The Inti Raymi festival, a significant ancient ritual celebrated in the Peruvian Andes, has returned vibrantly after being banned in the 16th century. The recent celebration near Cusco featured local Indigenous actors who reenacted the rituals that honor the sun, including offerings and symbolic acts like the spilling of chicha and a staged llama sacrifice. The festival, narrated in Quechua, Spanish, and English, serves as a bridge between the Inca Empire's past and contemporary expressions of culture, drawing thousands of attendees each solstice to the sacred site of Sacsayhuaman.
In the heart of the Peruvian Andes, the ancient ritual of Inti Raymi returned in full colour and ceremony, where hundreds of Indigenous actors reenacted the sun festival.
Dressed in elaborate robes, actors portrayed the Sapa Inca and his queen, leading symbolic offerings to the sun and the earth, including spilled chicha and a staged llama sacrifice.
Banned in the 16th century, the celebration survived underground, and today, narrated in Quechua, Spanish, and English, it bridges past and present.
Inti Raymi, once a sacred site of the Inca Empire, still draws thousands every solstice, highlighting Indigenous culture's endurance and vibrant expression.
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