Ogogoro
Ògógóró (Ogog') is an Urhobo word of a West African alcoholic drink, usually distilled locally from fermented Raffia palm tree juice and is most popular in Nigeria, where it is known as the country's homebrew.[1] Today, there is a misconception that Ogogoro can be pure ethanol, but traditionally, it had to come from the palm tree and then be distilled from this source.
| Type | Liquor |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Nigeria |
| Alcohol by volume | 30–60% |
| Proof (US) | 60°–120° |
| Colour | clear |
| Ingredients | Palm wine |
| Related products | akpeteshie |
Terminology
It is also known as akpeteshie (especially in Ghana), sapele water, kparaga, kai-kai, Sun gbalaja, egun inu igo meaning The Masquerade in the Bottle, push-me-push-you, and/or crim-kena, sonsé ("do you do it?" in Yoruba language). In the Igbo language it is known as Akpuru achia.
Other Nigerian epithets include: Udi Ogagan, Agbagba Urhobo, as well OHMS (Our Home Made Stuff), Iced Water, Push Me, I Push You and Craze man in the bottle.[2]
Properties and preparation
Ogogoro is distilled from the juice of Raffia palm trees. An incision is made in the trunk and a gourd placed outside it for collection, which is collected a day or two later. After extraction, the sap is boiled to form steam, which subsequently condenses and is collected for consumption. Ogogoro is not synthetic ethanol but it is tapped from a natural source and then distilled.
Social significance
As drink and commodity, respectively, ogogoro carries substantial cultural and economic significance within Nigeria. It is an essential part of numerous religious and social ceremonies; Burutu (Ijaw) priests pour it onto the ground as offerings to contact their gods, while fathers of Nigerian brides use it as a libation by which they provide their official blessing to a wedding.
The economic facets of ogogoro have been equally salient throughout recent Nigerian history. Many poor Nigerian families homebrew the drink as a means of economic subsistence, many of whom sell shots of it on city street corners. The criminalization of ogogoro which occurred under the colonial regime is also believed to have been largely economic; while the public justifications for the law regarded public health and Christian beliefs regarding alcohol, it has been argued that colonial officials were also seeking to suppress local economic activity which might draw money or labor away from the colonial system.[3][4]
Methanol poisoning incident
66 people in Rivers State died over a few weeks that started in April 2015 due to methanol contaminated ogogoro.[5][6][7]
Notes
- Simon Heap (2008) '“Those that are Cooking the Gins”: The Business of Ogogoro in Nigeria’, Contemporary Drug Problems, 35(4): 573-610.
- Heap (2008) 'ufofop Calabar, robirobi Abeokuta, baba erin Ilesha, eyinbo gò (white man is not smarter), majidun, etonto Pidgin English, wuru Ijaw, and Agbakara Bini and Aka mere,“Those that are Cooking the Gins”, 599-600.
- Solieri, Lisa; Giudici, Paolo (2009), Vinegars of the World, Springer Milan, pp. 1–16, doi:10.1007/978-88-470-0866-3_1, ISBN 978-88-470-0865-6
- Olupayimo, Dolapo (June 2017). "The Illicit Production of Ogogoro in Coastal Yorubaland and the Niger Delta". Portuguese Studies Review. 2(No. 1 Fall 2017): 195–208 – via ResearchGate.
- "66 Die Of Ogogoro In Rivers State".
- Winsor, Morgan (21 April 2015). "Nigeria's Mysterious Epidemic Linked To Contaminated Alcohol And Methanol Poisoning, Not Ebola". International Business Times.
- "Nigeria: NAFDAC - Methanol Responsible for 'Ogogoro' Deaths in Rivers".
