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| May/Mahy. |
To the ancient Maya, tobacco counted among the plants they thought were sacred. They may have used Nicotiana tabacum, Nicotiana rustica, or both. There were even gods that they would draw as smoking. Smoking was very common among the ancient Maya, which they consumed in different ways.
History
There's a theory that only certain authorities like shamans were allowed to use tobacco. But at least close to the end of the Postclassic Period, it's thought that all classes may have been allowed to smoke it.
Names of Tobacco
The word for tobacco in the codices (which date to the Postclassic Period) is k'uutz. It is spelled with syllables two ways: ku and tzi or k'uh and tzi. In inscriptions outside the codices, you may see tobacco called may or mahy, depending on the archaeologist. You will also find resources that translate may/mahy as snuff or tobacco-lime snuff.
Use
One way the ancient Maya consumed tobacco was by smoking it -- and they may have had tubes (made with either bone or ceramic) as a tool for smoking it.
The Maya may have also have powdered tobacco, mixed it with lime, and used it as a kind of snuff. There are bottles from the Late Classic that may have had spatulas for getting the snuff out. (One of these bottles -- painted in the codex style -- had y‐otoot 'u‐may written on it. This has been translated as "her/his/its home for tobacco." When this bottle, among other bottles, was tested, it was found to have nicotine in it.)
There are theories about how they used the snuff -- one says they used spatulas and used their mouths. Another says they used their noses, and may have stuck the bottles' openings up their nostrils.
The Maya may have used tobacco for serious things too. One thing they may have used it for was as a medicine plant. They may also have used it in their religion, as part of getting visions.
On a related note, archaeologists may have found evidence of tobacco being traded. The murals at the Chiik Nahb complex -- located at the site of Calakmul -- have a tobacco seller (whose caption has several translations including "tobacco person"). They've also found evidence of tobacco being grown -- at the site of Cerén, tobacco seeds were found in a gourd.
The Maya may have also have powdered tobacco, mixed it with lime, and used it as a kind of snuff. There are bottles from the Late Classic that may have had spatulas for getting the snuff out. (One of these bottles -- painted in the codex style -- had y‐otoot 'u‐may written on it. This has been translated as "her/his/its home for tobacco." When this bottle, among other bottles, was tested, it was found to have nicotine in it.)
There are theories about how they used the snuff -- one says they used spatulas and used their mouths. Another says they used their noses, and may have stuck the bottles' openings up their nostrils.
The Maya may have used tobacco for serious things too. One thing they may have used it for was as a medicine plant. They may also have used it in their religion, as part of getting visions.
On a related note, archaeologists may have found evidence of tobacco being traded. The murals at the Chiik Nahb complex -- located at the site of Calakmul -- have a tobacco seller (whose caption has several translations including "tobacco person"). They've also found evidence of tobacco being grown -- at the site of Cerén, tobacco seeds were found in a gourd.
Smoking and the Gods
In art, you'll see drawings of Maya gods as well as people smoking. (Gods the Maya believed in that have been found to smoke in art include god B, god F, god D, god N, god A, and God L.
It's possible that god L may have had several names, connected to tobacco. One was Ch'ul Mahy or "Holy Tobacco." Another possibility about god L is that he was the god of all tobacco. Of these gods, god L is shown smoking the most often.
God K may also be connected with tobacco. One possible connection is the fact that the ancient Maya liked to draw god L with god K.
Consideration
Among the accounts written by the Spanish, there are accounts that say they saw Maya who smoked tobacco and acted like they'd had too much alcohol. There are different theories on this. Two theories wonder if the answer is the amount of nicotine the Maya were taking into their bodies.
One of these theories suggest that the Maya were smoking lots of tobacco -- the other suggests they were smoking Nicotiana rustica, which has 10 percent nicotine in it. (Nicotiana tabacum has 2 or 3 percent.)
References:
Google Books: "Substance & Seduction: Ingested Commodities in Early Modern Mesoamerica"; Stacey Schwartzkopf, Kathryn E. Sampeck (editors); 2017
Cornell University: SocArXiv: "“Elder Brother Tobacco”: Traditional NicotianaSnuff Use among the Contemporary Tzeltal and Tzotzil Mayaof Highland Chiapas, Mexico"; Kevin P. Groark; May 31, 2017
Google Books: "The Ancient Maya Marketplace: The Archaeology of Transient Space"; Eleanor M. King (editor); 2015
Academia: "Rapid Communications in Mass Spectometry" Vol. 26 "The detection of nicotine in a Late Mayan period flask by gas chromatography and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry methods"; Dmitri V. Zagorevski, Jennifer A. Laughmiller-Newman; 2012
"The Classic Maya"; Stephen D. Houston, Takeshi Inomata; 2009
Google Books: "Smokes: A Global History of Smoking"; Sander L. Gilman, Zhou Xun; 2004
The Free Dictionary: Tobacco
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