Enema beaker

Enema beaker A.D. 600–900

Late Classic Maya

 The scene carved on this blackware beaker provides key information about the ancient Maya use of enemas to induce intoxication. During intense “drinking” rites, enemas were a preferred mode of consumption because the enema liquid, which might include hallucinogenic substances, could be absorbed rapidly and directly into the bloodstream without inducing vomiting. Although several Maya ceramic vessels, as well as a unique architectural relief from the site of San Diego in Yucatan, Mexico, depict individuals receiving enemas, no other example presents such a detailed narrative of the enema rite. A woman wearing a short cape called a quechquemitl and a long skirt administer an enema gourd to a prone male figure, from whose mouth emanate swirling scrolls indicating singing or howling. A second male figure scoops the intoxicating liquid from a large, narrow-necked jar. Behind him, two similarly shaped vessels hang on a backpack-like frame, suggesting that the figure is a traveling merchant, likely specializing in the distribution of the intoxicating enema liquid. A pair of birds floating above the figures are probably hallucinatory visions of the intoxicated man or may refer metaphorically to the rite.

 Princeton University Art Museum