Tranquility in Paraguay – Terere — The North Star Reports – by Noah Goyke. Sponsored by The College of St. Scholastica and The Middle Ground Journal

Tranquility in Paraguay – Terere — The North Star Reports – by Noah Goyke. Sponsored by The College of St. Scholastica and The Middle Ground Journal

[Photo: A mbombia in a guampa next to a jara with poha ñana (siete sangria) with a bag of ka’a.]

There is no tradition more defining and ubiquitous in the distinct Guaraní/Spanish fusion that is Paraguayan culture than drinking terere. At its most basic terere is nothing more than a tea prepared from the leave of a native tree – Ka’a mata, Yerba mate or Iiex paraguariensis in Guarani, Spanish and Latin respectively; but it is much more than a simple refreshment. The consumption of terere is often a highly complex social ritual, one that also highlights the extreme prevalence of traditional medicine in contemporary Paraguayan life. It is not without cause that Paraguayan’s claim to live in La Republica de Terere – The…