By: Tin Tin Biritute
While countries like Korea have set up museums to recover the memory of traditional drinks, as is the case of the Jeonju Museum, in other countries like Colombia, due to the prohibition of traditional alcoholic beverages several decades ago, there are no other liquors than the industrialized ones, many of which even come from other countries to be labeled only in Colombia. In Ecuador there was also a ban on “guanchaca”, but over time this restriction was lifted, which has allowed to maintain the traditions regarding traditional drinks, and which represent, through legislation that properly studies the subject, a benefit rather than a detriment, understanding that alcohol consumption is a constant in our cultures.
The different chichas and traditional drinks of the country, such as the punta or “cañazo”, are part of the Intangible Heritage of Ecuador. We are not going to talk about the history of chichas, since it is a history related to the introduction of corn (Zea mais) to South America (8,000 or 7,000 years ago in the Neolithic or Archaic era), but we will remember that:
“Around 1582, the presence of sugar was recorded in San Juan de Chamato, 7 leagues from Zamora de los Alcaides, in eastern Ecuador (J. de la Espada, 1897, IV, 24). Thus, when the Jesuits began their evangelizing mission in 1638, with the founding of Borja, there was already sugar cane among the natives and honey was being produced locally” (Figueroa, 1904, 92; 218).
“There were two sugar mills in the jurisdiction of Quito in 1573 (J. de la Espada, 1897, 111, 82) and 9 years later there were sugar mills in several points of the inter-Andean valley up to Loja.”
“The account of Puerto Viejo from the beginning of the 17th century is eloquent: “There is a sugar mill only that is brought by horse and is owned by a private individual who employs five slaves there. He does not work the sugar in the barrels, but only extracts the honey from the canes; he produces one hundred jars each year” (Torres de Mendoza, 1868, IX, 291)”[i]
With this background, we do not intend to conceal the fact that the production of alcoholic beverages (and sugarcane in particular) represented a phenomenon of colonization for indigenous peoples who previously used to consume chicha drinks in a festive or ceremonial manner, while Western culture already had a commercial relationship with this type of product, and therefore, its consumption was independent of the festive or ceremonial calendar.
While we agree with the National Government in safeguarding the health of citizens, it is necessary to create policies on alcohol that do not affect the traditions surrounding it, to the point of threatening its existence as was the case in Colombia. Understanding that:
“The purpose of alcohol policies is to serve the interests of public health and social welfare, through their impact on social and health determinants, such as consumption patterns, drinking environments and the health services available to treat problem drinkers.” (Babor et al. 2003 p7).
Today, at least in the region responsible for the province of Bolívar, the traditional alcoholic drink Pájaro Azul is considered a heritage. Other drinks such as “canelazo” are part of the Guápulo festival, which has been cut off this year. This has not meant the non-consumption of alcohol, but rather it has reflected the benefit caused by the redirection of consumption to industrial producers.
It must be remembered that the new constitution recognizes the heritage and cultural values of peoples and nationalities, and therefore measures are required that fit the cultural context, depending on the ethnic composition, geographical and historical particularities, since we are living in a Single Plurinational and Intercultural State.
The measures to be taken must therefore ensure the health of Ecuadorians, but they must also protect our intangible heritage. In this sense, we see in this situation an important opportunity to formalize the sale of traditional alcoholic beverages with measures that can benefit their producers, so that quantity is replaced by quality, and ultimately, strengthen the culture of “Sumak Kawsay” to avoid excessive consumption in daily life, such as on holidays and festive moments.
[i] http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/historia/puti/puti9a.htm
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