The Inca of Peru had a well-developed system around corn which included ceremonies for planting and harvest. At planting they asked the sun to protect the corn from excessive heat, and offered a drink made from maize onto the rivers to ask for water for their fields.
Chicha and alcoholic beverage made from fermented corn, played an central role in the ceremonial and social life of Andean peoples before contact with the Old World. It is a type of beer drunk mostly by Inca rulers and nobles after battle victories and during ceremonies.
They threw corn into the river they were about to cross, or fish in, to propitiate its god.
Corn was a currency with each kernel being a coin. In a transaction, the buyer placed a fistful of kernels on a table. If the seller deemed the number of kernels insufficient, she said nothing but instead stared at the kernels.
Inca society and corn
