Inti Raymi

The Inti Raymi ( Quechua for " Feast of the Sun," inti "Sun", raymi " hard ") was a religious ceremony of the Incas dedicated to the Sun ( Inti ). It was the time of the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere, so usually on June 21 in the Inca capital of Cusco on the Waqaypata ( "place of tears" ) instead and was also the New Year in the Andean region. Since 1944, held annually on 24 June on the Inca walls of Sacsayhuaman in Cusco theater representations of the Inca festival held at which thousands of tourists and visitors from the surrounding area come.

Inca Garcilaso de la Vega reported that the Inti Raymi was the most important celebration in the Inca period. The ceremony will hereafter also symbolically represented the mythical origin of the Incas. The celebrations lasted nine days of colorful dances and processions. Prayers for good harvests were associated with animal sacrifices.

Inti Raymi The last was in 1535 - after the conquest by the Spaniards - in the presence of Manco Capac II instead. Then the Spaniards and the Roman Catholic Church banned the festivities. Similar ceremonies were held in Peru in the years to come instead, but were strictly forbidden 1572 by the Viceroy Francisco de Toledo.

Faustino Espinoza Navarro, longtime chairman of the Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua and other indigenous artists and actors enlivened the celebrations back in 1944. The descriptions of Garcilaso de la Vega were used as basis.

Collections

United Festival World Archives, Vienna