THE FOOD AND DRINK OF INTI RAIMI
Feasting with the Inca's Sun God at Winter Solstice
The ritual feast of Inti Raimi traditionally begins with a strict fast. The chronicler Garcilaso Inca de la Vega, who published Comentarios Reales de los Incas in 1605, wrote that "in three days they only ate a little uncooked white corn and some herbs called chucam and water." His detailed record of the Festival of the Sun gives a fascinating description of not only the food and drink but also the igniting of the new fire, the animals and methods of sacrifice, the order of protocol during the ritual, and drinking customs among the celebrants.
The ancient Peruvians generally lived on corn, beans, a kind of squash referred to as "Roman" squash, and fish from the rivers. Llamas were the common domestic animal. The Incans hunted deer and sometimes birds, for meat as well as for their magnificent feathers. They preferred to boil or bake meat so that it was well done. Fruit, always very ripe, was also enjoyed.
The main food and drink of Inti Raimi is meat, cornbread, chicha and coca tea.
According to de la Vega,the night before the Solstice, the priests prepared the animals and other food and drink that would be offered to the Sun as sacrifices. Great quantities were required to feed all the celebrants, from the governors and ambassadors all the way down to commoners and servants. While the priests readied the sacrifices, the "women of the Sun" worked to make the cornmeal called zancu, to be kneaded into small pieces of round bread, about the size of an apple, enough to serve all of the participants.
People gathered in the plaza at dawn on the Solstice to join together in the adoration of the sun. The king ceremoniously took two large golden cups filled with a beverage called aquilla, and in his role as Son of the Sun, he invited the Sun God to drink. Inviting each other to drink was a customary gesture of goodwill. From the golden cup in his right hand, the king poured the aquilla into a golden jar that allowed the liquid to flow through a rock hewn channel to the Temple of the Sun. Then the king drank a sip from the cup in his left hand, his own portion, before sharing the blessed beverage with others of royal blood.
According to de la Vega, that was "like the opening volley of what later they had to drink". First, however, there was a formal procession to the House of the Sun, where the royal family, the Children of Sun, made their adorations while everyone else waited outside in the grand plaza.
Then the priests gathered all the animals that "belonged to the sun" to be sacrificed for the feast. These included offerings brought from near and far by various governors and dignitaries. A black llama was first to be sacrificed, the heart and lungs observed by the priests for omens. This important prognostication was followed by the rest of the sacrifices, whose blood and hearts were offered to the Sun by being burned to ashes on the sacred new fire. Llamas were offered in honor of Pachamama for fertility of the earth, when combined with the Sun God's light and warmth, to bless the crops. The meat was roasted in public in the plazas and divided among all the people, according to their rank.
The first course of the solemn feast was the roasted meat accompanied with the apple-sized pieces of the zancu, or cornbread. Then "a large variety of delicacies" was served. The custom was to eat without drinking.
After the banquet, toasting and drinking began.
Refreshing, fragrant coca tea was probably consumed, as it is still today a popular drink in many South American countries. The leaves of the tea contain a small amount of cocaine alkaloids which give the tea an energizing effect similar to coffee. Indigenous tribes in the Andes use it for medicinal and religious purposes. Drinking the tea and chewing the leaves helps the blood to absorb oxygen, which eases headache, dizziness, fatigue and other discomforts of soroche or mountain-sickness often experienced in higher altitudes.
The ancient Incans also drank chicha or saraiaka, a low-alcohol beer made from corn, which is still brewed today. It is often consumed while its still fermenting, and has a tickly, prickly taste, slightly sour, although it can be flavored with fruit or sweetened.
The chronicler de la Vega tells us that the Incas customarily drank and toasted with two cups of perfectly matched size, shape and material. Of these two cups, a person of lower rank would be offered the one from the left hand, a person of greater or equal right from the right, exchanging cups with each other with equal portions shared in the toasts.
The celebration went on, with singing,dancing, and continuous feasting and drinking, for nine days.
If you feel inspired to celebrate Inti Raimi with some festive cornbread, try this modern recipe. Traditional cornbread tends to be a little dry. Adding fresh corn kernals, cheese, or peppers adds moistness and flavor.
Inca Festival Bread
8 Tbs butter
¾ cup milk
2 large eggs
8 oz. can cream style corn
1¼ cups water ground cornmeal (white)
10 oz. sharp cheddar cheese ---- ¼ cup coarsely grated, the rest cut into ¼ inch cubes
½ cup coarsely chopped hot chilies, fresh or canned
4 oz. can whole-sweet red pimentos, roasted, with half of them cut into long strips, the other half coarsely chunked
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
In a small saucepan, melt 6 Tbsp. butter over low heat. Do not brown. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Put remaining 2 Tbsp. butter into an 8 inch diameter baking casserole; heat in oven no more than 4 to 5 minutes to avoid browning butter. Rotate and tilt casserole to coat inside. Set aside.
In large mixing bowl, beat milk and eggs. Smoothly blend 1 cup white cornmeal, melted butter, corn, diced cheese, chillies, chopped red pimento, baking soda, salt. Mix thoroughly. It should have the consistency of southern cornbread, moderately runny but not down right liquid. If it seems to runny work in 1 or 2 tbsp. white cornmeal. Give butter in casserole a final swizzle, then pour in batter, smoothing it level. Sprinkle grated cheese over top and decorate with pimento strips. Do not cover. Place casserole, exactly in center of oven. Bake until a knife lightly pushed in center comes out clean and dry- usually 40 to 50 minutes. Serve at once. Cut into fairly thin, pie - shaped wedges. (You can let the bread cool to room temperature.) It stores well tightly wrapped in the refrigerator, but it is best not to serve it cold. One loaf makes about 8 servings.
References:
James Q Jacobs website on Inti Raimi - http://www.jqjacobs.net/andes/inti_raimi.html
Coqco's Weblog "about cooking, food and recipes with a little culinary history thrown in" - http://coqco.blogspot.com/
The Chicha Page - http://xb-70.com/beer/chicha/
Wikipedia - coca tea
Cornbread recipe - http://www.freecookingrecipes.net/recipes/mexican/i/inca-festival-bread.html | | |
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Featured June 27 , 2007
