Every last Saturday in February, Paraguay celebrates the National Day of Tereré, an infusion that transcends time and history. From its ancestral origin in the Guaraní culture to its popularisation during the Chaco War, tereré has witnessed a fascinating history in Paraguay.
Did you know that in its early days it was used without a straw? Or that yerba mate was almost censored for being considered a “diabolical superstition”? In this article, we invite you to discover these and other curiosities about the drink that defines Paraguay, on the National Day of Tereré!
Tereré’s diffuse, but ancestral origin
According to historian Claudio Velázquez, there is no exact historical record of the origin of tereré. However, it is known that the Guaraní already consumed yerba mate infusions, both hot and cold, using water from streams. The Jesuits were the first to document this practice, describing the frequency with which yerba mate was consumed. In the beginning, the indigenous people drank the infusion without a straw, using straws or simply sipping it directly with their mouths.
The attempt to censor tereré
The historian Margarita Durán Estragó tells us that “in 1618, Hernandarias was surprised to discover that yerba had become so popular that he decided to ban the use of this drink, which made men ‘vicious and lazy’. He also punished merchants and yerba mate workers, and even went so far as to burn shipments of yerba mate.”
Furthermore, the author mentions that “the provincial of the Society of Jesus, Father Diego de Torres Bollo, accused its use before the Holy Office of the Inquisition as a ‘diabolical superstition that causes much harm.'”
Paraguayan green gold
Durán Estragó mentions that, at first, the Spanish considered it a poor product and ignored it. But that “with time, yerba mate became known, a wild plant that grew in the regions of Mbaracayú, Concepción and Guairá. This herb was highly appreciated, since merchants became rich with it, but not the yerba mate worker, who lived like a slave, without receiving any reward for his work.”
The historian also explains that the Crown decided not to listen to the condemnations of Hernandarias and the Jesuits against the use and trade of yerba, because “it saw in it a source of resources for the Royal Treasury.”
“Soon the rivers were filled with boats loaded with yerba and caravans of wagons set off in all directions. Taxes from the receiving offices were not long in coming and the ‘green Paraguayan gold’ benefited the fiscal voracity rather than the punished Paraguayan economy.”
An untapped economic potential
During the colonial period and the first years of independence, yerba mate was a fundamental economic pillar. Historian Claudio Velázquez noted: “President Carlos Antonio López even planned to export it to Europe. However, the War of the Triple Alliance cut short these initiatives. After the conflict, large areas of yerba mate plantations were sold to private landowners, giving rise to a history of labor exploitation with the ‘mensúes.’”
The ship that was acquired by bartering for yerba mate
The ship “Paraná” was a mixed vessel built in England and acquired in Paraguay in 1859 through an exchange of yerba mate, valued at 25,000 pesos. With a wooden structure and a steam engine that drove a propeller, it had a load capacity of 83 tons.
Initially, the Paraná was used to transport yerba mate from Villa San Pedro. Later, it was reconditioned as a passenger vessel on the route between Asunción and Buenos Aires. In February 1860 it was already operational, making commercial trips. Its first international journey took place on November 7 of the same year, bound for Corrientes. However, due to wear and tear from constant use between 1862 and 1863, it was replaced in August 1863.
When the War of the Triple Alliance broke out, the ship was adapted for military use and used as a logistics vessel. Finally, it was trapped in the Yhaguy River, along with other vessels that today make up the Vapor Cué National Monument. Today, remains of its boiler and other parts are still preserved.
The martyrdom of the mensúes
The harvesting of yerba mate was marked by the exploitation of workers known as mensúes. The writer and journalist Rafael Barrett, in his work “El dolor paraguayo” (Paraguayan pain), describes the inhuman conditions to which they were subjected: crammed into boats, poorly fed and forced to carry heavy bags of yerba mate under a scorching sun. The processing of yerba mate in the barbacuás also represented a mortal risk, where workers had to endure extreme heat and were subjected to physical punishment, as recorded in writings from the time:
“Now, the herding. The river: they are forced aboard with kicks and whiplashes. It is the Industrial cattle. Hundreds of human beings in fifty meters. Filthy garbage, scurvy, black diarrhea and work on the road! Squalid adolescents unload the ship; they climb the ravines on all fours with 80 kilos on their backs. You have to get used to it.”
“Now, the barbacuá, the rudimentary oven in which the leaf is cooked. Up there, above the blazing mouth, the urú perched, breathing fire, watches over the burning. How many times has he fainted and been revived by kicks! The cruelest job is perhaps carrying firewood to the barbacuá, 70 or 80 kilos of thick trunks, under which, in the ordeal of a long walk through the forest, the naked back bleeds. Yes, the flesh creaks naked in the yerbal, because shirts are very expensive there! Add the army of monthly carriers, mboroviré attackers, cart drivers, picadors, ox drivers, expeditionaries deprived of the most essential, forced to cross endless deserts and swamps; “The chateros who are paid for a month’s journey and who return, hampered by drought, after three or four months of upstream combat, with their chests swollen from the raft; add it all up, and you have the cursed mob of the yerbales, panting fourteen, sixteen hours a day, for which there is no Sunday or other holiday than Good Friday, memory of the martyrdom of Jesus, father of those who suffer…!”
The Chaco War and the popularisation of tereré
Velázquez said that tereré consumption became widespread during the Chaco War (1932-1935). The high temperatures and the impossibility of lighting bonfires for security reasons led Paraguayan soldiers to opt for the cold version of yerba mate. Until then, hot mate was the predominant drink.
Throughout history, this refreshing drink has been a faithful companion of our ancestors at key moments. Today, more than ever, tereré continues to be a bond that unites generations, a legacy that endures and a tradition that will undoubtedly continue to mark the history of Paraguay.
