Ethnohistoric review of amylolytic fermentation in Amazonia

Abstract

In South America’s lowlands, it was believed that fermentation processes for amylaceous substances were performed only with the inoculation of salivary amylase in the mash. In 2004, Henkel identified a unique fermentation process that was not previously known in the Americas: fermentation performed with the inoculation of an amylolytic mold, Rhizopus sp. Amylolytic fermentation is an important way to transform and enrich carbohydrates and is widely used in the eastern and southeastern Asia for the enhancement of beverages and food. To verify if this process was unique, extensive research has been carried out by analyzing reports by missionaries, travelers, and anthropologists to search for hints of a larger diffusion of such processes. This research made it possible to verify that the use of amylolytic molds was widespread throughout the Amazon basin, from Rio Napo and the upper Amazon to Guianas and Orinoco. In addition, it was possible to verify that Rhizopus sp. was not the only mold employed. It is probable that the other molds used were Monascus sp. and Aspergillus sp. This leads us to believe that the fermentation processes in the Amazon basin were likely more varied than previously thought, and are worthy of deeper studies.

New data on amylolytic fermentation in the Amazon

“…The name of the fermented beverage differed according to the linguistic group, but in the Guianas and the Rio Negro, the terms parakari and pajuaru dominated. Curiously, only one of the cases compiled in Barghini (2020) referred to an indigenous group located on the right side of the Amazon River -in all of the other reports, when it was possible to locate the case, the location was clearly on the left side of the Amazon. While some reports (e.g., Peckolt, 1878) stated that the process was widespread throughout the Amazon, they often did not indicate where it actually took place.…”

“…In a previous article, Barghini (2020) studied the diffusion of the process of amylolytic fermentation of complex carbohydrates to produce fermented beverages. As highlighted on that occasion, complex carbohydrates are relatively stable, making fermentation and bacterial attack harder.…”

“…Amylolytic fermentation is a process of saccharification of carbohydrates widely used in China, Japan, the Philippines, and South East Asia to produce alcoholic beverages, sauces, and food, but had not been registered in other regions of the world. However, in the previous article (Barghini, 2020), by consulting reports from missionaries, travelers, and anthropologists, it was possible to identify 43 occurrences of this type of saccharification across a large area from Guyana to the Upper Amazon, Venezuela, Colombia, and reaching Central America. The process was practiced by different linguistic groups, i.e., Arawak, Carib, Chibcha, Kichwa, Miskito, Ticuna, Tukano, Tupi, and others unidentified.…”

“…In Barghini (2020), only reports regarding processes conducted by traditional indigenous groups were used. Since then, while consulting the folkloristic literature of the region of Santarém and Maranhão, it was possible to find two traditional products, tiquira and tarubá, diffused mainly among the traditional population of these regions, which also involve the saccharification of starches with amylolytic molds.…”

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In a previous article (Barghini, 2020), it was shown that the amylolytic fermentation of carbohydrates to produce alcoholic beverages was widespread from Guianas to the upper Amazon, in Venezuela and Colombia, and reached the Misquitos, Central America. However, of the 43 reports studied, only one referred to the right side of the Amazon River, and only a single biochemical analysis of the resulting products was found.

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