The Psychology of Terere (at least in my opinion)

I think that there must be a psychology behind drinking terere. I know many of you will have your own opinions on this, but remember that this is MY perspective and MY opinions!

A bit of an explanation here, terere is a drink similar to loose tea that is pressed into a "mug" made out of wood, cow horns or gourds or probably other things I don't know about. There is a bombilla, a silver straw with a strainer on the tip at the end stuck in the yerba mate', loose tea, in the cup. Cold water is poured into the cup and then sucked out through the straw. (Hot water poured on top of a different type of yerba mate changes the name to "mate") The social aspect comes in here. The "host" server fills their cup with water and passes it to someone else in the group who drinks the entire cupful. They pass it back to the server where it is filled up and passed to the next person. This continues until each person has enjoyed the terere enough, at which point they say 'gracias' and their turn is then skipped during the next round for the rest of the social session.

This is where my opinions come in. I see that the whole aspect of sharing terere is similar to sharing communion with other believers. The host serves each person in the group, so good communication is a must. I'm sure it must be difficult for someone to serve terere to someone that they are at odds with or holding something against. Karen was just telling me this morning about a wife who, several years ago, was having such a difficult time in her relationship that she told Karen that she couldn't even serve her husband terere. That's what got me thinking about the psychology behind this all.

I see friends sitting around sharing terere and they are laughing and enjoying each other's company. I don't see people sitting around with long faces when they are sharing this drink together. Oscar just told me that my perceptions are true. It is very difficult to share terere with someone you are at odds with. You would not be rude and skip them in the circle, but inside you are in turmoil when you are serving. This is why it is best, and following scripture, to make sure that you are at peace with all men, as much as possible within yourself.

Every other time I've been in Paraguay, I've politely used the excuse that I am a visitor and I am not used to the taste or practice of sharing terere. This year I decided that if I am going to be living here and working here for a month, then I need to share their practices and show that I am willing to work along side them. The sharing of the bombilla does gross me out, but if I can share a common cup at Communion with my brothers and sisters in Canada, why can't I share the same here in Paraguay? I also confess that at times I pray hard before I accept the cup because I'm a little leary about the mouth that touched it last, but God is good. I enjoy the blend of terere that Karen makes, but some of the others' are bitter.

Even though I share terere here in Paraguay, it's still not a practice that I want to start or participate in at home. It's still a bit gross enough for me to reject it in my familiar culture, but here in Paraguay where it's the norm, I am ok with it.

And there you have it, my friends, my opinions on the psychology of terere.