By Liliana Usvat
Blog 305-365
Other Names
The sapodilla tree is a slow growing evergreen that can reach heights of 100 feet. Strong and wind-resistant, it maintains an extensive root system. Within the tree’s bark is the white, gummy sap the tree is famous for, called chicle. The glossy green leaves are clustered in spirals at the tip of forked twigs. Sapodilla flowers are small, bell shaped and cream colored. The fruit is shaped like an egg with rough, brown skin when ripe, which protects the grainy yellow fruit inside.
The unique chewing gum called, Chicza, is made from totally organic rainforest ingredients that will biodegrade in around six weeks.
In less ideal conditions when disposed of on tarmac or concrete roads and pavements, it will biodegrade in around three months.
The greatest concentration of indigenous sapodillas are found in Quintana Roo, and are probably the remnants of active cultivation by the ancient Maya or were simply spared by ancient farmers when they cleared the forests for their fields.
When the bark of the sapodilla is cut with a machete (a large knife that chicle extractors use) or attacked by insects or animals, the tree produces a milky fluid that forms a protective layer over the damaged area .
It is this substance, known as chicle latex, that has been used for hundreds of years in the Americas as chewing gum. Natural latexes, such as chicle and rubber, are usually a white, thick liquid, although at times they can be clear,
yellow, red, or orange and runny. Latex generally has no smell, which makes it
quite different from plant resins such as pine tar and copal incense that contain
oils, and have a strong scent.
The contemporary Maya refer to the sapodilla tree astzicte’ ya’, “wounded noble tree.”
This is a descriptive name that reflects the way in which the latex is obtained. Chicleros (chicle extractors) harvest the chicle by cutting a machete into the flesh along the length of the tree in a zigzag pattern, and allowing the latex to run down the tree.
This is a process that the Maya have likely been using for hundreds, if not thousands of years, as the ancient Maya recognized that chewing this rubbery resin quenched thirst and staved off hunger.
Ancient Mesoamericans saw copal and rubber as the “blood of the tree” and used it as a primary ingredient for creating offerings to their gods, as well as for everyday uses.
It is quite likely that they similarly viewed chicle latex as a natural product that could serve ritual and practical purposes. While it was certainly not traded as widely nor was it as prevalent in ritual settings as copal and rubber, we know that the Maya have used chicle as a kind of incense, as well as wrapped it on the outside of ritual copal offerings.
Fruit
The sapodilla tree produces a sweet egg-shaped fruit known as “sapote” that was used as an ancient Maya and Aztec food source.
LINKS
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102002132
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/artefacts/chewing-gum-tree
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/kids/species-profiles/sapodilla
Blog 305-365
Other Names
Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota)
DescriptionThe sapodilla tree is a slow growing evergreen that can reach heights of 100 feet. Strong and wind-resistant, it maintains an extensive root system. Within the tree’s bark is the white, gummy sap the tree is famous for, called chicle. The glossy green leaves are clustered in spirals at the tip of forked twigs. Sapodilla flowers are small, bell shaped and cream colored. The fruit is shaped like an egg with rough, brown skin when ripe, which protects the grainy yellow fruit inside.
The unique chewing gum called, Chicza, is made from totally organic rainforest ingredients that will biodegrade in around six weeks.
In less ideal conditions when disposed of on tarmac or concrete roads and pavements, it will biodegrade in around three months.
Chicle is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. It is collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees in the Manilkara genus, including M. zapota, M. chicle, M. staminodella, and M. bidentata.
The tapping of the gum is similar to the tapping of latex from the rubber tree: zig-zag gashes are made in the tree trunk and the dripping gum is collected in small bags. It is then boiled until it reaches the correct thickness. Locals who collect chicle are called chicleros.
The scars are permanent to the tree. Chicleros, or the extractors, generally mark trees with their own unique symbol so that they can keep track of when a tree was last tapped. Preferably, the trees were left untouched for five years between cuttings to ensure that they would continue to produce latex.
Chicle is collected from the tree by cutting into the bark, much like rubber, which causes the tree to excrete it and it runs down the trunk. And yes, it can also be extracted from the leaves. When plucked from a branch, the leaves will produce a small amount of latex as a way of protecting the tree from damage by insects or herbivores.
The greatest concentration of indigenous sapodillas are found in Quintana Roo, and are probably the remnants of active cultivation by the ancient Maya or were simply spared by ancient farmers when they cleared the forests for their fields.
When the bark of the sapodilla is cut with a machete (a large knife that chicle extractors use) or attacked by insects or animals, the tree produces a milky fluid that forms a protective layer over the damaged area .
It is this substance, known as chicle latex, that has been used for hundreds of years in the Americas as chewing gum. Natural latexes, such as chicle and rubber, are usually a white, thick liquid, although at times they can be clear,
yellow, red, or orange and runny. Latex generally has no smell, which makes it
quite different from plant resins such as pine tar and copal incense that contain
oils, and have a strong scent.
The contemporary Maya refer to the sapodilla tree astzicte’ ya’, “wounded noble tree.”
This is a descriptive name that reflects the way in which the latex is obtained. Chicleros (chicle extractors) harvest the chicle by cutting a machete into the flesh along the length of the tree in a zigzag pattern, and allowing the latex to run down the tree.
This is a process that the Maya have likely been using for hundreds, if not thousands of years, as the ancient Maya recognized that chewing this rubbery resin quenched thirst and staved off hunger.
Ancient Mesoamericans saw copal and rubber as the “blood of the tree” and used it as a primary ingredient for creating offerings to their gods, as well as for everyday uses.
It is quite likely that they similarly viewed chicle latex as a natural product that could serve ritual and practical purposes. While it was certainly not traded as widely nor was it as prevalent in ritual settings as copal and rubber, we know that the Maya have used chicle as a kind of incense, as well as wrapped it on the outside of ritual copal offerings.
How did the Aztecs view chicle?
The Aztecs had very strict social norms, which thankfully are documented in an amazing resource known as the Florentine Codex. This is a series of twelve books that was written under the supervision of the Spanish friar known as Bernadino de Sahagunstarting in 1540. In it, he noted what “good” and “bad” people did in society. “Bad” people included men and married women that chewed gum in public – only children and old women were allowed to get away with this shameful behavior.
Men and women who failed to follow these social norms were socially ostracized as “whores” or “sodomites” in an attempt to discourage this behavior.
Some researchers believe that Maya elites controlled the access to the trees by growing them in their city centers.
Four hundred years later, proper young ladies, for example, should never chew gum in public because “watching someone chew gum is, as older generations say, like watching a cow chew its cud.” Yet, it was still sold in the public marketplace because the Aztecs knew it served a practical purpose of cleaning teeth and freshening breath—they just didn’t want people to actually use it in front of anyone.
Fruit
The sapodilla tree produces a sweet egg-shaped fruit known as “sapote” that was used as an ancient Maya and Aztec food source.
Habitat:
The sapodilla tree is native to southern Mexico, Belize and northeastern Guatemala. It also grows in the West Indies and the Old World tropics, where it was introduced for cultivation centuries ago.
LINKS
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102002132
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/artefacts/chewing-gum-tree
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/kids/species-profiles/sapodilla
