Mayahuel

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A deity in Aztec mythology associated with fertility and pulque, symbolizing the nourishment provided by plants and plants' vital role in human existence
2. A goddess revered by the Mexica culture, representing the agave plant and the production of fermented drinks, embodying the connection between nature and human society
3. A figure from Mesoamerican beliefs, often depicted as linked to agriculture and the life-giving properties of the agave, emphasizing the importance of resources in life and celebration

Etymology: Mayahuel is the Aztec goddess of the maguey, the agave plant from which pulque, a fermented drink, was made. In Nahuatl myth she was a woman of extraordinary beauty who lived with her grandmother Tzitzimitl, a star-demon. The god Quetzalcoatl fell in love with her, took her away, and transformed them both into a tree-like plant, the agave, so that she could be nourished in her new form. The name comes from Nahuatl, the language of the Mexica (Aztec) people. Its exact internal breakdown is debated, and scholars do not agree on one fixed meaning, so it is safest to treat the name as a proper noun whose meaning is uncertain rather than as a transparent compound. It entered English only in modern times as a term from Mesoamerican mythology studies, and it is used almost entirely in scholarly and descriptive writing about Aztec religion.