Last Christmas - well, the one in 2008 before our trip - Chris received an amazing coffee-table book from my parents. It detailed the greatest festivals in the world and Chris determined to include some of them in our trip. He spent days upon days with the book and his google calendar, checking he had the dates right and trying to correspond them with our whens and whereabouts. The number one world festival in the book was Peru's Inti Raymi and if we were going to make it to one, this would be it. We made sure our trip to Cusco corresponded with 24th June, just after the Winter Solstice here.
The Inti Raymi festival was of course another thing of the Inca's that the Spanish succeeded in destroying back in 16th Century; many argue that since its reinstatement in 1944 it is merely a theatrical performance to attract tourists and yet more money to Cusco. In fairness, since the Inca's never wrote anything down, it is difficult to say that this is completely authentic. Nonetheless, the day was an incredibly special one...
The festival celebrates the God 'Inti' or the sun, the most important God to the Incas. It was apparently held on the actual Winter Solstice to mark the New Year in the Andes but for some reason has been moved to 24th. Is this to keep tourists in the area for longer? The week leading up to the festival saw the streets of Cusco full of festivities and this could be said for many surrounding towns and villages apparently.
Chris and I had a great time watching some of the dancing competitions between the children one day. This was a big event in itself; the costumes were incredible. So much time and effort, not to mention money, had been put into these pre-Inti Raymi celebrations and television crews were out in full force. What we missed in person we were always able to watch live on the national TV channels once back at the hostel.
The main activity during the Inti Raymi takes place up at 'SexyWoman' though, by asking a mixture of locals including our guides at many of the sites in and around Cusco, we'd found out the schedule for the whole day and managed to squeeze ourselves in amongst those in the know for some of the best seats in the house for each part.
The Inti Raymi was the most important of four festivals in Cusco (the Incan capital) during the Incan reign. Like today, it included days of dancing and fesitivities. Theatrical performance or not, this festival was truly magnificent.
The performance begins at the Qorikancha, 'Golden Courtyard' in Quechua - this was once the richest temple in the Inca empire and was literally covered with gold. the Spanish destroyed everything but the base which they used as foundations for what is now the Santa Domingo church.
We made our way to the Qorikancha by 9.30am just in time to see the Incan king giving a speech surrounded by a community of differently dressed people who would rise and shout things as well as jump up and down in various patterns. We were already impressed. It's no wonder the Incas worshipped the sun; it's forever sunny in this town, their capital, and we had a glorious day for it.
The Incas then formed a procession round the back of what is now Santa Domingo church where, helped and encourged by locals, Chris and I were given an amazing seat on a wall right in the centre if the procession. We were given a great view of the 'actors' and their costumes as they danced and played music right next to us.
The procession became a lot more serious when, following a group of dancing ladies who threw petals on the ground, in came the king, carried on a golden throne by his fellow Incas. It was a moving performance but they were nowhere near finished yet...
The procession were making their way to the Plaza de Armas which was in fact the main square even during Inca times. Chris and I beat them to it and got a place facing all the action yet again. This time however it was the local, non-acting people who provided the most entertainment. We waited a good while for the Inca king and his crew to arrive but in the meantime the crowd became more and more unruly. They'd obviously been saving their seats for a good while and the people sitting on the steps became incredibly angry when anyone below them on the flat pavement would stand up, preventing their view. It seemed to me that a unanimous decision needed to be made - either everyone sits down so as not to spoil anyone's view behind them OR everyone stands to be able to see over the people in front. However, there was stubborness on both sides and as the time for the procession's arrival grew closer, the crowd became more and more rowdy. They began shouting at one another and those sitting started throwing, of all things, orange peel at the offending stander-uppers. By British standards, it was all very civilised. I mean, there was no swearing as far as we could tell and certainly no beer bottles being thrown. Still, Chris and I had never seen a Peruvian so angry (petrol strikes aside) and when they started throwing the orange peel, well, we really felt for them actually.
