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Teotlaqualli: The Psychoactive Food of the Aztec

Gods
a
Jan G.R. Elferink
a
Department of Molecular Cell Biology , University of Leiden , The Netherlands
Published online: 18 Jan 2012.

To cite this article: Jan G.R. Elferink (1999) Teotlaqualli: The Psychoactive Food of the Aztec Gods, Journal of
Psychoactive Drugs, 31:4, 435-440, DOI: 10.1080/02791072.1999.10471773

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 Teotlaqualli: The Psychoactive
Food of the Aztec Gods

Jan G .R. Elferink , Ph.D .*

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Abstract-The Aztecs in pre-Columbian Mexico used not only a large number of single hallucinogens.
they also used so me co mbinations. The prese nt art icle describes reports of the use of teotlaqu alli , an
unction prepared from ololiuhqui and picie tl, wit h a large numb er of addit ions. The work of the
chro nicle rs of pre-Columbi an Mex ico served as a source of information. The teotlaquall i was offered
to the gods . for who m it serve d as food . The Aztec priests smeared them sel ves with this unction . to
lose fear a nd to get the appro priate state of mind 10 serve the Aztec gods . A few cases are report ed in
whic h the Aztec emperor or soldiers were smeared with teo tlaqualli. It is suggested that the black
color of so me Azte c de ities, as dep icted in the codices . was due to anoi ntme nt with teotlaqu all i. In
addition to its use for psychoacti ve purp oses. teotlaquall i was used in medici ne under the name
teop atli.

Ke ywords- Aztecs. religio n. psychoactive unction. teotlaqualli

A large numb er of the hallu cinogens that are pre sentl y
know n have their origin in the New World; most of them
were used by the ancient American s. Information about the
use of a numb er of thes e psychoactive substances is avail -
ab le in the pictorial manuscripts wh ich some of these
civ iliza tions produ ced . More often information is prov ided
in the writings of the Spanish chron iclers who came to the
New World during or sometimes after the conquest. In some
instance s inform at ion is give n by indi gen ous scholars who
had learne d Spa nish. The Aztecs used a parti cularly exten-
sive var iety of psychoactive substances . Some of these are
we ll known , such as the cac tus peyotl , the hallu cinogeni c
mushroom teonan acatl , the morn ing glory ololiuhqui, and
the Dat ura species tlapatl and toloatzin . In other instances
the Aztecs used mixture s of psych oact ive substances, the
exact nature and action of which often rem ains obsc ure.
O ne of these poti on s was used to intoxi cate victims who
were to be sac rificed. The Aztecs performed a large num -
ber of hum an sacrifices in hon or of their many god s; most
"Dep art ment of Molecul ar Cell Biology. Universit y of Leiden , The
Netherlands.
Please address co rres pondence and reprinl requ ests to Jan G .R.
Elferink , Depart ment of Mole cular Cell Biolog y. Univer sit y of Leiden ,
POB 9503 . 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherland s.
of the sacrificial victim s were not gi ven an anesthetic. How-
ever, on some specific occ asio ns (whe n sadness of the
victim was con sidered to be a bad ome n) the victim was
given a psychoactive cacao beverage called itzpacalatl. It
cau sed loss of all fear for death, and made the victim so
glad that he went danc ing into death (Elferink 1988; Cod ice
Ramirez 1979 ; Dur an 1975 ; Manu scrit Tovar 1972). Other
chronicle rs menti on the use of a hallu cinogenic brew, ca lled
itzpachtli, which had the sa me effect and was used for the
same purp ose (Torquemada 1975; Florent ine Code x 1950-
1969 ). Another m ixture , co m pose d o f seve ra l
hallucinogenic ingredient s, was the teotlaqu alli . It was pri-
marily used by priests, but also was used for other purp oses.
In this art icle the use of teotlaqualli amo ng the Aztecs is
evalu ated on the basi s of the rep orts made by the Span ish
and indi gen ous chro nicle rs.
NOMENCLATURE AND PREPARATION
The name teotlaquall i (or teotl acu alli ) has been trans-
lated by Molina (1970) as "s piritua l or divine me al." Th e
name is co m posed of tlaquatl-whi ch mean s food or
flesh-and the prefix teo, from teotl whi ch mean s god .
