''Chicha'' is a
fermented
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
(alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, emerging from the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
and
Amazonia
The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
regions.
In both the pre- and post-
Spanish conquest
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...
periods,
corn beer
Corn beer is a beer style made from corn (maize). The drink is a traditional beverage in various cuisines. Chicha, the best-known corn beer, is widespread in the Andes and local varieties of corn beer exist elsewhere.
History
Corn beer in the A ...
(''
chicha de jora
Chicha de jora is a corn beer or chicha prepared by germinating maize, extracting the malt sugars, boiling the wort, and fermenting it in large vessels (traditionally huge earthenware vats) for several days. The process is essentially similar to ...
'') made from a variety of
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
landrace
A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolation ...
s has been the most common form of ''chicha''.
[ However, ''chicha'' is also made from a variety of other ]cultigen
A cultigen () or cultivated plant is a plant that has been deliberately altered or selected by humans; it is the result of artificial selection. These plants, for the most part, have commercial value in horticulture, agriculture or forestry. Beca ...
s and wild plant
Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...
s, including, among others, quinoa
Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and ...
(''Chenopodium quinia''), kañiwa
''Chenopodium pallidicaule'', known as ''cañihua'', ''canihua'' or ''cañahua'' (from Quechua ''qañiwa, qañawa or qañawi'') and also kaniwa, is a species of goosefoot, similar in character and uses to the closely related ''quinoa'' ''(Chenopo ...
(''Chenopodium pallidicaule''), peanut
The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...
, manioc
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated a ...
(also called yuca or cassava), palm fruit, rice, potato, oca (''Oxalis tuberosa''), and chañar (''Geoffroea decorticans'').[ There are many regional variations of ''chicha''.] In the Inca Empire
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
, ''chicha'' had ceremonial
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin ''Glossary of ancient Rom ...
and ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
uses.
Etymology and related phrases
The exact origin of the word ''chicha'' is debated. One belief is that the word ''chicha'' is of Taino origin and became a generic term used by the Spanish to define any and all fermented beverages brewed by indigenous peoples in the Americas. It is possible that one of the first uses of the term ''chicha'' was from a group of people who lived in Colombia and Panama, the Kuna
Kuna may refer to:
Places
* Kuna, Idaho, a town in the United States
** Kuna Caves, a lava tube in Idaho
* Kuna Peak, a mountain in California
* , a village in the Orebić municipality, Croatia
* , a village in the Konavle municipality, Croatia ...
. However, according to the Real Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...
and other authors, the word ''chicha'' comes from the Kuna
Kuna may refer to:
Places
* Kuna, Idaho, a town in the United States
** Kuna Caves, a lava tube in Idaho
* Kuna Peak, a mountain in California
* , a village in the Orebić municipality, Croatia
* , a village in the Konavle municipality, Croatia ...
word or "chiab" which means maize. According to Don Luis G. Iza it comes from the Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
word , which means "fermented water"; the verb ''chicha'' meaning "to sour a drink" and the postfix ''-atl'' meaning water. These etymologies are not mutually exclusive.
The Spanish idiom ''ni chicha ni limonada'' (neither ''chicha'' nor lemonade) means "neither one thing nor another" (roughly equivalent to the English "neither fish nor fowl").
Maize chicha
Preparation
Chicha de jora is a corn beer
Corn beer is a beer style made from corn (maize). The drink is a traditional beverage in various cuisines. Chicha, the best-known corn beer, is widespread in the Andes and local varieties of corn beer exist elsewhere.
History
Corn beer in the A ...
prepared by germinating maize, extracting the malt sugars, boiling the wort
Wort () is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars, the most important being maltose and maltotriose, that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. Wort ...
, and fermenting it in large vessels, traditionally huge earthenware vats, for several days.
Usually, the brewer makes chicha in large amounts and uses many of these clay vats to do so. These vats break down easily and can only be used a few times. The brewers can arrange their vessels in rows, with fires in the middle, to reduce heat loss.
