Chicha fermentation pot
In Arequipa, ceramic chombas hold chicha de Güiñapo as it ferments. Other Andean chicha methods use dedicated earthenware fermentation pots, but the shape, size and handling practice vary by place and process.
Equipment · Jars, pots and crocks
Mak'as with wool sling
mak'as · mak'as chicha vessel · Quechua chicha storage pot
A Quechua pottery vessel catalogued by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian for storing chicha. This 2003 Pisac example has an alpaca-hair-yarn sling; the catalog does not establish that it was used to ferment the drink.
One catalogued Quechua vessel
The National Museum of the American Indian identifies this pottery object as a Quechua mak'as and names its purpose as storing chicha (corn beer). It is a specific museum record, not a survey of every vessel called mak'as. The entry's wording supports storage; it does not establish that this pot fermented or brewed the drink.
The catalog dates the object to 2003 and gives catalog number 26/1555 (NMAI_277653). A photographed example has a rounded body, a small neck and lug-like projections at the shoulders, with alpaca-hair yarn wrapped around the upper body. Those visible details describe this individual piece, not a required shape for all Quechua chicha vessels.
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Pottery with an alpaca-yarn sling
The museum records two materials: pottery and alpaca hair yarn. It separately lists the pottery techniques as coiled or hand-built and modeled, and the textile techniques as woven and braided. The photograph shows the yarn arranged as a band around the vessel with cords extending from it. A carrying role is plausible from the form and the supplied equipment description, but the catalog does not explain how the sling was attached or how a filled pot was carried.
The record lists dimensions as 28 by 20 by 26.5 centimetres. It does not label those three values by axis in the current entry, so they are kept as a catalog measurement rather than converted into a claimed height or diameter. No capacity, lid, glaze, clay source, firing schedule or maker is identified. The museum image is the strongest reference for this particular vessel's shape and textile arrangement.
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Storage is the documented function
The object's catalog name is “Vessel used to store chicha (corn beer).” That is the firm functional statement to carry forward. Nothing on the entry says the vessel was used for fermentation, mashing, cooking or serving, and a storage pot should not be made into a fermenter simply because chicha is a fermented beverage.
The item's wool sling is part of its documented material description. It may support carrying or suspension, but the record does not state its intended loading, method of attachment, or whether the sling is used when the pot is full. The linked photograph lets readers see the band and cords directly; the accompanying text keeps the unknown handling details open rather than filling them in.
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Pisac and collection history
The museum associates this object with Pisac in Calca Province, Cusco Region, Peru, and identifies its culture or people as Quechua. It records Guadalupe Holgado Huarancca, a Quechua seller, and says the object was purchased in 2003 by NMAI agent Emil Her Many Horses. The catalog's place field does not explicitly identify a workshop or say where the vessel was used, so this page records Pisac as the location associated with the object rather than a proven point of manufacture.
The date 2003 belongs to this individual museum object. It does not date the origin of mak'as or show how long the Quechua community has used pottery vessels with wool slings. The account is deliberately object-specific: it makes the documented person, place, materials and storage purpose visible without turning one accession into a universal tradition.
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A careful link to chicha
This vessel belongs alongside accounts of chicha because the museum identifies chicha as the food stored in it. The linked chicha preparation record is a general candidate; it may later describe a broader beverage family. The connection is about storage, not evidence that this particular pot was the vessel used to ferment a given recipe.
The object record does not say whether the sling is unique to this piece or one of many comparable examples, and no capacity or care instructions are listed. The illustrated hero is an editorial rendering grounded in the NMAI photograph. It is not a copy of the collection image, a reconstruction of an undocumented use, or evidence for fermentation.
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History
National Museum of the American Indian object 26/1555, identified as a Quechua mak'as used to store chicha, with pottery and alpaca hair yarn.
Equipment details
CapacityNo capacity is listed for this object.
SizeThe museum lists 28 × 20 × 26.5 cm but does not label the axes in the current record; no standard form is implied.
PowerNo power This is catalogued as a storage vessel; no heating or powered function is documented.
How you get oneNot established The museum records a Quechua seller and a 2003 purchase, but this does not establish a current acquisition route or identify the seller as maker.
CareNo cleaning, storage or repair instructions are provided in the object record. The record is not a household-use or food-contact guide.
Made of
- Pottery — Vessel body
The National Museum of the American Indian describes the object as pottery; the record does not specify clay source, glaze, firing method or maker. - Alpaca hair yarn — Woven and braided sling
The museum's catalog lists alpaca hair yarn and techniques including woven and braided; the record does not name a fiber preparation or weaving pattern.
Limits
This catalog entry documents storage of chicha, not fermentation or brewing in the vessel.
Source →The catalog does not explain how the sling was attached or used, whether it bears the filled vessel's weight, or whether this form represents a wider standard.
Source →Places
Pisac
Relationship not established · Locality evidenceThe catalog associates the object with Pisac but does not specify whether the place refers to manufacture, use, sale or collection.
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Sources
National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian InstitutionEquipment · Geography · History · Image reference
Vessel used to store chicha (corn beer)Catalog number 26/1555 identifies a Quechua mak'as as a vessel used to store chicha.
The museum lists pottery and alpaca hair yarn, coiled/hand-built and modeled pottery, woven/braided yarn, and dimensions 28 × 20 × 26.5 cm.
The record dates the object to 2003, places it in Pisac, Calca Province, Cusco Region, Peru, and records a 2003 purchase from Guadalupe Holgado Huarancca, identified as Quechua.
The page states that image reuse conditions apply; the linked image is attributed to the museum and not claimed as reusable.
Cited in: One catalogued Quechua vessel; Pottery with an alpaca-yarn sling; Storage is the documented function; Pisac and collection history; A careful link to chicha