Sepachchir and velvet flowers

🌼🌼🟣 #Día de Muertos #Tradiciones #Cempasúchil #FlordeTerciopelo Learn about the history, legend and uses of El Cempasúchil and the Velvet Flower

Adriana Balmori A.
From childhood, Hochitel and Vezilin played together, and in their youth, when they had fallen in love, they would climb the mountains in the afternoon to make offerings to the sun god Tonatiuh. Wu received them with a smile; but war came, and young Huilijin went to the battlefield. A few days later, Hochitel felt a shiver in his soul that nearly paralyzed his heart, and it got worse when they confirmed the heroic death of his brave relative. Overcoming her pain, she went upstairs again to bring an offering to Tonatiu, imploring him to unite her and Huizlin forever. Out of gratitude and mercy, the Sun God sent a ray of light, and the young woman transformed into a beautiful flower, shining with the yellow and orange colors that the Sun had given her. Out of nowhere, a swift hummingbird appears and perches lovingly on her, and the flower blooms into twenty petals, exuding a rich and mysterious fragrance that unites the young people forever. This is the Nahuatl legend surrounding the marigold flower, whose name means the flower with twenty petals.
For the ancient Mexica, the petals were the rays of the sun. Therefore, they used them as decorations for tombs, believing that they could lovingly keep the warmth of the day, and when they discovered their fragrance, it could guide the dead; legend has it that its petals were their guides to the sacrifices and back The soul of time is not lost.
In Mexico it is known as the flower of the dead or cempaxóchitl, although its scientific name is Tagetes planta. It has several other names: flower of the dead, cempasochil, cempoal, flower of cempoal, flower of the dead, child’s flower, twenty-flower. Likewise, in indigenous languages, its names vary.
Marigold first appears in literature in the 16th century Florentine Codex. There it is stated that its use is ritual and aesthetic. There are 30 varieties of Sipaschi, including: Marigold, which is the most common; Marigold, which has yellow tips and orange centers;
Regardless of the use and fame of All Saints and All Souls’ Day, the variety of useful uses for this flower is astonishing, such as: In some areas of Mexico, it is used to treat digestive ailments such as pain, stomach problems, Diarrhea, cramps, liver conditions, bile, vomiting and indigestion. Intestinal cleansers are also made from this plant and are used to combat intestinal parasites; in Yucatán, Oaxaca and Veracruz it is used to reduce fever; in Tabasco and Guerre Naju, it is used to relieve coughs. Other uses include respiratory illnesses such as colds, flu, bronchitis, and nasal congestion.
It was also used to treat “cultural” ailments such as “panic, bad air, fear or emptiness, and cold stomach.”
One such pigment is lutein, which is used to prevent age-related eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration. The darker the flower, the higher the carotenoid content, which can effectively prevent coronary artery disease, heart disease, old age and cancer. Its essential oil also contains antioxidants.
In agriculture, it is used to repel worms, such as tomato worms. Also used as fertilizer; the flower is added to chicken feed as a natural pigment and organic additive to produce eggs with more colorful yolks. Some small breweries include it in their seasonal recipes.
Marigold flowers are sown in July and harvested in October. They are ready for sale 15 to 20 days after harvesting.
The cempasúchil arrives in offerings accompanied by beautiful velvet flowers or cockscombs, with an elegant texture and a beautiful burgundy to purple hue. It is a variety of amaranth, which in our region is misnamed like its cousin: moco de turkey, because its real name is “lattice silver crown”; personally I like it very much, I think It gives a beautiful and different character to the product. Cockscomb is an annual plant with edible leaves that is widely cultivated in Mexico, northern South America, tropical Africa, or southern Asia, where it grows as a native plant, and there are also some naturalized varieties, mainly as edible and nutritious leaves. Vegetable planting. It is one of the most important edible leaves in Nigeria, where it is known as “soko yokoto” which has an interesting and original meaning of “make your husband fat and happy”.​ In Spain, Mexico and Guatemala, it is called “Cresta de gallo”.

Córdoba Edition, November 1, 2023