Simeon (1963) tran slates teotlaqualli as divine food , or

Journa l of Psychoact ive Drug s 435 Volume 3 1 (4). October - December 1999
 Elfc r ink
spiritual substance. Instead of the Nahuatl name teotlaqualli,
the chro nicl ers so me times use Spanish names, such as
uncion abom inabl e (Aco sta 1954), tinta (Sa hagun 1956),
comida divina , time divina , betun divino , and beuin del dios
(Duran 1967). Anoth er nam e for teotlaqualli was teopatli
(Clavij ero 1968) or "di vine med icine" (Duran 1967 ; Acosta
1954 ); this Aztec name is deri ved from patli, which means
medi cin e.
The preparation of teotlaqualli was as laborious as the
potion was complex. Th e preparation has been described
extensive ly by Acosta (Acos ta, 1954 ), and by Duran ( 1975,
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19 67 ) w he n he describes th e venerati on of the go d
Tez ca tlipoca. Th e description s given by Acost a, Duran ,
Codice Ramirez and Alvarado-Tezozom oc ( 1975) resemble
one another in many respects, and co uld have orig inated
fro m the same so urce . Th e co m posi tio n of teotlaqu alli
dep end ed to some degree on the god in who se honor it was
prep ared . The starting materi al of teotlaqualli was derived
fro m poisonou s anima ls: Acosta menti on s spiders, sco rpi-
ons, centipedes, lizard s and vip ers. Th ey wer e co llec ted by
boys who see m to have had a lot of expe rience in catching
these anima ls. Acosta adds that as a res ult of this activity
the Aztecs had no fear of poison ous anima ls. Th e boys were
attendi ng the ca lmecac , a sc hoo l especially for boys who
we re destin ed for pri esth ood and rel ated func tions . Th e
anima ls were burned in a bra zier whi ch was located before
the altar in the temple. To the as hes were added a large
amo unt of picietl (tobacco) and the pulv eri zed see ds of
ololiuhqui, as wel1 as a number of livin g sc orpions, spi-
ders, ce ntipedes , poisonou s bla ck hairy worm s, and soot.
The result ing produ ct was a bla ck ointment: teotl aqu alli.
Th e mind -alt ering pr op erti es of o loliuhq ui (Rivea
corymbosa ) are we ll-known; it was one of the most widely
used hallu cin ogen s amo ng the Aztecs (He rnandez 1959 ;
Rui z de Alarcon 1953). Its use was suppressed after the
conques t becau se it was clo sely connected with the Aztec
religion. In the first part of the twenti eth ce ntury it was found
that ololiuhqui was still used by some tribes in Mexi co ;
since then it has been stud ied ext en siv el y (Schultes &
Hofmann 197 3). Alth ou gh ololiuqui made an important
co ntributio n to the effect of teotl aqualli , it was cert ainly
not the only de terminant. A co nsiderable port ion of the psy-
choactive effect of teotl aqu alli was prob ably due to the large
amo unt of tobacco that was added in its preparati on. The
Aztec tobacco (or picietl ) possessed pron ounced halluci-
noge nic and narcoti c prop erti es (see Elferink 1983, for a
revie w and references). Th e many rep orts of the chro ni-
cle rs leave littl e doubt with regard to the se properti es of
picietl . It was used for di vin ati on , in magic-medical incan-
tation s, as a narcoti c agai nst all type s of pain, and it was
co nsidered to be a di vine plant, as was ololiuhqui and so me
other hal1ucinogens. Such psych oactiv e properties are no
longe r present in the modern tob acco type s. Some inve sti-
gato rs suppos e that picietl was identi cal with Nicotiana
rustica, and that the higher nicotine content of this plant
Jour nal of Psych oact ive DrURJ
Tcotlaq ualli
was responsible for the hal1ucin ogen ic effect. However, in
modern tim es altho ugh poi sonin gs wi th nicot ine have
oc curred rather frequ ently bec au se of the extensive use of
nicotine as an insecti cid e, hallucin ogeni c effec ts are sel-
dom observed. Furth erm ore, the tobacco of Hispaniola was
very probably Nicotiana tab acum , and this plant also pos-
sessed psych oactive prop erti es. Fro m the large amo unt of
information prov ided by the chro niclers it is clea r that
picietl possessed mind-alterin g propert ies, but the chemi-
ca l constitu ents responsible for the psychoactive properties
as well as the botanical nature of the Azte c tobacco rem ain
in que stion.
The Spani sh friar Sa hag un (1956) descri bes another
produ ct which had , at least wi th regard to the compos i-
ti on, so me sim ilarities to teotl aqu alli. It was ca l1 ed
yiaqualli, and has been described by Sahagun as a powd er.
