FIESTA DE LA CHONTA

The Chonta festival is the most important festivity of the year for the Shuar of the Amazon. It marks the end of the harvest and the thanks of the Shuar people to the Pacha Mama for the annual production of chonta, the large thorny palm tree(bactris gasipaes) domesticated by man since pre-Columbian times. The Shuar use its fruit to make a drink, chicha, and its heart to make palmitos. The chicha is prepared for this great dance party, tasted every half hour until it is ready.