INTI RAYMI:

Spiritual significance:

The Inti Raymi festival is known as the event of fundamental relevance to reestablish indigenous identity in past and present contexts of acculturation. It is celebrated on summer solstice in gratitude to Pachamama for the first harvest of the crops.

 

Procedure of the ritual:

During the Inti Raymi a series of rituals are realized. Every year the festivities start at night at the waterfall of Peguche with the Armay Tuta, a ritual bathing ceremony of purification, in which the men of the communities of Otavalo prepare themselves for the ritual activities during the following days. As they believe, this bath renews the energy and strengthens their relation with Mother Nature. After this event the festivities start. Important is the Aya Uma dance. Dancers and musicians pass the streets lead by Aya Uma, which is a mythological character with two faces and twelve horns believed to be the spirit of the mountain. The group dances in a circle as a symbol of harmony and unity stamping their feet on the ground to encourage Mother Nature to be fertile and “wake her up”. At the same time the best crops of the harvest are given to the god of sun and Mother Nature to express the thankfulness for the provision. A particular activity is the Tinkuy – ritual fights that are considered to equilibrate forces and spiritual energies that otherwise would disturb the cosmic harmony and cause sickness in the people. All symbols included in the ritual festivities of Inti Raymi are:

 

The clothing

The music instruments

Dancing in circle

The chicha

Water and earth

The Aya Uma

Ritual fights (Tinkuy)

Blood and fire