It was prepared of tob acco and soot. Th e tobacco wa s
indicated with the nam e yie tl, and Sahagun adds that it
was a plant whi ch resembl ed the henb ane (Hyos cyamus
niger ). Unfortunatel y, Sah agun does not gi ve details about
applica tions of yia qualli. In the Florentin e Codex (1950-
1969), where the co rres po ndi ng descriptio n by Sahagun is
missing , the word ya qualli is used else where, hut there it
is the nam e of a neckl ace.
USES OFTEOTLAQUALLI IN RELIGION
The mixture obtained by mix ing tob acco. ololiuhq ui,
unkn own poison ou s anima ls, and the ashe s of these ani-
mal s was co nside red to be food of the god, and placed in a
vessel before the god in whose hon or it was prepare d. The
Azt ecs venerated many god s, who varied in import ance
and function. The chro niclers are not clea r which gods were
venerated with teotl aqu alli. In the descripti on from Acosta
( 1954), he refers to "the priests of the Mexi can gods," who
placed teotlaqualli before "their gods, " sugges ting that
many god s were venera ted wi th this produ ct.
Duran ( 1967 ) menti on s two reason s w hy pr iest s
smeared them sel ves with this bitumen (blac k ointment):
to talk with the ir go d s , a nd to bec o me fear les s. The
remark that the prie sts used the uncti on to talk to the gods
(C6dice Ramirez 1979 ; Acosta 195 4) (the gods are refe rred
to by Acosta as devil s) is il1 ustrat ive for the hallu cinogen ic
properties of teotl aquall i, becau se in ancient Mexico co n-
tact with supern atur al force s wa s ofte n establis hed by
taking hallu cin ogens. Ololiuhqui and tobacco were favor-
ite hallu cin ogen s, and were wid el y used to forecast the
future and to disco ver the unkn own. Th e ointme nt further
caused loss of all fear, whi ch was use ful for two spe cifi c
occasions. Fir st , the priests had to sacrifice hu mans by
opening the ches t and cutting out the heart . When the priests
had smeare d their body with teotl aqu al1i, th e ir mind
changed completely. They slew men in sac rifice with the
gre atest of dar ing, and with out any emo tio na l res triction.
Second , the priests had to perform ce remonie s in the night
436 Volum e 3 1 (4), October - December 1999
 Elf crink
at remote place s. The ointment enabled them to go forth at
night to the remote dark caves where they worshipped their
gods totally without fear of injury and harm . According to
Duran, the priests sneered at the ferocious wild animals
which fled from them; they were convinced that the wild
anima ls would flee because of the divine nature of the
bitumen . Duran adds that the animals probabl y fled
be cau se they were scared by men who had transformed
them selves into the image of the devil himself. It seems
likely that use of the anointment also had a ceremonial char-
acter, bringing the priests into clo ser connection with the
god , who was anointed with the same bitumen. The sup-
posed talking with the gods , the change in beh avior, and
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the loss of fear all indicate that the ointment possessed
strong mind-altering propertie s.
Teotl aqualli was not only used by the priests but also
by the Aztec emperor. The anointment of the emperor with
teotlaqualli was supposed to give di vine properties to the
emp eror. When Montezuma (the first ) wa s crowned as
emperor, he was anointed with teotlaqualli (Duran, 1994 ,
1967 ; Hernandez 1986 ; Mendieta 1973 ; Cl avijero 1968),
and crowned in public by the high priest and by the kings
of the two city -states with which the A zt ec capital
Teno chtitlan formed a triple alliance . Duran stresses the
relation between the anointment and the div ine properties
whic h the emperor recei ved. Durin g the ano intme nt
Monte zum a promised to take care of di vine things, and to
defend the gods and the law (Duran 1994 , 1967 ). On
an other occasion Montezuma built a temple where all god s
of the country had to be venerated ; this was done as a part
of the temple of the god Huitzilopochtli . The temple had to
be co nse cra ted, for which purp os e a large number of
human sacrifices were needed . The sacrifi cial victims were
usually not taken from the Aztec population ; mostly they
were prisoners taken in battle. Search in g for victim s ,
Montezuma remembered that the Indian s of the province
Teuct epec had become rebellious , and hence were good
candidates. His army went to the rebellious province , con-
quered the rebel s, and took them as prisoners to the Aztec
ca pita l. Montezuma dressed 'himse lf as the high priest,
ano inted him self with teotlaqualli , and sac rificed the pris-
oners per sonally (Duran 1994, 1967 ). It co uld be that the
