Inti Raymi: The Inca Festival of the Sun in Cusco, Peru
Inti Raymi: The Inca Festival of the Sun in Cusco, Peru
JILL WORRALL
Last updated 12:08, August 28 2015
Five centuries ago, the approach of the winter solstice must have been an anxious time for llamas grazing the Andean mountainsides near Cusco in modern-day Peru.
Here at the heart of the vast Inca empire that stretched from Colombia to Chile, the Inca emperor and his subjects would gather as the Sun reached its furthest point from the land and order a mass sacrifice of llamas to appease the Sun god, Inti. The Incas believed that the spilling of llama blood and other rituals would ensure Inti and his life-giving warmth and light would return; crops would grow and thus save them from starvation.
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Jill Worrall
The Inca emperor arrives on a replica of the original golden litter.
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Today, during the re-enactment of the ceremony that takes places annually in Cusco, llamas are once again centre stage, but, like the crowds who come to watch, they all get to go home afterwards unscathed.
Inti Raymi (Festival of the Sun) celebrations take place in Cusco over several days but the most important rituals occur on June 24, the day of the winter equinox. Thousands of Peruvians, augmented by many hundreds of overseas visitors, start the day by making their way to the plaza beside the ruins of what was once the richest temple in the Inca Empire, Qorikancha.
More:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/south-america/71228192/inti-raymi-the-inca-festival-of-the-sun-in-cusco-peru