Note 16 — Chapter XI · THE MUISCA TRAIL
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According to Franz Keller and other travelers in South America, the Indian women in certain parts of the continent prepare chicha by masticating the maize, just as some of the Polynesians prepare kava and certain other of their favorite beverages by mastication. They claim that when thus prepared it has a far more agreeable flavor than when prepared artificialmente, that is, by the method above described. See The Amazon and Madeira Rivers, p. 164 et seq., London, 1874.
Spix and Martius’ Travels in Brazil, Vol. II, p. 232, London, 1824, say, “It is remarkable that this mode of preparing a fermented liquor out of maize, mandioca flour or bananas, is found among the various Indian tribes of America, and seems peculiar to this race.”
Sir Robert Schomburgk, referring to the intoxicating drink, paiwori, made from cassava bread, writes as follows:—
“The women, who prepare the beverage, assemble around a large jar or other earthen vessel, and having moistened their mouths with fresh water, they commence chewing the bread, collecting in the vessel the moisture which accumulates in the mouth. This is afterwards put into a trough, called canaua, or in large jars, in which a quantity of the charred bread has been broken up, over which boiling water is poured; and it is then kneaded, and portions which are not of an even consistency are again carried to the mouth, ground with the teeth, and returned into the earthen pot. The process is repeated several times, from the idea that it conduces to the strength of the beverage. The second day fermentation begins, and on the third the liquor is considered fit for use. We have seen a whole village, young and old, men and women, occupied in this disgusting process when it was contemplated to celebrate our unexpected arrival among them; otherwise, for common use, the females alone employ themselves ex officio with the preparation. Their teeth suffer so much from this occupation that a female has seldom a good tooth after she is thirty years old.... The taste of the paiwori is very refreshing after great fatigue, and not unpleasant to the taste; if offered as the cup of welcome by the Indian, it would be a great offense to refuse it.”—The Discovery of Guiana, ut sup., pp. 64, 65. ↑