The process for making chicha is essentially the same as the process for the production of malted barley beer. It is traditionally made with Jora corn, a type of malted corn from the Andes. The specific type or combination of corn used in the making of ''chicha de jora'' shows where it was made. Some add quinoa or other adjuncts
In brewing, adjuncts are unmalted grains (such as corn, rice, rye, oats, barley, and wheat) or grain products used in brewing beer which supplement the main mash ingredient (such as malted barley). This is often done with the intention of cut ...
to give it consistency; then it is boiled. During the boiling process, the chicha is stirred and aerated so as to prevent overboiling. ''Chancaca
Chancaca is a typical Bolivian, Chilean and Peruvian, warm, sweet sauce made of raw unrefined sugar from sugarcane. It is often flavored with orange peel and cinnamon, and is consumed on sopaipillas or picarones.
Chancaca is also a synonym for ...
'', a hard form of sugar (like sugar cane), helps with the fermentation process.
After the milling of the corn and the brewing of the drink, the chicha is then sieved. Traditionally, it is sieved through a large cloth. This is to separate the corn from the desired chicha.
In some cultures, instead of germinating the maize to release the starches therein, the maize is ground, moistened by saliva in the chicha maker's mouth, and formed into small balls, which are then flattened and laid out to dry. Naturally occurring ptyalin enzymes in the maker's saliva catalyses the breakdown of starch
Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...
in the maize into maltose
}
Maltose ( or ), also known as maltobiose or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an α(1→4) bond. In the isomer isomaltose, the two glucose molecules are joined with an α(1→6) bond. Maltose is the two- ...
. This process of chewing grains or other starches was used in the production of alcoholic beverages in pre-modern cultures around the world, including, for example, sake
Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...
in Japan. ''Chicha'' prepared in this manner is known as ''chicha de muko''.
Chicha morada is a non-fermented chicha usually made from ears of purple maize (''maíz morado''), which are boiled with pineapple rind, cinnamon, and cloves. This gives a strong, purple-colored liquid, which is then mixed with sugar and lemon. This beverage is usually taken as a refreshment, but in recent years many health benefits of purple corn have been found. Chicha morada is common in Bolivian and Peruvian cultures and is generally drunk as an accompaniment to food.
Women are most associated with the production of chicha. Men and children are still involved with the process of making chicha, but women control the production and distribution. For many women in Andean society, making and selling chicha is a key part of their identity because it provides a substantial amount of political power and leverage.
Use
Chicha de jora has been prepared and consumed in communities throughout in the Andes for millennia. The Inca used chicha for ritual purposes and consumed it in vast quantities during religious festivals. Mills in which it was probably made were found at Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain range.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which ...
.
During the Inca Empire
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
women were taught the techniques of brewing chicha in Aqlla Wasi (feminine schools).[D'Altroy, Terrence N. he Incas, /ref>
''Chicherias'' (''chicha'' ]tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
s) were places to consume ''chicha''. Many have historically been unlicensed, home-based businesses that produce ''chicha'' on site.
Normally sold in large ''caporal'' (1/2 liter) glasses to be drunk on location, or by liter, if taken home, chicha is generally sold straight from the earthenware ''chomba'' where it was brewed. On the Northern coast of Peru, it is often served in a dried gourd known as a Poto while in the Peruvian Andes it is often served in a qero. Qeros are traditionally made from wood with intricate designs carved on the outside. In colonial times qeros transitioned to be painted with figurative depictions on the exterior instead of carving. Some qeros were also made of metals and many are now made of glass. Inca leaders used identical pairs of qeros to extend invitations to drink. These invitations represented an indebtedness upon the invitee. In this way, the drinking of chicha via qeros cemented relationships of power and alliances between people and groups.
Chicha can be mixed with Coca Sek Coca Sek is a carbonated beverage that the Páez people of south-western Colombia began producing and selling in December 2005. The drink is based on coca leaves, which native Colombian peoples have been consuming for centuries to adapt to high alti ...
, a Colombian beverage made from coca leaf.
Regional variations
There are a number of regional varieties of chicha, which can be roughly divided into lowland (Amazonia) and highland varieties, of which there are many.
Amazonia
Throughout the Amazon Basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...
