Do you want to know more about one of the most relevant festivals in the Andean world? So, let’s start by saying that the Qoyllor Rit’i Festival is a merge of Catholic and Andean beliefs. It is held in the province of Quispincanchi, department of Cusco. This festival attracts among others, a large number of peasants from the surroundings, and visitants from all over the world. What date is it held on? You can participate in this unique celebration in late May or early June.
Qoyllor Rit’i is also known as Qoyllur Rit’i, and the meaning in Quechua is “Star of the snow”. There are many accounts of the origin of this Andean pilgrimage that was added to the List of the Intangible Culture Heritage of Humanity of the UNESCO, in 2011. These accounts can be classified into a Catholic version and a Pre-Columbian one. Meanwhile the Catholic Church refers the origin of this celebration to the end of the XVIII century, when little Jesus appeared before a young boy, the Pre-Columbian origin is associated to the transition form, from the past world to the present.
Although the low temperatures, that sometimes reach – 4 º C and the very strong rays of the sun, thousands of people walk the 8 km until they arrive to the sanctuary at 4,600 meters. Along the way you can see many pilgrims that take part of groups called nations, which include colorful dancers and musicians. Once these groups arrive to the sanctuary of the Lord of Qoyllor Rit’i at the Sinakara Valley, they split into two moieties: Paucartambo (Quechua farmers), that includes agricultural regions and Quipsicanchis (Aymara shepherds), that includes pastoral regions.
Among the dancers you can see the Qullas, who represents the inhabitants of the Aymara region, and the Chunchos who represent the indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon. Also, you will see the ukukus that keep order along the pilgrimage and the Machulas that represent the first inhabitants of the Andes. These dancers wear in different styles, so it would be easy to recognize them. For instance a Chuncho wears feathered headdresses on their heads
If you want to live this experience, you must know that our tours in Cusco include one that allows you to take part of this festival. You can choose the 4-day tour or the 3-day tour. As said before, you can also see rituals that are associated with the worship of Apus and the fertility of land, so you will immerse in the culture of the Andes. On the other side, you will meet Catholic people that with faith in the Lord of Qoyllor Rit’i do this pilgrimage. They arrive to the Sanctuary where the image of Christ is painted on a rock, to pray for their needs.
If you also want to see how people in Cusco conserve their Andean traditions until now, then you should take part of the Qoyllor Rit’i celebration.
Eric Adventures 