It was during her trips from the forest, carrying flowers for the temple that the young prince Zkatan-Oxga (Young Deer) first caught sight of Morning Star and immediately fell under her spell. He knew that even allowing his eyes to remain upon her for a moment, gazing at her innocent beauty, could bring him death by beheading, but he was obsessed to have her as his wife and companion. The love in his heart for Morning Star outweighed the dangers of being captured and killed. Each morning, before Morning Star went into the forest in search of flowers and doves as offerings for the goddess, Young Deer would hide in the undergrowth and await the arrival of the beautiful princess.
One morning, when the low, dense clouds clung to the hills following the rain, Young Deer was so overcome with desire that he decided to capture Morning Star and flee with her to the sierra. As she passed close by, he leapt from the bushes, then taking her by the arm, ran with her, deep into the forest. Although Morning Star was startled by Young Deer’s abrupt arrival and ardent passion, she too came under the spell of their star-crossed destiny and willingly followed.
Just as they reached the first mountains, a terrifying monster emerged from a cave, spewing fire, and forced the young lovers to retreat to the road. As they did, the priests of Tonacayohua appeared and blocked their path. Before Young Deer could utter a word, the priests struck him down and beheaded him. Swiftly, Morning Star met with the same terrible fate. Their hearts were cut from their bodies, still beating, taken to the temple and were placed on the stone altar as an offering to the goddess. Their bodies were then thrown into a deep ravine.
Not long after, on the exact site of their murders, the grasses where their blood had spilled began to dry and shrivel away as if their death was an omen of change. A few months later a bush sprang forth so quickly and prodigiously, that within a few days it had grown several feet and was covered with thick foliage. Shortly after, an emerald-green vine sprouted from the earth, its tendrils intertwining with the trunk and branches of the bush in a manner at once delicate and strong, much like an embrace. The tendrils were fragile and elegant, the leaves full and sensual. Everyone watched in amazement as, one morning, delicate yellow-green orchids appeared all over the vine like a young woman in love in repose, dreaming of her lover. As the orchids died, slender green pods developed, and over a period of time they released a perfume more splendid than the finest incense offered to the goddess.
It was then that priests and devotees of Tonacayohua realized that the blood of Young Deer and Morning Star was transformed into the strong bush and delicate orchid. The orchid and vine were designated as a sacred gift to the goddess and from that time on has been a divine offering from the Totonacas to their deity and to the world.
Chapter 17. Vanilla’s Debt to Reunion Island
Raoul Lucas
Vanilla came to Bourbon Island, now known as Reunion Island, at the dawn of the nineteenth century, from Central America, on the other side of the planet. The genius of a 12-year-old black slave transformed the fruitless orchid into a pod-bearing source of opulence. Reunionese (inhabitants of Reunion) industriousness brought out the best of its fragrance. Toward the end of the century, it invested new shores; the adjacent islands of the Indian Ocean. International recognition was obtained through the quality label bestowed during 1964—Bourbon vanilla.
When vanilla was introduced at the beginning of the nineteenth century in Reunion Island, previously called Bourbon Island, it had come a long way from the other side of the planet and possessed a rich history (Lucas, 1990).
However, it was due to its acclimatization in Reunion, which fostered its commercial success. The Reunionese transformed this exotic orchid into a lucrative commodity before exporting it throughout the world.
By their technical know-how, their knack of inventiveness, and their native genius, the Reunionese were the architects of the fabulous adventure of vanilla; a saga which triggered off in Reunion Island and in other areas where the orchid was introduced, led to vast fortunes but also its inevitable controversies and tragedies.
From Tlilxochitl to Vanilla: From Mexico to Reunion
Originally, the orchid was an indigenous plant growing wild in the Mexican forests and the outlying expanses of Central America. It was better known to the Aztecs as tlilxochitl (which means black flower in Nahuatl). Biographers have trailed it back to Bernardino de Sohagun’s book, General History of New-Spain (Sohagun, 1801).
The book is a major landmark not only because it is the oldest known reference on tlilxochitl, but also because it gives valuable information about the way it was used by the Aztecs.
Sohagun, a Spanish monk, landed in Mexico eight years after the conquest by the Spaniards. He relates that “after each meal, delicately-flavored cocoa beverages were served, like the one made from the bean and which is very tasty; the one made of honey and another made from tender tlilxochitl.”
It is said that emperor Moctezuma offered this precious mixture to the illustrious Cortez. History does not reveal if Cortez was conquered by the cocoa drink flavored with tlilxochitl but we do know what happened afterward. Profusion of gold and precious plants were shipped to Europe, and among them was the tlilxochitl.
The Spaniards fell under the charm of its aroma and named the orchid vanilla, short for vaina, which means pod, no doubt because of the shape of the fruit.
Besides Spain, other European countries discovered vanilla and its commercialization started in France, where in 1692 it was marketed exclusively through a royal monopoly. Disseminated and largely naturalized, throughout the eighteenth century vanilla formed the topic of many studies (Lucas, 1990).
A century later, this already popular plant was brought to Reunion. Located 800 km east of Madagascar in the middle of the Indian Ocean, this mountainous island, 2500 square kilometers in area, was devoid of inhabitants when French settlers arrived in July 1665.
They were sent by the French East India Company founded in 1664 by Colbert. During the French colonial period, slavery contributed significantly to the agricultural expansion. Emancipation occurred in 1848, when the liberated slaves largely of African and Malagasy descent were replaced on the fields by Indian indentured labor (Lucas and Serviable, 2008).
The introduction of vanilla is in keeping with a long-time tradition of acclimatization carried by scientists, administrators, naval officers, or laymen; they were keen on enriching the vegetal heritage thereby contributing to the economic development of Reunion. We owe it to a local born navy officer who was the first one to introduce vanilla plants on the island.
On June 26, 1819, commander Philibert (Figure 17.1), the head of a naval squadron, stops in his native land, after he returns from a mission from “the south seas,” presumably the warm Pacific shores and from Cayenne in French Guyana.
FIGURE 17.1 The commander Philibert, the first to introduce vanilla plants (probably V. pompona) in Reunion Island in 1819. (Lithography from the Album de La Réunion, A. Roussin, courtesy of Océan Editions.)
It is from La Gabrielle estate in Cayenne, formerly awarded to General Lafayette as a token from the Nation in return for services rendered, that samplings of various plants were taken including vanilla. It is a short, stubby big-pod specimen, probably Vanilla pompona. For Philibert the question does not arise: the introduction of vanilla in Reunion can be a source of prosperity. And even more! In a letter to the Colony’s governor he writes: “this plant could be a cash crop traded in Asia. And the colonists just cannot miss making big money in cultivating it” (Billiard, 1822).