SACHA WARMIS CREATOR SPIRIT

The Uyantsa begins and all the members of the Sarayaku people take their place in the celebration, the women givers of life have the creative spirit and unite their energy with the energy of the great Pachamama and from this meeting the necessary food for the children of the jungle, on this occasion what they will have to create in communion will be chicha, a sacred drink that feeds and gives strength to each of the members of this original Sarayaku people.

 Here we observe that the woman, symbol of life, merges in perfect harmony with mother nature to create the drink that will renew the strength of each one of the members of the community: elders, men, women, boys and girls; everyone has to drink chicha to revive the patrimonial spirit that lives within them.

For this purpose and for this festival, four Priostes have been chosen, who are the women who have to lead the preparation of the nectar, which comes from the yucca plant (lumu Caspi) that has been planted in advance in the family farms and, by this time it is ready to be uprooted from the earth, taken to the houses, cooked, then chewed (mukuna) and finally deposited in the clay pots where it will rest for a while and, waiting for the main days, it will ferment.

In this regard, it is convenient to delve into this ancestral ritual of the preparation of chicha, because in fairness it must be emphasized that it requires all of its physical and spiritual strength from women, so that it is necessary to describe this entire process with great care.

Based on careful observation, it can be inferred that the chicha production process for the Uyantsa ceremony begins with the arrangement of the farm, which must be cleaned and arranged in order to plant the cassava plant. It is clear that caring for the farm is part of one of the daily tasks that the women of the Sarayaku people carry out with sacred responsibility.

After approximately 8 months the plant is ready to be removed from the ground, it is at this point where the women gather at four in the morning to drink wayusa, a drink that will give them good energy and protect them from dangers of the jungle such as snakes. While they drink their drinks, laughter and glances between the candles arise from the conversations about the events of the town.

At five in the morning, a one-hour walk begins surrounded by the sumptuous landscapes of the jungle towards the different farms, the women walk quickly, following with that same joy that allows them to send good energies to the men who are hunting. With that joy in unity, the men will be able to return victorious from the jungle and honor the party.

Once in the farm they begin to cut and remove those roots that they will cook for the chicha for three days. After a few hours of harvesting, the women prepare to return to the village, this time carrying a quintal of yucca held on their heads with a garter. They start the way back with impressive energy and strength. During every morning they will go and return from the jungle carrying those baskets (karawaska).

This is how brave they will continue cooking and mashing yucca in large containers for three days. In this season, everyone present in the community joins in the chewing process of the cooked cassava, which will allow fermentation until obtaining this sacred drink of the Kichwa People of Sarayaku: Chicha, which will be shared when the men return, opening the party which is the most important and traditional of Sarayaku: the Uyantsa.

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