Tesgüino: what it is and how the maize beer is made

What is it?

Tesgüino, also called batari in the rarámuri language, is a fermented drink of sprouted maize traditional to the rarámuri (Tarahumara), Tepehuan and Pima peoples of the Sierra Madre Occidental, mainly in Chihuahua and parts of Durango and Sonora. Considered the Mesoamerican maize beer, it is made with nixtamalised or sprouted maize, water and, occasionally, regional herbs that act as natural fermenters. It has a whitish-yellow colour, a thick texture and a sour-bitter flavour, slightly earthy and refreshing, with low alcohol content (3–6%). Tesgüino is not an everyday drink but a ritual and communal one: it is prepared in large pots (tesgüinadas) for religious celebrations, ceremonies of the agricultural cycle, petitions for rain, festivities of cooperative labour (kórima), rarajipari (traditional ball races) and marriage rituals. It is considered a sacred drink and a connector between the rarámuri and their ancestors, holding a central place in their cosmovision and community life.

Origin and history

Tesgüino has a documented antiquity in the Sierra Tarahumara exceeding 1,500 years, according to archaeological and ethnobotanical research by the INAH and the Autonomous University of Chihuahua. The rarámuri have made it since the pre-Cortesian period as a ritual drink and an articulating element of community life. Fray Joseph Neumann, a Jesuit missionary of the seventeenth century, described in his chronicles the central role of tesgüino in Tarahumara society and the missionaries' failed attempts to suppress it. The Norwegian anthropologist Carl Lumholtz, in Unknown Mexico (1902), devoted whole chapters to tesgüino and the tesgüinadas, describing their social and cosmogonic importance. Through the INPI, gob.mx recognises tesgüino as an essential element of rarámuri culture. Larousse Cocina and México Desconocido agree that tesgüino is not just a drink but a social institution that regulates marriages, communal labour and religious ceremonies. The anthropologist John Kennedy went so far as to call rarámuri society 'the tesgüino society' because of its structuring role in the indigenous life of the Sierra Madre.

Characteristic ingredients

The traditional preparation of tesgüino requires sprouted maize (cuilxol): the maize is soaked for 24 hours, drained and left to sprout for 5–7 days covered with damp cloths until the radicle emerges. The sprouted maize is ground on the metate and cooked in water for several hours to form a thick atole, called batari. It is transferred to a large clay vessel (olla tesgüinera, specific to each rarámuri family) and left to ferment for 24–72 hours at room temperature. Fermentation is carried out by the natural microbiota of the sprouted maize, the traditional pots and, in some variants, garambullo roots or pasto colorado that act as inoculants. Studies at CINVESTAV and the UACH have identified in tesgüino lactic bacteria (Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc) and yeasts (Saccharomyces) that generate lactic acid, ethanol and B-complex vitamins. Its nutritional value is very high: it provides proteins, lysine (scarce in other maize products), vitamins, iron and energy, helping to sustain rarámuri runners during races of up to 200 km in the sierra.

Cultural significance

Tesgüino forms part of the dossier of Traditional Mexican Cuisine inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010, and is recognised by the INPI as an essential ritual drink of the rarámuri people. Its socio-cultural function is unique: it structures communal labour (kórima), the celebrations of the Catholic-ancestral calendar (Holy Week, Day of the Dead), the ritual races rarajipari and ariweta, marriages and shamanic ceremonies. Its preparation is assigned to rarámuri women (cosenima), who organise tesgüinadas with intergenerational cooperation. Consumption takes place from gourd cups and is accompanied by music, dance and prayers. Despite its importance, the advance of drug trafficking, forced migration and cultural pressure have weakened the tradition in many communities, which prompted the creation of cultural centres and festivals such as the Ralliypa Rarámuri and the Maize Festival in Creel. Researchers such as Luis González Rodríguez (SJ) and Salvador Hernández Pozo (UACH) document its biocultural value, while chef Daniel Hernández Sánchez has brought tesgüino to fine dining in projects such as Sustancia (Sonora).

Frequently asked questions

What does tesgüino taste like?

Tesgüino has a sour and slightly bitter flavour, with earthy and herbaceous notes of fermented sprouted maize. Its profile is reminiscent of kefir or rejuvelac, with an aftertaste of fresh grass and a hint of rustic bread. Its texture is thick and opaque, almost creamy, and it is served at room temperature in gourd cups during the communal tesgüinadas.

What is the difference between tesgüino and tejuino?

Although they share a Nahuatl linguistic origin (from tecuín, to throb) and are based on maize, they are different drinks. Tesgüino is from northern Mexico (rarámuri, Chihuahua), made with sprouted maize without sweetener, and is ritual and communal. Tejuino is from the west (Jalisco, Colima), made with nixtamalised maize masa, piloncillo and lime, and is a sweet, commercial street drink, not ritual.

What role does tesgüino play in rarámuri culture?

Tesgüino is a sacred drink and social structurer: it regulates communal labour (kórima), religious and agricultural celebrations, the ritual races rarajipari (men) and ariweta (women), marriages, shamanic rituals and petitions for rain. The anthropologist John Kennedy called rarámuri society 'the tesgüino society' because of the unique articulating role of this drink in the indigenous life of the Sierra Madre.

Where does tesgüino come from?

It originates in the Sierra Madre Occidental, mainly in the state of Chihuahua, home to the rarámuri (Tarahumara) people, and also in Durango and Sonora among the Tepehuan and Pima. Its making is documented at archaeological sites of the northern Mesoamerican region and described by seventeenth-century Jesuits such as Joseph Neumann, as well as by anthropologists such as Carl Lumholtz, John Kennedy and Luis González Rodríguez.