(including the interiors of Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil), chicha is usually made from cassava, but also cooking plantain is known to be used. Traditionally, the women chew the washed and peeled cassava and spit the juice into a bowl. Cassava root is very starchy, and therefore the enzymes in the preparer's saliva
Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...
rapidly convert the starch to simple sugar, which is further converted by wild yeast or bacteria into alcohol. After the juice has fermented in the bowl for a few hours, the result will be mildly sweet and sour chicha, similar in appearance to defatted milk. In Peruvian Amazonia, the drink is called ''masato''.
It is traditional for families to offer chicha to arriving guests. Children are offered new chicha that has not fermented, whereas adults are offered fermented chicha; the most highly fermented chicha, with its significant alcohol content, is reserved for men.
Bolivia
In Bolivia chicha is most often made from maize, especially in the highlands, but amaranth chicha is also traditional and popular. Chicha made from sweet manioc, plantain, or banana is also common in the lowlands. Bolivian chicha often has alcohol. A good description of the preparation of a Bolivian way to make chicha can be found in Cutler, Hugh and Martin Cardenas, "Chicha a Native South American Beer".
Chile
In Chile, there are two main types of chicha: apple chicha produced in southern Chile and grape chicha produced in central Chile. Both are alcoholic beverages with no distillation, only fermentation. Chicha is mostly consumed in the countryside and during festivities, such as Fiestas Patrias on September 18. Chicha is usually not found in formal supermarkets unless close to September 18.
Colombia
In Bogotá, the capital of present-day Colombia, the recipe is plain; cooked maize with sugar, fermented for six to eight days.
Ecuador
A major chicha beer festival, ''Yamor'', is held in early September in Otavalo. It has its roots in the 1970s, when the locals decided to revive an ancient tradition of marking the maize harvest before the September equinox. These locals spoke Quechua, and "Yamor" was the name for chicha. The festival includes bands, parades, fireworks, and chicha sampling.
El Salvador
In El Salvador, ''chicha'' usually refers to an alcoholic drink made with maize, panela, and pineapple. It is used as a drink and also as an ingredient on many traditional dishes, such as '' gallo en chicha'', a local version of coq au vin
''Coq au vin'' (; , "rooster/cock with wine") is a French dish of chicken braised with wine, lardons, mushrooms, and optionally garlic.
A red Burgundy wine is typically used, though many regions of France make variants using local wines, such ...
. A non-alcoholic version usually named ''fresco de chicha'' (chicha soft drink) is made with the same ingredients, but without allowing it to ferment.
Honduras
In Honduras, the Pech people practiced a ritual called Kesh where a shaman contacted the spiritual world. A Kesh could be held for various reasons, a few including to help appease the angry spirits or to help a deceased member of the community on his or her journey after death. During this ritual, they drank Chicha made of yuca, minia, and yuca tamales. The ritual is no longer practiced, but the drink is still reserved for special occasions with family only.
Nicaragua
In Managua
)
, settlement_type = Capital city
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Nicara ...
and Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
, "chicha de maiz" is a typical drink, unfermented and served very cold. It is often flavored with banana or vanilla flavors, and its saleswomen can be heard calling "¡Chicha, cafe y jugo frio!" in the squares.
Nicaraguan "chicha de maiz" is made by soaking the corn in water overnight. On the following day it is ground and placed in water, red food coloring is added, and the whole mixture is cooked. Once cooled, sugar and more water is added. On the following day, one adds further water, sugar and flavoring. Although fermented chicha is available, the unfermented type is the most common.
Panama
In Panama, ''chicha'' can simply mean "fruit drink". Unfermented chicha often is called ''batido'', another name for any drink containing a fruit puree. Locally, among the Kuna or Gundetule of the San Blas chain of islands "chicha fuerte" refers to the fermented maize and Grandmother Saliva mixture, which chicha is enjoyed in special or Holy days. While chicha fuerte most traditionally refers to chicha made of germinated corn (germination helps to convert starch to sugar), any number of fruits can be fermented into unique, homemade versions of the beverage. In rural areas, chicha fuerte is the refreshment of choice during and after community work parties (''juntas''), as well as during community dances (''tamboritos'').
