The History of the Chia Seed

The word "Chia" comes from the Aztec language Nahuati and the word "Chian", which means "Oily". Pre-Columbus civilizations used the chia seed...

for religious purposes, as food and as raw material of the production of medicine and colours.

When the conquistadors, under the orders of Hernando Cortez, arrived in Mexico on 8th November 1519, in order to enforce their own interests by enslaving and plundering the legendary Aztec nation, Cortez quickly found out that the chia seed was the core of the basic foods of the Aztecs.

It was an important part of secret ceremonies, which were essential for their devout and spiritual culture. Chia was substantially a symbol of life itself. The Aztecs believed that chia gave them mystical and supernatural faculties. Through terror campaigns and oppression by the conquistadors, Cortez was convinced that, if he could destroy the chia, he would conquer the kingdom and would become "King of the Gold".

After the Spanish conquest of Mexico, the chia seed was probably introduced to Spain in 1521. It was the famous botanist, Karl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who gave chia the botanical name "Salvia hispanica L". Chia grew in Spain up until now wild and isolated and was mistakenly classified as typical for this country. The Latin word for Spain is "hispanica".