The Inti Raymi is celebrated in June, precisely June is the month of the festivities of Cusco: tradition, music and dance are mixed in a colorful compas that adorns the Inca city of Cusco in the heart of pompous and colorful celebrations. It is during the festivities of Cusco that the Inti Raymi or the feast of the sun is also staged. Join Auri Peru to know the details of this great Inca festivity that survives even in our days.
What is Inti Raymi?
The Inti Raymi or the feast of the Sun God, was a celebration that the Incas carried out in honor and gratitude to this maximum Inca deity. Most chroniclers agree that it was celebrated in June during the winter solstice. Regarding its origins, it must have always existed among the Inkas.
Brief history about Inti Raymi in Inca times
Upon settling in the Cuzco valley, after subjugating the native tribes of the valley, it is believed that Manco Capac (first Inca emperor) established the festival officially, celebrating it on the Huanacauri mountain.
Chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega tells that during the reign of Yahuar Huacca, the Inti Raymi was already the main festivity of the Cuzco state, taking place only once a year. Years later, under the government of Pachacutec, the Inti Raymi was totally reorganized.
According to the Spanish chronicler Sarmiento de Gamboa, who traveled through the viceroyalty of Peru between 1568 and 1579, Pachacutec established four great annual festivals: the Capac Raymi, the Situay, the Aymoray and the Inti Raymi.
Sarmiento de Gamboa also refers that an old Pachacutec, who already ran with his son Túpac Yupanqui, celebrated a lavish Inti Raymi, which coincided with the return of his army to Cuzco, after a triumphant campaign in the Chinchaysuyo, celebration with pompous parties and dances.
Why is inti raymi celebrated?
Explaining the motivations of the Inti Raymi, Garcilaso de la Vega explains that they made this party to the Sun in recognition of having him and to adore him for being their universal god, who with his light and virtue raised and sustained all the things of the Earth. The mestizo chronicler also refers that this festivity was celebrated in the Huacaypata, the current main square of Cusco and lasted 9 days. Dances were performed, chicha was drunk, coca leaves were burned and, according to the chroniclers, about 100 llamas were sacrificed in honor of the god Inti, meat that was then distributed among the Inca people.
Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, several chroniclers noticed the strange coincidence of dates of celebrations between Inti Raymi and Corpus Christi, which would help from that moment to merge with the celebrations of Corpus Christi in a clear example of religious syncretism. For a few more years the Spaniards consented to the celebration, but not for long, since Viceroy Francisco de Toledo ended up prohibiting it when he realized that it was detrimental to the interests of domination; thus, in 1543 the Inti Raymi was abolished.
However, the chronicler Juan de Betanzos mentions that, in the middle of the XVI century, twenty years after the fall of the Inkan Empire, the Inti Raymi continued to be celebrated secretly by the people, thus resisting the prohibition imposed by the Spaniards.
The return of the Inti Raymi
The Inti Raymi did not manifest itself with its own identity since time immemorial, it seemed lost; but it only slept in the collective memory of the people. It took more than 400 years for the Inti Raymi to be reinstated in Cusco with some variations from the original rite.
Humberto Vidal Unda, great historian, philosopher and writer led a team, which included the prestigious quechuologist Faustino Espinoza Navarro, to initiate and promote the recovery of the Inti Raymi, Faustino Espinoza reconstructed a script for the Inti Raymi based on the Royal Commentaries of the Incas by Garcilaso de la Vega, with some variations on the original festival, but maintaining its essence; It was Espinoza himself who was the first to play the role of the Inca, which would last for 14 more years.
On January 8, 1944, it was agreed to celebrate for June 24 of each year, the Day of Cusco and the reinsertion for the universal culture of one of the greatest festivities of the Inca empire, the Inti Raymi. It was staged for the first time after hundreds of years in Sacsayhuaman in 1944. The staging was attended by the president of the republic at that time, Manuel Prado.