Peru
Chicha's importance in the social and religious world of Latin America can best be seen by focusing on the drink's central role in ancient Peru. Corn was considered a sacred crop, but Chicha, in particular, was considered very high status. Chicha was consumed in great quantities during and after the work of harvesting, making for a festive mood of singing, dancing, and joking. Chicha was offered to gods and ancestors, much like other fermented beverages around the world were. For example, at the Incan capital of Cuzco, the king poured chicha into a gold bowl at the navel of the universe, an ornamental stone dais with throne and pillar, in the central plaza. The chicha cascaded down this “gullet of the Sun God” to the Temple of Sun, as awestruck spectators watched the high god quaff the precious brew. At most festivals, ordinary people participated in days of prodigious drinking after the main feast, as the Spanish looked on aghast at the drunkenness.
Human sacrifices first had to be rubbed in the dregs of chicha, and then tube-fed with more chicha for days while lying buried alive in tombs. Special sacred places, scattered throughout the empire, and mummies of previous kings and ancestors were ritually bathed in maize flour and presented with chicha offerings, to the accompaniment of dancing and panpipe music. Even today, Peruvians sprinkle some chicha to “mother earth” from the communal cup when they sit down together to drink; the cup then proceeds in the order of each drinker's social status, as an unending succession of toasts are offered.
Venezuela
In Venezuela chicha or ''chicha de arroz'' is made of boiled rice, milk, sugar; it is generally of white color and has the consistency of eggnog. It is usually served as a sweet, refreshing beverage with ground cinnamon or condensed milk
Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condens ...
toppings. This ''chicha de arroz'' contains no alcohol as it is not fermented. Sometimes it is made with pasta or semolina instead of rice and is commonly called ''chicha de pasta''.
In most large cities, chicha is offered by street vendors, commonly referred to as ''chicheros''; these vendors usually use a flour-like mix and just add water, and generally serve them with chopped ice and a straw and may ask to add cinnamon, chocolate chips or sugared condensed milk on top. It can also be found in commercial presentations just like milk and juices. The Venezuelan Andean regions (such as Mérida) prepare an alternative version, with added fermented pineapple, which has a more liquory taste. This variety is commonly referred to as ''Chicha Andina'' and is a typical Christmastime beverage.
Significance in Inca society
Identity
Chicha use can reveal how people perceive their own cultural identity
Identity may refer to:
* Identity document
* Identity (philosophy)
* Identity (social science)
* Identity (mathematics)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film
* ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...
and express ideas about gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
, race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, nationality
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...
, and community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
. Chicha use contributes to how people build community and a collective identity for maintaining social network
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...
s. It is often consumed in the context of feast
A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...
s and festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
s, which are valuable contexts for strengthening social and cultural connections. The production and consumption of chicha contributes to social organization and can affect social status.
Rites of passage
Chicha consumption included its use in rites of passage
A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...
for indigenous peoples such as the Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
. Chicha was important in ceremonies for adolescent boys coming of age, especially for the sons of Inca nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
.[D'Altroy, Terence N. ''The Incas''. Germany: Wiley, 2014. p. 303.] Young men would get their adult names in ceremonies using chicha.[ One thing that these boys did was to go on a ]pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to mountains such as Huanacauri that had significant meaning.[ Boys did this about a month before a ceremony honoring maturation.][ After the pilgrimage, the boys chewed maize to make the chicha they would drink at the end of the month-long ceremony.][ One activity was running down the side of a mountain to get a '']kero
KERO-TV (channel 23) is a television station in Bakersfield, California, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on 21st Street in Downtown Bakersfield, and its transmitter i ...
