El Nicaraguan Caribbean It is a true gem that holds many surprises and secrets that you would never imagine, immerse yourself in the caribbean culture It is about learning about gastronomy, customs, traditions and knowledge that have been shared by generations, maintaining their heritage, their multiculturalism and their multiethnicity.
La Marshall Point Community located in Pearl Lagoon, South Caribbean Coast, is the artisanal laboratory par excellence where the drink is prepared “gifiti”, which means bitter, and is reddish in color.
It was created for medicinal purposes, the garifunas Located in that area, they carefully preserve its origin, which at first glance - for many - could be alcoholic, but, for others, goes beyond causing intoxication.
A drink with a taste of roots
Cuculmeca and aged roots give life to this concoction that is traditionally consumed among the Caribbean, its smell is unique and the sensation it provokes when tasting it makes it different from other artisanal rums.
To prepare it, sugarcane juice must be used, which goes through a fermentation and distillation process, and is subsequently stored in containers from which it is carefully checked that the liquid is clean and free of any particles, or in common language, cleaning any trace of dirt from the ingredients themselves.
In the tanks there are plants with medicinal properties such as cuculmeca, quina, hombre grande, guapinol… plants that have multiple vitamins such as iron. Due to its process, it reaches between 35 and 38 degrees of alcohol for its commercialization; in the Garifuna customs, Its levels can be higher, even exceeding 45 degrees, which makes it a strong explosion of flavor.
Popular customs about this concoction
According to popular customs and beliefs, Gifiti is a tonic that fills those who consume it with vigor, providing energy and multiple benefits that help improve sexual performance, being classified as a natural aphrodisiac.
The recipe for making it has been shared by generations who have kept this knowledge alive and who over time have spread it to more people, not only in the Caribbean lands, but in the rest of the country.
For the residents of Marshall Point it is not just an alcoholic beverage, it is talking about their ancestral inheritances that have that healing flavor, medicinal properties and recognize the power of plants to help improve health.
Rodolfo Chang, resident of the area where gifiti is produced, explained in an interview with national media that its origins are hereditary, but it is not until 2017 during the famous Carnival May Now, held in the city of bluefields, first appeared as a commercial proposal, which was widely accepted by the population.
Aphrodisiac, medicinal or not? That must be verified by those who wish to affirm the assertions that are handled in the popular beliefs of the Caribbean of Nicaragua.
