LEFT: Chicha frutillada with strawberries added for flavor, topped with a strong head of foam, Maras, Peru, 2017. RIGHT: Josefa Sullon Silva holding sprouted corn before it is dried and ground. Chatito, Peru, 2017.
road-building and maintenance. By this reci- procity, chicha served as a lubricant that kept the Inka empire running. During colonization, the Spanish authori-
ties and the Catholic Church restricted chicha brewing and consumption. In 1566 the distri- bution of chicha or other alcoholic beverages to Indigenous people was banned in northern Peru by Dr. Gonzalez de Cuneca, Visitador of the North Coast. This ban unraveled the obli- gations between local rulers and subjects. The local rulers were unable to marshal the collec- tive labor of their subjects and in turn could not meet Spanish tribute demands. One local ruler complained that “the Indians do not obey us, we cannot finish the communal sowing nor build the community center because it is by the means of chicha that the Indians obey us.” As the colonial government and Catho-
lic Church worked to disassemble the In- digenous social and political structures, ritualized chicha drinking was repressed, but social drinking became more common in households and small breweries that became known as chicharias. At the communal level, reciprocal obligations of chicha production and consumption persisted. Throughout ru- ral areas of Peru chicha continues to be used as an in-kind payment for communal work such as house raising.
Although chicha continued to be popular
across social groups in colonial times it began to decline dramatically in the late 19th early 20th
and centuries. The nascent nations of the
Andes struggled to forge new identities follow- ing independence from Spain and considered native traditions and ceremonies to be un- civilized. Racially charged campaigns against native traditions associated chicha with poor hygiene, criminality and laziness. As a result of these campaigns, chicha and other Andean traditions became stigmatized and considered shameful and embarrassing, a phenomenon repeated throughout the hemisphere. In the early part of the 20th
‘‘ century the
Indigenismo movement spread throughout Latin American countries. It confronted rac- ist national ideologies that treated Indigenous culture as degenerate. The Indigenismo move- ment sought to defend native cultures and champion their achievements. The movement heralded chicha as a symbol of the illustrious civilizations that preceded colonization. To this day chicha continues to serve as a rally- ing point for Native people. In 1992 tens of thousands of Indigenous people mobilized from around Ecuador and converged in Quito demanding self-determination,
representa-
tion and social justice. Organizers instructed participants to bring chicha, dress in tradi-
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 15
AS THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT AND CATHOLIC CHURCH WORKED TO DISASSEMBLE THE INDIGENOUS SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STRUCTURES, RITUALIZED CHICHA DRINKING WAS REPRESSED, BUT SOCIAL DRINKING BECAME MORE COMMON IN HOUSEHOLDS AND SMALL BREWERIES THAT BECAME KNOWN AS CHICHARIAS.”
PHOTO BY JUSTIN MUGITS
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