'' of chicha given to them by young women in order to encourage them.[
]
Women's role
The use of chicha can also be seen when looking at women who lived during the Incas reign before the arrival of the Spanish. Women were important to the community of the Incas. There was a select group of women that would receive formal instruction, these women were the '' aclla'', also known as "Chosen Women".[D'Altroy, Terence N. ''The Incas''. Germany: Wiley, 2014. p. 301.] This group of women was extracted from their family-homes and taken to the ''acllahuasi'' or "House of the Chosen Women".[ These women were dedicated to ]Inca religion
The Inca religion was a group of beliefs and rites that were related to a Inca mythology, mythological system evolving from pre-Inca times to Inca Empire. Faith in the ''Tawantinsuyu'' was manifested in every aspect of his life, work, festivities ...
, weaving, cooking and chicha-brewing
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...
.[ Much of the chicha they would go to ceremonies, or when the community would get to together to worship their god. They started the chicha process by ]chewing
Chewing or mastication is the process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth. It is the first step of digestion, and it increases the surface area of foods to allow a more efficient break down by enzymes. During the mastication process, th ...
maize to create mushy texture that would be fermented
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
.[ The product of the ''acllas'' was considered ]sacred
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
because of the women who produced it. This was a special privilege that many women did not have except for the "most attractive women."[
]
Perceptions by the Inca royalty
The Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
themselves show the importance of chicha. The lords or royalty probably drank chicha from silver and gold cups known as ''kero
KERO-TV (channel 23) is a television station in Bakersfield, California, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on 21st Street in Downtown Bakersfield, and its transmitter i ...
s''. Also, after defeating an enemy Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
rulers would have heads of the defeated enemy converted into cup to drink chicha from.[D'Altroy, Terence N.. The Incas. Germany: Wiley, 2014.(p.349).] An example of this could be seen when Atawallpa
Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa (Quechua language, Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – 26-29 July 1533) was the last Inca Empire, Inca Emperor. After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sover ...
drank chicha from opposing foes skull. By doing this it showed how superior the Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
themselves were to by leading their army to victory and chicha was at the forefront. After major military victories the Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
would celebrate by drinking chicha. When the Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
and the Spanish conquistadors
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to ...
met, the conquistadors
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
would not understand the significance of chicha. Titu Cusi
''Don'' Diego de Castro Titu Cusi Yupanqui (; Quechua: ''Titu Kusi Yupanki'' ; 1529–1571) was an Inca ruler of Vilcabamba and the penultimate leader of the Neo-Inca State. He was a son of Manco Inca Yupanqui, He was crowned in 1563, after the ...
explains how his uncle, Atahualpa
Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa (Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – 26-29 July 1533) was the last Inca Emperor. After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) of the Inca Empir ...
reacted when the intruders did not respect chicha. Kusi says, "The Spaniard, upon receiving the drink in his hand, spilled it which greatly angered my uncle. And after that, the two Spaniards showed my uncle a letter, or book, or something, saying that this was the inscription of God and the King and my uncle, as he felt offended by the spilling of the chicha, took the letter and knocked to the ground saying: I don't know what you have given me. Go on, leave."[D'Altroy, Terence N.. The Incas. Germany: Wiley, 2014.(p.453).] Another instance like this occurred between Atawallpa and the Spanish, it left with Atawallpa saying, "Since you don't respect me I won't respect you either." This story recorded by Titu Cusi shows the significant relationship the Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
had with chicha. If someone insulted this beverage they would take it personally because it offended their beliefs and community.
Economy
In the economy of the Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
, there was not an exchange of currencies. Rather, the economy depended on trading products, the exchanging of services, and the Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
distributing items out to the people that work for him. Chicha that was produced by men along the coastline in order to trade or present to their Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
. This differed from the women that were producing the chicha inland because they were doing so for community gathers and other important ceremonies. Relationships were important in the Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
community and good relations with the Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
could allow a family to be provided with supplementary goods that not everyone had access to. The Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
would give chicha to families and to the males that that contributed to mit'a
Mit'a () was mandatory service in the society of the Inca Empire. Its close relative, the regionally mandatory Minka is still in use in Quechua communities today and known as ''faena'' in Spanish.
Historians use the Hispanicized term ''mita'' to ...
.
