When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico and Central America, they found temples where a fragrant resin was burned in extraordinary quantities. It was copal, the sacred incense of Mesoamerica. For the peoples of this vast cultural area, from the Maya to the Aztecs, copal was an indispensable offering, nourishment for the gods and a bridge between the human and the divine world. Its use has never ceased and continues today.
The name and the resin
The word "copal" derives from Nahuatl copalli, the language of the Aztecs. The Maya called it pom. These terms refer to resins produced by several tropical trees, particularly of the genera Bursera and Protium. The resin is gathered by cutting the bark and can take different forms: pale and almost transparent, yellowish, or darker.
What sets copal apart from the resins of the Old World is not so much the substance as the context: an entirely different religious universe, developed independently, which attributed to fragrant smoke meanings strikingly similar to those of other cultures.
Copal in the Popol Vuh
The Popol Vuh, the great sacred text of the K'iche' Maya of Guatemala, contains a scene of strong symbolic value. The first ancestors of the K'iche', created by the gods, live for a long time in darkness, waiting for the dawn. When at last the sun rises for the first time, they burn their incense facing east, in joy and as an offering.
Copal thus accompanies the founding moment of the ordered world: the first dawn. The smoke rising into the newly lit sky is humanity's first ritual gesture.
Nourishment of the gods
In the Mesoamerican vision the gods needed to be nourished by human beings. Offerings included food, flowers, precious objects and, in some contexts, blood. Copal was one of the most common offerings: its smoke was regarded as a subtle form of nourishment suited to divine beings.
This is why copal appears in almost every ritual context:
- in temple ceremonies, burned in large braziers;
- in processions, carried in long-handled censers;
- in buried offerings, laid down together with other precious objects;
- in domestic and agricultural rites, linked to the cycles of rain and maize.
The Sacred Cenote of Chichén Itzá
One of the most striking archaeological testimonies to the use of copal comes from the Sacred Cenote of Chichén Itzá in Yucatán: a large natural sinkhole regarded as a place of communication with the divine world and with the rain gods. From the early twentieth century onwards, numerous objects offered over the centuries have been recovered from its waters, including jades, ceramics, gold objects and balls of copal, some of which contained other objects or were painted.
The fact that copal was thrown into the water, and not only burned, shows that the resin was in itself a precious offering, independently of its smoke.
Aztec censers
Aztec reliefs and codices often show priests holding ladle-shaped censers with long, often decorated handles. The bowl held embers onto which copal was thrown. Excavations of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, in the heart of present-day Mexico City, have yielded many offerings in which copal also appears, sometimes moulded into particular shapes.
| Element | Traditional meaning |
|---|---|
| Rising smoke | Communication with the sky gods |
| Copal in water | Offering to the gods of rain and the underworld |
| Copal at dawn | Greeting the sun, renewal of the world |
| Copal in burials | Accompanying the dead |
Copal today
After the Spanish conquest copal did not disappear. On the contrary, it became part of mixed religious forms in which Christian elements and indigenous traditions intertwine. On the steps of the church of Santo Tomás in Chichicastenango, Guatemala, Maya worshippers still burn copal before entering.
In Mexico copal perfumes the household altars set up for the Day of the Dead, the festival in which the souls of the departed are welcomed with flowers, food, candles and images. The smoke of the resin, according to tradition, helps guide the souls towards the offerings prepared for them.
In short
- Copal is the sacred resin of Mesoamerica, called copalli by the Aztecs and pom by the Maya.
- In the Popol Vuh the first ancestors burn incense at the world's first dawn.
- It was regarded as subtle nourishment for the gods and appeared in almost every rite.
- The Sacred Cenote of Chichén Itzá has yielded many offerings, including balls of copal.
- It is still burned in Maya communities and on Day of the Dead altars.
