Fiesta del Inti Raymi (Festival of the Sun)
The Fiesta del Inti Raymi or Festival of the Sun takes place on June 24th in the city of Cusco. Cusco was once the capital city of the Inca Empire. Inti Raymi is a celebration of the Inca sun god Inti.
In South America in the Andes region the indigenous language of the Incas, Quechua can still be heard. Quechua was the main language of the Inca empire. In the indigenous language, Inti means Sun and Raymi celebrations.
The festival creator is the first Inca, Pachatutec. He created the Inti Raymi to celebrate the winter solstice that marked the first day of the new year in the Inca calendar. Also, it was a way to encourage the sun god to return or stay longer since this time of the year the sun is furthest away.
When the Spanish conquistadors came in the 16th century they banned the festival. They saw the Inca ceremonies and festivals as being pagan and not in compliance with the catholic religion.
In 1944 the festival was recreated in a theatrical representation that was done based on the writing of Garcilaso de la Vega a Spanish soldier and poet. The festival starts at what remains of the sun temple called Qorikancha. This is one of the most important temples in the Inca Empire and is dedicated to the sun god Inti.
A procession made of music and dancing makes its way to the Sacsayhuamán where the ceremony takes place. Sacsayhuamán is the site of a stone wall. The Purpose of the wall is still unknown. However, some think the Incas built the stone wall as a fortress.
The ceremony is done in the native Incan language of Quechua. The crowd of tourists and onlookers watch from the stands as the ceremony takes place. The high priest does a fake sacrifice to some llamas.
Then offerers the heart up to the gods and reads the future in the bloodstains. Finally, the festival comes to an end as the sun goes down and the procession makes its way back into town.
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