Well-made chicha is an attractive beverage clear and effervescent, resembling apple cider in flavor. Chicha is probably derived from the word chichal, meaning ‘with saliva’ or ‘to spit’.
Chicha played a central role in the ceremonial and social life of Andean peoples before contact with the Old World. It is a type of beer drunk mostly by Inca rulers and nobles after battle victories and during ceremonies.
In the days of Incas, chicha was considered ot be the vehicle that linked man to his gods through the fecundity of the earth.
In those days, the emperor held office only as long as he could supply the required amounts of chicha for his people, in exchange for which the people carried out economic activities such as building an extraordinary network of roads and installing vast area of irrigated terraces for agriculture.
Chicha also played a key role in economic and social life, acting as the lynchpin of reciprocal exchanges.
Chicha also served as an important symbol for the Andean indigenismo movement in the first decades of the twentieth century and it continues to be enjoyed throughout the Andes at family, community and national celebrations, or simply as an afternoon treat.
History of chicha
