orchids and orchidology in central america. 500 ... - lankesteriana.org

ossenbaCh — Orchids and orchidology in Central America
principles of Galenic theory of curing by contraries,
so that “hot” fever called for a “cold” drug, continues:
“Adding the mecaxóchitl flavoring to chocolate not
only gives it an agreeable taste, but because it, like most
cacao spices, is ‘hot’ by nature, it ‘warms the stomach,
perfumes the breath…[and] combats poisons, alleviates
intestinal pains and colics’, and so on” (Coe & Coe,
1996: 123). It should be recalled that in Galen’s theory
and practice, the body contained four humors (black
bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood), and that good
health depended on a balance between them. Each of
these humors had specific properties — ‘hot’ or ‘cold’
and ‘dry’ or ‘moist’. In the European Baroque Age,
the humoral theory was extended to include all sorts
of phenomena and conditions, such as the divisions of
the day, the four seasons, and even the cardinal points.
Those with too much blood were sanguine, those with
too much phlegm were phlegmatic, those with too much
yellow bile were choleric, and those with too much
black bile were melancholic (Fig. 8B).
Alonso de Molina began the introduction of
the present name of vanilla, by translating in his
dictionary the word tlilxóchitl as “ciertas vaynicas de
olores” (= certain fragrant little pods) (Molina, 1571:
148). Referring to the town of Lucu, on the banks of
the Belize River, Diego López de Cogolludo, in his
History of Yucatán, indicates that Friar Bartolomé
de Fuensalida saw there, in 1618, the best achiote
(annatto tree) he had ever seen, together with fruits
of vanilla that the natives called cizbiques (López de
Cogolludo, 1954). The observations of Dampier in
the second half of the XVII century (see later), about
the use of vanilla by the natives of Bocas del Toro
(Panama) let us assume that knowledge about the uses
of vanilla spread to the rest of Central America after the
conquest of Mexico. It is possible that this knowledge
was brought from Yucatan to Panama by the Miskitos,
who in the XVII century made frequent incursions to
the territories located to the north and south of their
dominions. The Miskitos and Sumas of the coasts of
Nicaragua and Honduras used Vanilla that they called
diti bainia, to flavor a beverage “made of cacao and
maize” (Conzemius, 1984: 198).
That vanilla was brought into Europe by the
Spaniards in 1510 (as mentioned by Reinikka, Jacquet,
and other authors) is highly improbable, since the
first Spanish expedition to the mainland was that of
Ojeda and Nicuesa in 1508 to Panama, and we cannot
find any reference to this orchid until the conquest of
Mexico by Hernán Cortés in 1519.
The Flemish botanist Charles de l’Ecluse (1526-
1609), also known as Carolus Clusius, in his Exoticum
liber decem, provided the first botanical description of
vanilla in 1605, as Lobus oblongus aromaticus. The
description is from a plant provided by Hugh Morgan,
pharmacist to Queen Elizabeth I. (Jacquet, 1994: 78).
It was this Morgan who first called attention to vanilla
as a spice that could have other medicinal and culinary
uses, besides being a flavoring for chocolate. Vanilla
begins to separate from chocolate and starts a life on its
own. L’Ecluse made his first experience with American
plants through the works of Nicolás Monardes (1493-
1588) 8 , that he had read during his travels to Spain and
which he later translated into Latin (Laca Menéndez de
Luarca, 1999: 98).
In 1658 the term vaynilla appeared in a work by
William Piso, who added that this name was given by
the Spaniards.” (Reinikka, 1995: 15). According to
Piso, who again follows Galenic theory, vanilla is “hot
in the 3rd degree,” and the mecaxóchitl spice “hot in
the 4 th degree” and “dry in the 3 rd degree”. Piso had
taken part, as official surgeon, in the Dutch expedition
to the north of Brazil under the command of the Count
of Nassau-Siegen, in 1638. He assumed charge of
botanical studies insofar as they pertained to medicine
(Steele, 1964: 14).
Friar Bernabé Cobo, in his history of the New
World, published in 1653 (Cobo, 1892) gives a detailed
account of the necessary procedures to cure the pods
of vanilla, which he praises as “very precious to put
into the chocolate”, stating that the best vanilla is that
which grows in Chiapas (Pérez de Antón, 2005: 122).
William Dampier observed vanilla plants growing
in the south of Mexico (1676) and in Bocas del Toro
(today Panama), in 1681. In his work A New Voyage
Round the World he mentions that the Indians sold
vanilla to the Spaniards and describes the method that
they followed to cure the fruits: “This Cod grows on a
small Vine which climbs about and supports itself by the
neighbouring Trees. It first bears a Flower, from where
8 Monardes, N., 1574, Primera y Segunda y Tercera Partes de la Historia Medicinal de las Cosas que se traen de nuestras Indias
Occidentales que sirven en Medicina. Sevilla.
LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009.
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