Every year on June 24th, especially in the city of Cusco, locals and visitors celebrate this well-known occasion. They do so with a theatrical representation of the Inca Empire festival, many tourists, from abroad and inside the country, come to see the lively Inti Raymi festival. At this festival, hundreds of actors, musicians, and dancers perform playing one of the most important traditions of the ancient Inca culture.
The Inti Raymi is a traditional Inca festival. It was established in 1412 A.D. by the “Sapa Inca” or Inca ruler Pachacuti to honor the Inca New Year and the Sun God Inti. The Inca worshipped Inti as the top god, the festival also marks the winter solstice. Curiously, the date of the Inti Raymi coincided with the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere.
The Inca people saw themselves as the descendants of the first Inca, Manco Cápac, and Mama Ocllo, they were known as the Children of the Sun, and the city also symbolized the start of the Inca people. Chroniclers such as the renowned Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, stated that many Andean groups came together for this event. People used to come to honor Tahuantinsuyo (The Inca Empire) and the Sun God.
Every Tahuantinsuyu nation provided dancers, performers, and musicians. They also sent spectacular, colorful costumes made of gold and silver. Inti Raymi was observed all around the empire, and although not everyone had to go, the main kings felt compelled to take part or send delegates. The common people celebrated both locally and internationally when travel between provinces was outlawed.
As the Son of the Sun, the Inca served as the festival's High Priest. He started the rituals from “Huacaypata”. This place is today Cusco's Plaza de Armas (the Main Square). Inti Raymi was a very religious occasion, in the central ceremony, over three hundred people came together in song to greet the Sun God at dawn. The animal sacrifice was also a significant part of the celebrations, which took place at the Coricancha Temple. The Incas would burn sacrifices, cook meat, and put out all of the city's fires before starting new ones with the help of the sun.
Although this festival is observed by mainly Andean Communities, this celebration is the second-largest feast in South America. But it wasn't until 1944 that the long-standing custom was brought back to life and made public. Humberto Vidal Unda and Faustino Espinoza Navarro reproduced the Inti Raymi ritual according to a book by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. Both wrote the first theatrical screenplay for this historic festival, which featured 600 actors.
Since then, it has been the biggest celebration in the Cusco region, drawing Peruvian and foreign visitors. The Inti Raymi received recognition in 2001 as a Peruvian National Identity Ceremony and Cultural Heritage. Now, several locations in Cusco City celebrate it on June 24, including the Sacsayhuaman Archaeological Site, Plaza de Armas, and the Qorikancha Temple.
When the sun rises in Cusco City, the feast begins in the Coricancha. The Incas created the temple of the sun to worship the sun god Inti. Musicians and singers arrive early playing Andean instruments and singing, all of them wait for the Sapa Inca to start officially the feast.
The Inca is carried by eight attendants around the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, where they perform the coca ceremony. The "meeting of the times" is depicted in this section of the play, then, the Inca hopes for the well-being of the city's residents as well as its wealth.
Sacsayhuamán is the main location of Inti Raymi. The Sacsayhuamán site is the location of the play where a llama sacrifice was made in the past. Here is where the main festival celebration is held, featuring music and dances from the Inca Empire.
This is another fascinating celebration in Peru, don’t miss it on your trip to Peru! Travel with Viagens Machu Picchu, explore Cusco and many other destinations, we’re waiting for you!
