is no shortage of spiritual communities, courses, practitioners, shamans and gurus who promise to guide us toward our inner growth, our better selves, and among them, lately, there are more and more cacao ceremony practitioners.
Wait! Did you say “Cacao Ceremony?"
Being a chocolate taster, “Cacao Ceremony” sounds as an ideal opportunity to add a pinch of spirituality into my hedonistic pursuit for chocolate flavors. But, being the hopeless cynic as well, I can not stop myself from overthinking. You might also wonder what is exactly a cacao ceremony. Ceremonial cacao is the new hot trend among spiritual practitioners that emerged in the mainstream during the last two years. Considering all the challenges of 2020 and 2021, it’s no wonder, ha?!
Cacao shamans around the world guide cacao ceremonies, which can include drinking the hot drink made of ceremonial grade cacao, setting intentions, mediations, singing, sometimes dancing with promises of a heart-opening spiritual experience, healing of traumas, regaining focus, getting an energy boost and “unlocking your magic.” Modern “Cacao Ceremony” is usually guided by a shaman or a cacao ceremony practitioner, but lately the courses for “home cacao rituals” are offered as well so anyone can order ceremonial cacao and prepare cacao ritual on their own.
“Sounds interesting!” my inner Chocolate-Taster is trilled!
“Maybe, a bit too familiar?!” jumps in my inner Cynic, “Wasn’t there some other super-plant promising the similar spiritual experience just a few years ago? And one before that?!”
“But this is cacao! The “food of the gods!” We know it is well, one of nature’s most powerful plant medicines.”
The Chocolate-Taster is determinant to not let this one go, “It has more antioxidants than green tea, more flavor compounds than red wine, more iron than spinach, and more calcium than milk.”
“I know, I know…” continues the Cynic, now starting to show a bit of nervosa, “But, what is a “hot drink made of ceremonial grade cacao?” Isn’t that just hot chocolate? What is so special about “ceremonial grade cacao”? And, why some people get angry about it?...
Well, my inner Chocolate-Taster and I, we both know so well that our Cynic will not give up so we decided to find some answers.
For most part of her herstory, chocolate was enjoyed primarily as a bitter, ceremonial drink for indigenous people of South America. Although the earliest evidence for the use of cacao comes from Ecuador 5,600 years ago, we are not sure how was it exactly consumed back then. However, we know for sure that in Mesoamerica around 1900 BC chocolate drinks were brewed.
Actually, it is believed that the word “chocolate” comes from the Mayan word “xocolatl” meaning ‘bitter water.’ The Mayan people did not cultivate sugar cane so the drinks were not sweetened. The bitter drink was made from crashed cacao beans mixed with water and chili peppers, sometimes also with crushed corn gruel or flowers.
While the Mayans believed that xocolatl was a gift from the gods and everyone should drink it, in the Aztec culture only royalty, priests and the wealthiest could afford to drink xocolatl since Aztecs did not grow their own cacao but had to trade for it.
Both the Mayans and Aztecs believed xocolatl had healing (and many other) powers so they used it in their rituals. The Mayans would rub the heads of newborn babies with it and Aztec warriors would drink it before battles. It is a well known “anecdote” that the Aztec king, Montezuma used to drink 50 jars of xocolatl before visiting his harem ;)
This all sounds like a good argument for “Cacao Ceremony” to be an authentic practice, right?!
Well the devil is in the details, the fact is that although both the Mayans and Aztec as well as nowadays indigenous people in Central and South America still use cacao in their rituals, and cacao was celebrated in important agricultural moments like planting of cacao trees, when cacao flowers sprouted and in harvest rituals, there was never a “Cacao Ceremony”per se.
“Cacao Ceremony” is a contemporary creation, popular mostly among Americans and Europeans, and as many other 1st world trends inspired by indigenous cultures, it dances on the thin edge between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation.
Does that means it is just another trend or even a scam and to be avoided? Definitely not. As with so many other things in our lives, one should pursue whatever is useful and/or enjoyable, but why not add a grain of common sense.
Wether you are buying ceremonially cacao, craft hot chocolate or cacao powder, always ask the same questions: Where is the cacao coming from? What variety it is? How was it grown, in wild, or in agroforestry or in a monoculture farm? Are there any reforestation issues in the area? Who grows it? How was it processed? How was it fermented? Dried? Who processed it further? Are all humans, primarily farmers, involved in its production respected and paid adequately for their work? Was Nature respected during the whole process? In short, is your cacao part of the problem or the solution? Ideally, all this info should be transparent and easily acquired from the cacao or chocolate maker.
If you decide to take a part in a guided cacao ceremony ask your practitioner how she or he attained the knowledge? How much did they pay for that knowledge and to whom? Compere that price with the price they charged you, does it sound fair? Did the money go to the indigenous community or just another privileged person? Ask them how they continue giving back to the indigenous community? There are so many challenges that indigenous people in Americas are facing today and the Amazon Rainforest is being destroyed as we speak. Opportunities for us to get involved, to support the efforts of those who fight to preserve it, these are all the ways to give back our gratitude to both people and Nature for giving us such a gift as Cacao.
If you believe that both people and Nature, which gifted us with cacao are respected in the process, you become part of the change, you are contributing to the improvement of Life on Earth and you are growing as a person one sip of hot chocolate at the time, no need for a bunch of new year’s resolutions, just the a cup of well-respected hot chocolate drank mindfully and with intention.
We wish you a Healthy and Happy New Year!
Interesting story. The past and present of something what we take for granted not paying any thoughts to the interesting history. It was nutritional and cultural education. Thanks you