On the Native Drinks of the Guianese Indian. 129 
_ Wild honey may be mixed with water and drunk, but there is no record of 
its ever being left to ferment. ““ Even in its natural state, this honey differs 
from that of European bees in that it is not viscid, but almost as fluid as water 
and has a sub-acid highly fragrant taste ” (IT. 268). 
(1I.)—FERMENTED Liquors. 
The Guiana Indians are well versed in the manufacture of fermented liquors. 
Gumilla speaks of their obtaining chicha “from whatever seeds they sow, roots 
they cultivate, or fruits they collect (G. ii. 243). This term for native beer 
is, of course, of Spanish origin, and seems to have spread over wide areas : 
Stedman talks of the native maize-drink in Surimam as chiacoar. Cassava 
without doubt furnishes them with the largest number of alcoholic liquors : 
Paiwarri, Kassiri, Beltiri, Ovicou, Berria, Kumani, etc. 
Paiwarri, the Paiwa of the Akawais, the Bai-yauro of the Warraus, the 
Riito-atahu (lié. black drink) of the Arawaks, the. Tapana of the Surmam 
Caribs, etc., is manufactured as follows: <A cassava cake made about 1} in. 
thick is burnt on the usual flat circular iron plate Where it is turned over and 
over until such time as it becomes black through and through, when it is put 
aside. Inthe meantime, the cassava-juice that has already been squeezed 
through the meshes of the “ matapi ” is poured into a pot, and boiled until 
all the bitterness has been extracted, but not waiting for the stuff to reach 
too thick a consistence, when water is added to it. The burnt cassava, after 
being broken up, is next thrown into the pot which is now taken off the fire, 
its contents turned out into a wooden trough, and boiling water poured over 
the mixture. To this is now added a calabashful of Kereli (the Arawak name) 
which, the Indians explain, prevents the drink becoming slimy and useless. 
Next day it is strained in the conical-shaped basket, the Kamaiyo, a practically 
obsolete article which is nowadays replaced by the ordinary cassava-squeezer 
or matapi. Twenty-four hours later the drink is ready for the palate, and if 
not then used, becomes gradually sour until at the end of, say, three days, it is 
no good whatever, unless and except fresh burnt cassava is added and the 
remaining process of manufacture repeated. The Kereli above referred to 
is the chewed fresh cassava-bread, previously soaked in sugar-cane juice, which 
has been thoroughly saturated with saliva and spat out again by the different 
women and children, sometimes men assisting (Sc G. 258) : in certain areas, 
this chewing process is said to be essentially woman’s work. At Taiepong 
Village, on the upper Potaro, the Indians apparently supplemented the in- 
gredients of their paiwarri, by mixing with the burnt cassava cake, the ashes 
af the Huya, Mourera fluviatilis (BB. 201). It is interesting to note that 
in the early days of the eighteenth century, over-sea passengers landing at 
Berbice, after undergoing the necessary legal formalities, were subsequently 
regaled in the Governor’s house with a pipe ‘and a bowl of paiwarri. (Ti. 11. *83, 
p- 334) 
Kassiri is so-called from the red “ potato ”’ or “yam,” the Kashiri of the 
Arawaks, which gives the drink its distinctive colour, this being always of a 
pinkish red. After being peeled and grated, the cassava is squeezed dry be- 
