Ancestral Spirits

Alcoholic Beverage Use in the New World

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Pre-Columbian America[edit]

Several Native American civilizations developed alcoholic beverages. Many versions of these beverages are still produced today.

The making of pulque, as illustrated in the Florentine Codex (Book 1 Appendix, fo.40)[29]

Pulque, or octli is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of the maguey, and is a traditional native beverage of Mesoamerica.[30] Though commonly believed to be a beer, the main carbohydrate is a complex form of fructose rather than starch. Pulque is depicted in Native American stone carvings from as early as AD 200. The origin of pulque is unknown, but because it has a major position in religion, many folk tales explain its origins.[31]

Balché is the name of a honey wine brewed by the Maya, associated with the Mayan deity Acan. The drink shares its name with the balché tree (Lonchocarpus violaceus), the bark of which is fermented in water together with honey from the indigenous stingless bee.[32]

Tepache is a mildly alcoholic beverage indigenous to Mexico that is created by fermenting pineapple, including the rind, for a short period of three days.[33]

Tejuino, traditional to the Mexican state of Jalisco, is a maize-based beverage that involves fermenting masa dough.

Chicha is a Spanish word for any of variety of traditional fermented beverages from the Andes region of South America. It can be made of maize, manioc root (also called yuca or cassava) or fruits among other things.[34] During the Inca Empire women were taught the techniques of brewing chicha in Acllahuasis (feminine schools). Chicha de jora is prepared by germinating maize, extracting the malt sugars, boiling the wort, and fermenting it in large vessels, traditionally huge earthenware vats, for several days. In some cultures, in lieu of germinating the maize to release the starches, the maize is ground, moistened in the chicha maker’s mouth and formed into small balls which are then flattened and laid out to dry.

Naturally occurring diastase enzymes in the maker’s saliva catalyze the breakdown of starch in the maize into maltose. 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. In recent years, however, the traditionally prepared chicha is becoming increasingly rare. Only in a small number of towns and villages in southern Peru and Bolivia is it still prepared. Other traditional drinks made from fermented maize or maize flour include pozol and pox.[35]

Manioc root being prepared by Indian women to produce an alcoholic drink for ritual consumption, by Theodor de Bry, Frankfurt, 1593. Women in the lower left can be seen spitting into the manioc mash. Salivary enzymes break down complex starches, and saliva introduces bacteria and yeast that hasten the fermentation process.

Cauim is a traditional alcoholic beverage of the Native American populations of Brazil since pre-Columbian times. It is still made today in remote areas throughout Panama and South America. Cauim is very similar to chicha and it is also made by fermenting manioc or maize, sometimes flavored with fruit juices. The Kuna Indians of Panama use plantains. A characteristic feature of the beverage is that the starting material is cooked, chewed, and re-cooked prior to fermentation. As in the making of chicha, enzymes from the saliva of the cauim maker break down the starches into fermentable sugars.

Tiswin, or niwai is a mild, fermented, ceremonial beverage produced by various cultures living in the region encompassing the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Among the Apache, tiswin was made from maize, while the Tohono O’odham brewed tiswin using saguaro sap.[36] The Tarahumara variety, called tesgüino, can be made from a variety of different ingredients. Recent archaeological evidence has also revealed the production of a similar maize-based intoxicant among the ancestors of the Pueblo peoples.[37][38]

Okolehao is produced by Native Hawaiians from juice extracted from the roots of the ti plant.[39]

Cacao wine was produced during the formative stage of the Olmec Culture (1100–900 BC). Evidence from Puerto Escondido indicates that a weak alcoholic beverage (up to 5% alcohol by volume) was made from fermented cacao pulp and stored in pottery containers.[40][41]

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