Tobacco is sacred for Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas. Breath and Smoke delves into tobacco's origins in Maya culture and rituals and traces its residues across space and time. Beginning in the eighth century and moving through the present day, the volume brings together an interdisciplinary range of scholars whose analysis of myths, ethnography, material culture, hieroglyphics, historical documents, healing practices, and chemical residues showcase the myriad ways that mahy (tobacco) has been used, traded, and exalted. By examining tobacco's nexus as a spiritual, medicinal, ritual, and recreational substance, editors Jennifer Loughmiller-Cardinal and Keith Eppich reveal tobacco's significance as more than just a powerful botanical. Maya peoples consider it to be a sentient, godlike substance. While maize, chocolate, and jade have long been recognized as important commodities in ancient and modern Maya cultures, this volume proposes that tobacco held a similar role and continues to be highly prized.
The contributors...
