south american
South America
"Argentina & Brazil"
Yerba Mate - Circle of Friendship Ritual
What is Yerba Mate?
Yerba Mate - The Liquid Vegetable of the Gaucho! Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguarensis) is a small tree native to the subtropical highlands of Brazil, Paraguay, Uraguay, and Argentina. In South America, yerba mate is cultivated. Yerba are the leaves which are dried and crushed to make a tea-like herb. The dried leaves of the plant are infused in hot water and placed into a dried calabaza gourd and then sipped through a filtered straw, called a bombilla.
This healthy brew was considered, "the drink of the gods", by many indigenous "Guarani" Indians in South America. Its highly nutritional value can stand up to the rigors of life on the range, therefore, the "cattlemen or gauchos" called it "the liquid vegetable of the gaucho".
Chimarrao
Chimarrao (pronounced cimarron) is the Brazilian name for yerba mate. In Portuguese is is known as "erva mate".
History
Yerba mate has a long, deep cultural history in South America. The first known usage is attributed to the Guarani Indians.
Legendary origins
The Guarani natives have a legend that says that the Goddesses of the Moon and the Cloud came to the Earth one day to visit. When they arrived, they found a yaguarete (a kind of jaguar) that was going to attack them. An old man saves the goddesses, and so, as a gift of thanks and compensation, the Goddesses gave the old man a "drink of friendship" and one that would increase a long healthy life - a "drink of the gods."
Yerba Mate - Circle of Friendship Ritual
Mate is SHARED not SERVED. In many South American cultures, they celebrate a "Mate Circle". This circle is a ceremony celebrating friendship and companionship and is enjoyed by both peasants and aristocrats.
In a "mate circle" everyone shares the same bombilla straw. Some people may worry that the intimate sharing of the one same bombilla straw is unsanitary. It probably is, but no more than kissing. It is precisely this fact of intimacy that makes sharing mate into such an intense friendship experience. You do not share a mate circle with a casual friend. You share it with those with whom you would share your soul. Mate circle friendships are the best kind of friendships to have!
DEFINITIONS:
Yerba Mate - Tea-like herb
Pava - tea kettle
Cuia - Brazilian name for the yerba mate gourd
Bombilla - a stainless steel straw with a strainer attached to the end to filter the mate
Cebador/Cebadora - The host/hostess. The person responsible for preparing and sharing the mate.
Matero/Matera - The person drinking the mate.
Mateano - The act of drinking the mate.
Mate Amargo - Bitter mate
Mate Dulce - Sweetened mate
Circle of Friendship Ritual Procedure
Step 1: Cebador/cebadora (host/hostess) heats water in a pava
(kettle). The cebadora pours a small amount of cold
water on the lowest part of the cuia (gourd). This keeps
the hot water from "killing or burning" the mate.
Step 2: The cebadora puts about 1/2 to 3/4 cuia full of yerba
mate into the gourd. That amount should last for
about 10 infusions (10 rounds). The cebadora takes the
first drink to make sure it is good and tests the water
and the bombilla to ensure a smooth running mate.
The hostess will drink all the water in the gourd,
taking many sips until air is heard coming through
the bobilla.
Step 3: The cebadora will fill the gourd again with hot water
and then pass the gourd to the next person (counter-
clockwise...to the right). That person drinking is called
a matero or matera. The matera will drink the
whole amount of the mate in the cuia and pass it back
to the cebadora to fill with hot water again to pass to
the next person to the right...continuing in a circle
until everyone in the circle has had a chance to drink a
cuia full of mate.
Step 4: The cuia will travel around and around to each person
person more than one time. So it is customary to not
say "gracias or thank you" until after you have had
enough mate and do not want anymore....instead of
saying thank you after each time you drink. The circle
of friendship continues until each person has had
enough and does not want anymore.
Step 5: When the cebadora drinks on her turn, she makes sure
that the mate does not become "lavado" or flat after
it has traveled around the several people. If the mate
starts to lose its flavor, the cebadora can scoop out the
old mate with a spoon or mate scoop and add fresh
yerba mate to the cuia and continue on with the circle
of frienship until everone is moy contento - very
content!
Dia del Amigo
Dia del Amigo (Friend's Day) is a celebration of friendship, held annually on July 20, mainly in Argentina and Uraguay, but also in some other South American countries.
The idea for Dia del Amigo goes back to the Argentine Enrique Febbaro, who lobbied to turn the anniversary of the first moon landing into an international day of friendship. He argued that on this particular day, the whole world had been friends of the three astronauts that went up into space. In Argentina, Friend's Day is often a good excuse for a friendly gathering, and people also use that day to get in contact with old friends and call them on the phone
Yerba mate is said to not only be good for your body,
but good for your soul!
"Te levante el espiritu! It lifts your spirit!"