Cuzco's Inti Raymi Festival A Tribute to the Inca Culture

Every year, around the 24th of June, Cuzco celebrates the festival of Inti Raymi, the Festival with the Sun, which was celebrated from the Incan Empire to honor the most known with the Inca Gods, the Sun God, Wiracocha. Inti Raymi was the foremost festival in the Inca culture, which based its religion about the cult with the sun, considered the divinity of highest ranks. The Inca temples were integrated the most important places within the empire to honor the sun, and Inti Raymi symbolizes the eternal consecration of marriage between the Sun and his sons, the human being beings.

The Inti Raymi festival is one from the most colorful festivals in South America and the second largest following the carnival in Rio. More than 200,000 people converge on Cuzco to witness the most amazing spectacle with the year where more than 500 actors proudly bring alive their heritage and past.

Cuzco, flanked by 12 guardian mountains, was of course a sacred place, or "House of God". Known in medieval times as Cosqo, its equivalent inside the local Quechua language, "Solar Plexus" (Vital Center) indicates the middle of corporal energy, where feelings reside. To reinforce its power as the center from the Incan Empire, town was designed within the shape of an puma. The head of the puma was the multifunctional fortress of Saqsaywaman - a temple, refuge, observatory and gathering center. The spine of the Puma, where the life in the empire flowed, was delineated through the street of Pumakurko, and also the pulsating heart in the city was the central plaza. To heighten its sacred energy, astronomers planned a complex system of sanctuaries around town, carefully aligned with all the stars, to correspond to the calendar of social and festive functions. Appropriately, the Inti Raymi festival is well known here.

The celebration takes place during Winter Solstice for the day as soon as the longest night inside the Southern Hemisphere. Though scientifically the solstice begins on June 21st, according to a sundial used from the Incas sunshine stays in the same place some days before rising on June 24th. The Inti Raymi marks the start of a whole new year.

The festival starts out with the Koricancha square in front from the Santo Domingo church, built over the original Inca Sun Temple. A procession of historical figures, actors chosen to the pageant during the year and dressed up in elaborate silver and gold coins costumes, moves through the city down the flower bedecked streets for the ancient fortress of Saqsaywaman. As they proceed, women sweep the streets to cleanse them of evil spirits.

At Saqsaywaman, a ceremony is acted from stage in honor of Inti the sun's rays god, and incorporates a simulated animal sacrifice of an llama, a toast to the land and gods with chica, a Peruvian drink, along with the lighting of a "starter' fire. In the ancient Incan Empire, all fireplaces inside the city were extinguished and also the "starter fire" was taken to relight the fires. A fitting finale on the pageant may be the speech in native Quechua, accompanied by a march back towards the Plaza de Armas, the central square, where all festivities commence.

Though the primary festival of Inti Raymi is on June 24th, the week- long celebration comes complete with events - street fairs, exhibits, dancing within the streets, square activities, and live music concerts by popular Peruvian bands - every adventure travel one of these gather enthusiastic crowds. And once again, a New Year begins in Cuzco.

Hi! I’m Carmina, also known as Nana. I love Diy projects, parties, crocheting, and traveling. In this blog I share patterns, recipes, Diy projects, pet tips, party ideas, and travel tips.