Festival Drink · Fermented Corn
Chicha de Maíz
📷 Closely related photo — Photo: Rocioallpa / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Stronger ceremonial versions of this corn drink are brewed for Guna girls' puberty rites, one of the culture's most important traditional celebrations.
Ground corn is boiled, sweetened, and left to ferment lightly into a tangy, mildly alcoholic beverage. Everyday versions are sold unfermented and sweet as a refreshing corn drink in village stores.
Why it's made this way: Corn-based chicha has deep ceremonial roots in Guna culture, tying the drink to Guna Yala's social and religious life in a way distinct from chichas found elsewhere in Panama.
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