anointment with teotlaqualli was done to remove so me
em otional strain (since the sacrificing was a blood y and
crue l e vent ). However, it c o uld also have been done
because he functioned as a high priest. Th e anointment was
perform ed not only with the living emperor, but also with
the dead one. The death of the emperor wa s an event which
co ncerned all Aztecs, and a large number of ceremonies
were held. Duran (1994, 1967 ) has described the ceremo-
nie s whi ch were performed after the death of emperor
Ahuit zotl. Important nobles made speeches to the body of
the emp er or as though he was still alive. The deceased
emperor was surrounded by large amounts of jewelry and
precious objects which were supposed to be used in the
Journal of Psychoa ctive Drugs
Tcotlaquall i
hereafter. Two hundred slav es foll o wed the ir master in
death , so me of them o ut of free will because they were told
that they would become great nobles in the other world . In
the last ceremony, the dead body of Ahuitzotl was an ointed
with teotlaqualli (Duran doc s not usc the word teotlaqualli ,
but instead "bcnin divino" ). Dur an states that in this way
the emperor was con secrated as a god, and obtained a place
among the gods. The anoi nted body was brought to the
temple of the god Huitzilop ochtli, the tribal god of the
Aztecs. Here the body was burned, after which the slaves
were sacrificed by cutting open their chests. Their heart s
were taken out and thrown on the burning body of the
emperor.
BITUMEN OR DIVINE BITUMEN
A number of descriptions refer to situations where the
use of teotlaqualli was likely, but not fully confirme d. Thi s
uncert ainty has a simple c ause . First, the words " bettin
d ivino" are often used instead of the word teotlaqu alli.
Wh en only the word "benin" is used , or a sim ilar word , it
could be that the divine bitumen was used (as sugges ted in
a few cas es by the circumstan ces), but it also possible that
only so ot or ulli (the resin of the olcahuitl tree , Castl illa
elastica) was applied. The Mexican priest regularl y (often
dail y) used simple soot to blacken them selves. It was the
task of the boys who attended the calmecac to prepare the
soot at night by burning pine wood , so that the priest co uld
paint them selves black in the morning (Sahagun 1956 ). The
priests anointed only themselves with "divine benin" or
teotlaqualli when there was a compelling reason (Duran
1975 , 1967). Torquemada (1975 ) rep orted about the tasks
of the apprentices of the calrnec ac, whi ch included the
preparation of a black produ ct with which the priests
smeared themselves , but it is not c lear whether it was ju st
soot or teotlaqualli . Though both Aco sta and Duran dis-
criminate between these two type s of ointment in so me
places, Duran especially docs not alway s specify in other
places which type of bitumen was used; in some case s the
circumstances do suggest that teotlaqualli was used , and
not just soot. There were other black unctions ; the Azt ecs
frequently used ulli as a paint in ceremo nial pra ct ices
(Martinez Cort es 1974 ; Sahagun 1956). Th e Totona cs had
a special preparation used to anoint their high prie st when
he was consecrated that con sisted of ulli and the blood of
ch ildren who had been circumcised (Cas as 1958).
One of the first rulers of the Aztecs, Hu itzilihuitl, was
elected as emperor shortly after 1400. After his ele ction he
went to the royal palace, where he was anointed with the
same ointment wh ich was used to anoint the statue of the
war god Huitzilopochtli. It see ms likely that thi s was
teotlaqualli, but Duran ( 1994, 1967 ) uses the word " beuin"
without the prefix "divine," so some uncertainty remain s.
On a few occasions the Aztec ruler himself made
human sacrifices, as menti oned previously. Montezuma
437 Volume 31 (4l. October - December 1999
 Elfcrink
(Duran deals specific ally with Montezuma I, thus not
Mont ezuma II who met the Spaniards) had ordered a stone
cut in honor of the sun . When the stone was cut, a sacrifi-
cial ceremo ny wa s held in honor of the stone, and a large
number of prisoners had to be sacrificed. Montezuma and
his principal assistant blacken ed the ir bodies with soot, so
that they appeared to be burnished. They wore full orna-
ment s with gold and preciou s stones , feathers , and small
j ade bowl s indica ting that they were both ruler and prie st
Th en they took the ceremoni al knifes and cut the breast of
the vic tim, whi ch wa s held by priests. Duran ( 1967) uses
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the word "tiznc" (soo t), but because of the situ ation, and
resembl ance with ano ther sac rificia l ceremony, it seems
likely that the ointment was teotlaqualli .
