Party of the Sun – Inti Raymi

Inti Raymi, formerly called Wawa Inti Raymi, is an Inca ceremony held in honor of Inti (the Sun God), which is rooted in winter solstice house (June 24). In 1944 a group of intellectuals and artists from Cusco led by Humberto Vidal U., decided to recover the Inti Raymi of history and present it as a theatrical show, aimed at the entire population of Cusco (Qosqo). Since then, with very few exceptions, it has been represented every year, enriched and evolved by historical research.

The Inti Raymi in the time of the Incas was a religious ceremony, now it is a theater performance, however this expression generates a sense of identity in the town, which evokes values ​​and memories that are still relevant in our days, it also brings to memory a time that lives in the heart of the people of Cusco (Qosqo).

The ceremony is present, on June 24 of each year, the solemn evocation of the splendid Inca ritual takes place in Sacsayhuaman, with a renewed script and prepared by distinguished specialists in the field. On the night of the eve the fires were extinguished in all the extension of the enormous empire, the Tahuantisuyo, and in the Cusco in the great place Huacaypata (today Place of Weapons) all the most brilliant personages of the empire were concentrated. Among the shadows, the crowd awaited the appearance of the god Inti (sun) with great respect. Generals, princes, and all the nobility waited in profound silence; many of them disguised as beasts and other animals of Andean mythology.

When the sun appeared, they expressed their recognition of having him and adore him as a supreme, single and universal god, who with his light and virtue created and sustained all things on earth, thanking him for the harvests received during the year.

The Inca, with the help of the Priests “induced” the god Inti (sun) just when he reached the peak of his distance and began his approach to Cusco, to return with the favor of his rays, to fertilize the land and to procure the welfare of the children of the great empire of Tahuantinsuyo.

The sacred fire was renewed with a golden concave bracelet that was placed against sunlight, whose reflections were projected onto a piece of very crimson cotton, which burned in a short space. The sacred fire was taken to the Coricancha, where it would be preserved by the Acllas.

During the ceremony the sacrifice a llama was also carried out to predict the coming year, then a great military march, and in the end everyone retreated and burst into unrestrained cajolery that lasted several days.

Source: Official Script of the Evocation of Inti Raymi, Municipality of Qosqo.