Everything You Need to Know about Inti Raymi
The Inti Raymi is a theatrical representation of an important ancient Inca festival that is celebrated every June 24 in honor of the Sun god in Peru. More than 500 participants pose as the Inca, his wife, bishops, maiden virgins, among others, in a celebration of color, song, and dance in Sacsayhuaman, the main Inca fortress near Cusco. This festival was celebrated during the winter solstice (June 24) in the southern hemisphere, when the sun was furthest from the earth. When the day appeared as the shortest of the whole year. Some scholars affirm that the Incas chose this day to call their luminous god, who was further away from them and accompanied them during fewer hours of the day. Therefore, the date was also chosen as the first of a new Andean Year. The Inti Raymi celebrations lasted 9 days. During this period the Incas celebrated in the most important archaeological site of Cusco with music, colorful dances, processions and even animal sacrifices offered to the sun. Many of these sacrifices were to ensure good harvests for the year. In addition to giving thanks to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and paying homage to the firstborn of the Sun, the Inca. Currently, if you decide to visit Cusco on June 24 to see the Inti Raymi, you will be able to appreciate each of the artists in an impeccable representation. Most of the actors and actresses involved in the dramatization are from Cusco. Also, you will hear Andean songs in the ancient Quechua language. In conclusion, you will have a greater understanding of our beautiful culture and different traditions. An opportunity worth experiencing and one of the best things to do in Cusco.
When the Incas were at their most active, approximately 25,000 people would come to celebrate the Inti Raymi in Cusco. Festivities took place from dawn to dusk and included the sacrifice of 200 llamas, special dances, and the burning of coca leaves to mark the most festive day on the Inca calendar and the festivities traditionally lasted for nine days.
When the Spanish conquered Peru, they banned the festival during the first few years citing it as a pagan celebration that went against the Catholic religion. Though it was difficult to control in smaller areas, this festival then began to merge with the feast day of St. John the Baptist. This lasted from 1536 until its revival in 1944.
Today, the Inti Raymi is a very special festival for the Peruvian people to celebrate tradition as well as the winter solstice. Dances, reenactments, processions, and spiritual worship are just a few ways that the Peruvian people celebrate this festival. This celebration also draws a lot of tourists to the Cusco region around this time and is the second largest festival in South America, after Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.
A long time ago, this celebration lasted almost two weeks. During this time span gifts and gifts were given to Inti, such as animal sacrifices and payments to Pachamama, the Andean name for Mother Earth. Today Inti Raymi is only celebrated on June 24, but throughout the month Cusco is filled with that “something special” that moves through all the streets of the city due to the preparations and dance rehearsals, which are found in almost all the squares of the city.
It is not uncommon to find groups of dancers in the afternoon, evening or even early in the morning on a Saturday, practicing the dances that they will perform on the day of the most important celebration in their beloved Cusco.
With the Spanish conquest, the celebration of Inti Raymi disappears from the customs of the local inhabitants of Cusco, because it is considered by the Catholic Church as a pagan celebration and therefore it is definitely prohibited, although in some places far from the city. , the communities maintained their traditions and transmitted them quietly and discreetly from generation to generation. It was in 1944 when a group of thinkers proposed designating a special day for Cusco and creating a unique festivity for it. This is how they decided to celebrate Cusco Day every June 24 together with Inti Raymi, claiming the ancestral customs of the Inca people.