TEZCATLIPOCA, IXTLILTON AND TEOPATLI
Wh ile the descripti on s of the chronicler s sugges t that
the teo tlaqualli was associated with several deities, a very
close assoc iation has only been described with a few god s.
Th ere w as a direct link between teotlaqualli a nd
Tezcatlipoca, as can be deri ved from the de scription of
teotlaqualli by Duran ( 1967) in his chapter dealing with
Tezcatlipoca, The war god Hu itzilopochtli was anoi nted with
a bitumen , prob ably teotlaqualli . Ixtlilton was another god
wh o ma y have been associated with teotlaqualli , alth ou gh
the chro niclers don 't rep ort directly about this association.
Tezcatlipoca , one of the most important god s of the Aztec
panth eon , was a typi cal ambivalent god . He had both good
and bad qu aliti es , alth ough in mo st descriptions the bad
qu alit ies are stressed . On e of his many asp ects was god of
med icin e : he could send and cure di seases. The different
aspec ts of Tezcatlipoca are reflected in the different way s
he is de pic te d in th e co d ices ; in them he is some times
depi cted as a black god . Ixtlilton is always depi cted as a
black go d; the tran slation of his Nahuatl name is "he with
the black face, small negro" (Simeon 1963 ); the name
Ixtl iltzin is also used for thi s god (Duran 1967 ). He has
bee n described as a god of drunkenness (one of many)
(Bo one 1983 ), and as a god of medicine becau se he cured
sick children.
Th e chro nic le rs who describe the pr eparati on o f
teotlaqu all i state th at the bitumen served as a medicine, and
was ca lled "d ivine medi cine" or teopatli. It was espe cially
suited to curing children. The oi ntment was applied exter-
nall y on the part of the bod y whi ch wa s affected. Disea sed
person s and sick children came from throughout the land to
the pries ts so that the prie sts could smear them with teopatli
to cure the m. Th e patients claimed that they felt relieved
afte rwards (Dura n 1967 ). The god s Tezcatlipoca a nd
Ixtlilton were of special imp ortan ce for children. The chroni-
cle rs (Dura n 1994 , 1967; Cod ice Ramirez 1979 ) relat e that
a wom an who had a sick child took it to the temple of the
go d Tezcatlipoc a, wh ere the st atue of Tezcatlipoca wa s
present , co mpletely anoint ed black. The child wa s presented
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
Tcotlaqualli
to the priest of the god, wh o took it and dressed it in the
garb and insignia of the idol. Th ey smeared the chi ld with
the divine bitumen teotl aqualli and placed feath er s on its
head as a sign that the child was offered to the god .
Tezcatlipoca was not the only god to whom parent s
with sick children could go . Children who fell ill wer e
often taken to the temple of the god Ixtl ilton . Th e childre n
were pres ent ed to the god , and they had to per form a dance
before the idol. In the temple were vessels of tlil atl , or
black water. Som e of the wat er was gi ven to the child, and
it wa s firmly belie ved that th e w ater c ure d the child
(Cla vij ero 1968 ; Sahagun 1956). Th e black co lor with
whi ch some god s were dep icted in the codic es was most
likely due to the an ointment with teotl aqu alli . Comm on
so ot, whi ch the priests used for their dail y pa intin g, was
certainly not delicate en ou gh to suite the gods: for these
the "divine bitumen" was more appro priate. Some gods,
such as Tezc atlipoca, were o nly so metimes depi cted as a
black god, but the god Ixtl ilton was always repr esent ed in
his black form . Thi s sugges ts that Ixtlilton had a spec ial
relati on with teotl aquall i, though there is no dir ect rep ort
about this relation. The black water was not identi cal with
teotlaquall i: the latter was used as an o intme nt, and was
not co nsumed . It is not clear whether the black water was
prepared from teotlaqualli .
The Azt ecs appa re ntly had mor e th an one typ e of
divine medicine. Hernandez ( 1959) de scr ibe s teopatli as a
medicinal plant. The root of thi s plant was applied by the
Indians as a remedy against co ugh, and ag ain st the pains
of syphilis. Hernandez docs not g ive an ex planation why
this plant de ser ved the nam e "d ivine medi cin e ."
