Fig. 4

Jwa’ayuk-pesey (leafy new branches of P. alba) covering the algarroba beer. In this example, recorded during fieldwork, a plastic bowl was covered with jwa’ayuk-pesey during the preparation of algarroba beer, although cloths or plastic taps are more at present. However, this technique was usually employed in the past when the beverage was prepared in large wooden troughs made of yuchán (Ceiba chodatii) during aloja festivities. During these ceremonies, the jwa’ayuk-pesey also served as colanders to retain seeds and other solids: solid matters were retained underneath the branches when cups or jugs were introduced into the container, i.e. branches were pushed to the bottom with the jug; hence, only liquid was taken