In the economy of the Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
it was important that there was a steady flow of chicha, amongst other goods that were important to everyday life. In the fields of the Andes, there was special emphasis where maize would be planted and it was taken seriously where the maize fields would be located. "Agricultural rituals linked the production of maize to the liquid transfer of power in society with chicha." The ability to plant maize showed an important social role someone had amongst their community. Due to the significance of planting maize, the state would probably be in charge of these farms. The significance of drinking chicha together as a community was another important aspect to the way the Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
went about everyday life. It was incorporated into the meals that the Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
ate.
Religious purposes
The production of chicha was a necessity to all because it was a sacred item to the people. "Among the Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
, corn was a divine gift to humanity, and its consumption as a fermented beverage in political meetings formed communion between those where drinking and the ancestors, the and the entirety of the Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
cosmology."[Bray, Tamara, J. Jennings, and B. J. Bowser. "Pre-Hispanic Fermented Beverage Use at Cerro Baúl;Peru." Drink, power, and society in the Andes (2009): 141.
] This beverage allowed the people to go back to the story of creation and be reminded of the creator god Wiraqocha.[Hoopes, John. Lecture:University of Kansas;Andean Fauna & Flora, January 30, 2020] The Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
saw this beverage in sexual way because of the way the earth produced for them. The Incas
The Inca Empire (also Quechuan and Aymaran spelling shift, known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechuan languages, Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) wa ...
saw chicha as semen and when dumped onto the Earth they thought that they were feeding the Earth.
See also
* Cauim
* Chicha de jora
Chicha de jora is a corn beer or chicha prepared by germinating maize, extracting the malt sugars, boiling the wort, and fermenting it in large vessels (traditionally huge earthenware vats) for several days. The process is essentially similar to ...
* Chicha morada
Chicha morada is a beverage originated in the Andean regions of Perú but is currently consumed at a national level.
The base ingredient of the drink is corn ''culli'' or ''ckolli'', which is a Peruvian variety of corn known commonly as purple ...
* List of fermented foods
This is a list of fermented foods, which are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms. In this context, fermentation typically refers to the fermentation of sugar to alcohol using yeast, but other fermentation processes involv ...
* List of maize dishes
This is a list of maize dishes, in which maize (corn) is used as a primary ingredient. Additionally, some foods and beverages that are prepared with maize are listed.
Ingredients
Corn can be Food processing, processed into an intermediate form t ...
* List of saliva-fermented beverages
This is a list of amylase-induced fermentations. Saliva can be used as a source of the enzyme amylase to break down complex sugars into simple sugars. These simple sugars can then undergo fermentation by microorganisms. Dual fermentation refers to ...
* Pox (drink)
Pox (pronounced 'Poshe') is a liquor commonly used for ceremonial purposes among the Mayans of Mexico and Central America. It is made of corn, sugar cane and wheat. Besides its religious significance it is also a somewhat popular alcoholic drink i ...
* Pulque
Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, a rather viscous co ...
* Punucapa
Punucapa (from Mapudungun ''Cunucapi'', black/fertile earth for legumes) is a hamlet ( es, caserío) of pre-Hispanic origin in Los Ríos Region, Chile. Its isolated location by the Cruces River and the Valdivian Coastal Range has made the village ...
* Tejuino
Tejuino is a cold fermented beverage made from corn and popularly consumed in the Mexican states of Jalisco and Chihuahua. Tejuino is usually made from corn dough, the same kind used for tortillas and tamales. The dough is mixed with water and ...
* Tesguino
References
Further reading
*Morris, C. "Maize Beer in the Economics, Politics, and Religion of the Inca Empire" in ''Fermented Food Beverages in Nutrition'', eds. Clifford F. Gastineau, William J. Darby, and Thomas B. Turner (1979), pp. 21–35.
*Super, John C. ''Food, Conquest, and Colonization in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America''. 1988.
*Vázquez, Mario C. "La chicha en los paises andinos," ''América Indígena'' 27 (1967): 265–82.
External links
Chicha - an Ancestral Beverage to Feed Body and Soul
The Chicha Page
Recipes & Information
Chicha - the University of Pennsylvania's Dept. Of Biomolecular Archaeology
Information on the religious importance of Chicha to the Incas.
Recipe & Information on the preparation of the traditional Chicha de Muko
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