Inti Raymi in present days
Thus, currently every June 24, about fifty thousand spectators watch a party that begins in the Coricancha or temple of the sun, then passes in the Huacaypata or current square of Cusco and finally heading to Sacsayhuaman. An Inti Raymi staged by more than 700 artists, dressed in colorful costumes and accessories similar to those of the ancient Inca Tahuantinsuyo. The ensemble of all these actors, added to the songs and dances, have made this festival one of the most beautiful and spectacular in the world.
After being reestablished, the solar festival of Cusco has been for decades an expression of the identity of the Andean memory and the great legacy of the Inca culture. The Inti Raymi is today a sample of the colorful, splendor and fervor with which the Incas thanked their Gods through different festivities, in this case the Inti Raymi. It is a demonstration of how this glorious culture maintained that fragile balance with nature, which even today the Andean man still keeps and practices respectfully. The Inti Raymi is therefore a celebration of Andean identity and memory.
Inti Raymi celebration date
Inti Raymi is celebrated every June 24 every year during the winter solstice, in other words the beginning of the Andean New Year.
Schedule of Inti Raymi
- START: 09:00 a.m. Qoricancha Temple in the center of the city of Cusco (Av. El Sol).
- CEREMONY: 10:30 a.m. Hawqaypata Square (Main Square of Cusco).
- CENTRAL CEREMONY: 01:45 p.m. Sacsayhuaman Esplanade.
Prices of Inti Raymi Tickets
The process of reservation and purchase of tickets is done through the website www.intiraymioficial.com. In the web, the user can select the stage he/she wants to attend, Qoricancha, Saqsayhuamán or both; and the zone in which he/she wants to be: there are three seats, Orange, Red and Green, whose costs range from 10 to 150 US dollars. Those who are offered to appreciate the first act of the Inti Raymi in Qoricancha see the arrival of the delegations of the four of them; and those who want can only witness the third act in Sacsayhuaman the Inti Raymi or festival of the sun itself.
- Orange tribune: $150.00
- Red tribune: $100.00
- Green tribune: $150.00
3 REASONS NOT TO MISS INTI RAYMI
- The representation of each of the artists is impeccable. All the actors and actresses are Cusqueños by birth and will be dressed in Inca costumes, mostly made of sheep wool, alpaca, etc.. As faithful as possible to the Inca costumes of Inca times.
- Andean chants are heard in Quechua language, adorations to the “Sun God”. The ¨Acllas¨ women of singular beauty chosen to serve the Inca and the Sun God (Inti), are the ones who are in charge of worshipping their god with melodious voices. The Inca has dialogues with his father the sun god, also in Quechua language, as in Inca times.
- We visit 3 places of great importance in the city of Cusco: The greeting to the sun, in the ancient Temple of Qorikancha (today the Convent of Santo Domingo). Then comes the meeting of two times, in the Huacaypata or Plaza Mayor of Cusco, between the Inca and the current Mayor of Cusco. And finally the ceremony culminates in the esplanade of Saqsayhuaman.
Recommendations to enjoy the Inti Raymi
- Make sure to buy or reserve your entrance ticket in advance. Auri Peru Travel offers a wide range of tours. As we talk about “Inti Raymi” we want your trip to be unforgettable, we can organize your tailor made trip including this festivity.
- Curiously the sun festival has always been a sunny day during the last decades. Do not forget to apply sunscreen and wear hats or caps, and not only to the face, it is better to all parts of your body that will be uncovered as the arms, neck, ears. The ultraviolet radiation in Cusco is high, mainly between 10 am and 3 pm. Also, keep a sunscreen on hand, it is recommended to put it on every 45 minutes.
- Wear comfortable clothes to adapt to the hot day, wearing a jacket would be a point against us. A good pair of sneakers to walk a lot, the Inti Raymi lasts at least 7 hours, so you should be prepared. For a cold weather in the morning, hot during the day and again cold in the evening.
- Take a hydrating drink with you and always be alert with your personal belongings. It is advisable not to carry valuables in backpacks and / or handbags.
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