most signs are simple lettered boards. These usually an- 
nounce ‘‘Chicha,*’ ‘‘Buena Chicha’? (Good Chicha), 
“*Chicha Punatefia’’ (Chicha from Punata) or ‘*Chicha 
Clizena (Chicha from Clissa). Many chicherias also have 
a parrot in the doorway so that the illiterate may know 
where to drink. One chicheria places a single parrot in 
the doorway when ordinary chicha is for sale, but two 
parrots when the chicha is exceptionally good. 
Chicha is taxed in Bolivia. Each year the right to col- 
lect these taxes is auctioned to the highest bidder. ‘The 
tax is 48 Bolivian centavos (about one cent in United 
States money) for each bottle of 660 ¢c.c. A bottle of 
chicha is usually sold for about eight United States cents. 
The tax is collected when the chicha is made. In Coch- 
abamba and its suburbs, with a population of about 
80,000, according to the records of the Treasury of 
Cochabamba, taxes were paid in 1946 by 768 licensed 
chicherias on 4,617,388 liters of chicha. It is rumored 
that more than twice this amount was actually made. 
CHICHA-MAKING IN THE BoLIvIAN LOWLANDS 
Chicha-making in the Bolivian lowlands is a short and 
simple process. Since fermentation progresses rapidly in 
the tropical heat, and since the natives have only a few 
small pots, there is neither equipment nor time for the 
elaborate methods which prevail in the highland valleys. 
Among the Takana Indians who live on both sides of the 
Rio Beni near Rurrenabaque, chicha forms a part of the 
daily food of most families and nearly all homes con- 
stantly have some in preparation. Métraux (1942, p. 42) 
states: “‘None of the Takana tribes is known to have 
brewed any fermented drink, ....a curious exception 
in an area where most tribes enjoyed several kinds of 
beer.”” We believe that fermented drinks have been 
known in this region for a long time, and were either 
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