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Teotlaqu alli was prep ared of o loliuqui and tob acco,
two products widel y used by the A ztecs for their m ind -
alte ring properti es. For th e A ztecs hallucin ogen s we re
closely assoc iated with the god s and supernatura l forces,
and te otlaqualli (which co nta ined tw o import ant m ind-
a ltering products ) had an e ve n close r association. The
connecti on of psych oactive drugs with reli gion is appar-
e nt fr om a number o f o bs e r va tio ns . The fir st is the
association with, and the use of psych oact ive products by
the god s depi cted in the co d ices; an example is the depi c-
tion of the tobacco gourd as a di stin ctiv e featur e of the
Aztec prie sts (Sahagun 1956 ). Se cond is the inv ocation of
hallu cin ogen s as divine plants; ololiuhqui and tobacco were
probably the mo st important divine plant s, as describ ed
by Rui z de Al ar con ( 195 3) and Sern a ( 1953 ). A th ird
aspect is the supposed ability of hallu cin ogen s to medi ate
co ntact with superna tura l force s in orde r to for ecast the
future . The popul arit y of tobac c o for thi s purpo se is
described by M on arde s and o the rs (Mo na rdes 1580 ;
Elferink 1983), while the usc of olo liuhqui for divination
ha s been descr ibed by Hern andez ( 1959) and Rui z de
438 Volume 3 1 (4). October - December 1999
 Elferink
Alarc on ( 1953). Finally, there is the use of hallu cinogens
as part of religious ceremonies ; tobacco was often offered
to the gods (Duran 1975; Sahagun 1956). Teotl aqualli com-
bined th e hallucinog eni c and divine pr op ertie s o f
picietl -tobacco and of ololiuhqui. Thi s made teotlaqualli
ideal for communication with supernatural force s: it was
considered to be a food of the god s; anointment with it
could in some cases be seen as the consecration of a divine
being ; it was used to communicate with the supernatural
via its hallucinogeni c properties; and it facilitated super-
natur al conta ct via eliminatio n of fear. The co mbination of
the hallucin ogeni c properties of ololiuhqui and picietl did
not mean that teotl aqualli produ ced exactl y the same psy-
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choactive effect s as the consumpti on of ololiuhqui or of
picietl. The latter hallucin ogen s were usually taken orally
or were smoked, while the teotlaqualli was applied exter-
nally. The addition of several produ cts, amo ng which were
toxins of anima l origin , might have fac ilitated absorption
through the skin, and could ha ve mod ified the effect of the
psychoacti ve ingredients.
One of the most app arent properties of teotlaqualli was
its ability to eliminate all types of fear. Such an effect was
appreciated by the Aztecs , who were a warlike people, and
who considered warriors to be among the most esteemed
people . There are , however, only a few reports about its
use by soldiers. When the Aztecs fought a war with the
Tecu antepec tribe , the Aztec soldiers were very sad and
began to weep because the enemy were feared soldiers.
The Aztec soldiers smeared their face with teotlaqualli , went
courageously to war and won the battle (Duran 1994, 1967)
The use of psychoactive products in Aztec society was as a
rule the domain of prie sts and magi cians, and was meant to
establis h a cont act with supern atural forces . The latter
aspect of teotlaqu alli ha s been mentioned by Spanish
chroniclers but not stressed, since it was a means for the
priest to talk with the "devil" (this term was usually used
when the chroniclers observed that the priests or magicians
took mind-altering products in order to contact their god s).
The mind-altering effe ct of anointing with teotl aqualli is
also apparent from a remark of Duran (1975 , 1967): that
the use of teotlaqu alli reminded him of the use of ointments
by the European witches.
Teotlaquall i was not only used as a hallucinogen , but
also as a medi cine . Thi s was probabl y not ju st a matter of
imagin ation , or belief that supernatural forces would cau se
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a cure. Both ololiuqui and tobacco were used by the Azte cs
for a variety of medicinal purposes. Ol oliuqui was used as
a remedy for broken or dislocated bone s, fever, gout, eye
diseases, swellings, the pain s of syphilis, and pains due to
cold (Herna ndez 1959 ; Sahagun 1956). Tob acco was much
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(C a rd e nas 19 80; Hern and e z 1959 ; Sahagun 1956 ;
Monardes 1580). The applica tion of teotl aqu alli to the skin,
as well as the hydrophob ic cha racter of the bitumen (i.e.,
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alkal oid s (and possibly other constituent s) to penetrate
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44 0 Volum e 3 1 (4) . Octo ber - Decem be r 1999