The worldview around the consumption of corn Chicha in Ecuador

Abstract

The cultural heritage of the manufacture and consumption of corn chicha in Ecuador is maintained thanks to the tradition and knowledge of indigenous communities who, generation after generation, bequeath ancestral knowledge to their descendants who wish to perpetrate their traditions Likewise, worldview is known as the way of seeing the world, thanks to the knowledge of the interaction and influence of the stars with the Earth and the observation of natural elements and natural phenomena. The present documentary review was developed with the aim of describing the mystical value of the consumption of corn Chicha from the time of the Inca civilization to the present day in Ecuador; for this purpose, the main assessments that various authors make about the consumption of corn chicha are made known through the framework of a documentary investigation of research works, articles and other publications linked to the topic described. The most relevant information describes that in pre-Columbian times, corn was the sacred plant par excellence and expressed the agricultural wealth of Inca society. Chicha, which is a drink fermented from one or several varieties of corn, was used to foster relations of exchange and reciprocity with different regional leaders of the empire and to this day it is consumed in Andean regions throughout South America as a nutritional source with a strong social and religious connotation.