09/17/2025
Pozole: The Ancient Ritual Stew of Mexico with Questionable Origins
When you sit down to a warm bowl of pozole today, filled with hominy, pork, and all the toppings, it feels like pure comfort food. But this dish has a history that stretches back to the Aztec Empire, where pozole was not just food but ritual, and its earliest versions carried some of the grislier myths of pre-Columbian religion.
The word pozole comes from the Nahuatl word pozolli, meaning “foamy.” The foam came from nixtamalized corn, kernels treated with lime that swelled into hominy when boiled. Corn was sacred to the peoples of Mesoamerica, a gift of the gods, and a cornerstone of both diet and ritual. So it is no surprise that a stew made from corn held deep spiritual weight.
According to early Spanish chroniclers, the Aztecs prepared pozole for important religious ceremonies, and the meat in the pot was not always from animals. There are accounts, passed down through sources like Bernardino de Sahagún’s Florentine Codex, that the meat was at times human, taken from sacrificial victims. The combination of sacred maize and ritual sacrifice made pozole a dish of power, consumed in honor of the gods.
Of course, these grisly accounts were recorded through Spanish eyes, and some historians argue that they were exaggerated to highlight Aztec “barbarity.” What we do know is that after the conquest, the dish quickly shifted. Pork, introduced by the Spanish, became the new ritual meat, symbolically replacing human flesh. From then on, pozole remained tied to festivity, but the darker undertones gave way to family celebrations and national pride.
Pozole also became a dish of resistance and survival. Despite the Spanish conquest, indigenous food traditions endured. Pozole remained tied to holidays and festivals, served at weddings, feasts, and later, independence day celebrations. It carried within it a reminder of Mexico’s indigenous roots and the endurance of its foodways.
Over time, regional varieties flourished. Pozole rojo with red chiles in Jalisco and Guerrero. Pozole verde with green tomatillos and herbs in Guerrero and Michoacán. Pozole blanco, the simplest version, still served in central Mexico. Each bowl tells a different regional story, but all share the sacred hominy that made the dish what it is.
Today, pozole is comfort food. Families gather around steaming bowls topped with shredded lettuce, radish, oregano, and lime. It is served on special occasions, but also in everyday life, tying Mexicans back to their ancestors in every spoonful. It is both a reminder of ancient rituals and a symbol of cultural continuity, proof that food outlives empires.
So the next time you enjoy a bowl of pozole, remember that you are tasting a dish that began in temples under the shadow of the gods, passed through conquest and change, and still lives on the Mexican table today.
For more historical recipes: https://eatshistory.com/