To sit or to stand? Just make your minds up?!!
Eventually the Incas arrived and began various choreographed dances and worshipping of the sun...
The King stood up on the sacred rock podium (the fountain in the centre of the main square had been covered just so) and began a lengthy speech in Quechua. The lady next to me translated a little into Spanish and frankly, it was a lovely reminder that for the majority of the locals here, they were watching a performance conducted entirely in their mother tongue.
After a good hour of orange peel throwing, our aching knees began to protest at being forced to kneel on concrete ground. Not wanting to be the target of angry orange peel ourselves we hurried out of peoples' way and began our ascent up to Saqsaywaman to find a spot for the main event of the day: the llama sacrifice.
We read an article recently by a journalist who was there this year (I've included a link) and who talks about this being just another expensive way to lure the foreigners in and something that true local Peruvians struggle to attend or enjoy. While full of contradictions, the article's still worth a read if you have chance.
It's true that there is a grandstand set up around the main 'stage' area where people can buy tickets for $80 US but from what we could see, these seats were filled purely by middle aged Americans who were probably part of a huge tour group and didn't know any better. Or at least, by people who were willing to surrender money quickly. For the independent traveller or the Peruvian local, there is plenty of space on the surrounding hillside to perch your bum and watch the event. Granted, most of the locals who had managed a prime viewing spot had been waiting there since 6am and were now beginning to sell remaining bum space for one British pound a spot (we heard crazy stories that bigger money was involved but who really knows - it all depends on how easy you are with your money, how gullable, or how tight, in my case!).
Chris and I cheekily pushed our way through the crowds and found one such man who sold us a patch of land he'd saved with a plastic bag for 5 soles for the two of us (£1.25). We also bought his whole family an ice-cream (which extended now to new friends he'd met at 6am during the waiting period) in order to break the ice a bit. If you're someone who has qualms about this, then you can still find a patch on the hill for free without waiting since 6am and without bribing a local; you just might have a slightly hindered view. In any case, what the journalist in the article says about the 'majority' of people having to pay $100s of dollars for a seat is ridiculous, especially as she quotes the crowd at being around 25,000 strong. There aren't even half that number of seats in the grandstand, I don't think.
After settling me in with my new friends, most of whom looked like they were above 80, Chris made a swift departure back to town in order to watch Denmark's match against Japan in the World Cup. I was alone with the Peruvians in the baking hot sun waiting for the Incas. All I can say is this: as they started to prepare their orange peel once again, I was so glad I'd bought them the ice-creams in some attempt to pacify them at least a little bit.
The Incas arrived and began an amazing show of synchronised marching and choreography where they really did make use of the sun and the shadows it cast down the lines of people towards the King. I stayed for about an hour but yet again, the shouting, pushing and shoving of locals who'd been waiting since six in the morning, now fighting to retain their view all became too much. The sun was so strong and there was no escaping it. I realised that I might have to sacrifice the llama sacrifice and escape... As the King continued with an incredibly lengthy speech in Quechua, the locals continued to throw orange peel at one another and the police descended on our section to try to sort it all out, I decided to join chris and see what the score was.
It took me absolutely ages to get back to town through the huge crowds - a good hour at least. This was a big BIG day out for families. So many had set up camp with huge picnics, football games and even tents behind the hill at saqsaywaman: though they weren't even attempting to watch the performance they had still come to spend the day at this sacred site. What a great atmosphere. The walk back to town was tough and as I fought my way through crowds of people, roast chicken stalls and soft drink vendors I realised once again what an incredible festival this was for people of this region.
When I was finally reunited with Christophe, it wasn't good news. Denmark had been kicked out of the World Cup and he ws the only man remaining in the pub. I found him drowning his sorrows with a Bloody Mary - oh dear. Despite this, he agrees that the day in general had been a huge success. We'd gained a great insight into the culture of the Peruvians and managed pretty much front row seats throughout.
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