The efforts of intellectuals and artists in modern Cusco prompted the return of Inti Raymi in 1944. The religious ceremony was reborn as a theatrical exhibition, based on the primary and secondary sources, namely Garcilaso de la Vega. Replacing true worship of Inti, his descendant the Sapa Ina, and calls for good harvests were an attempt to recall and praise the the fallen empire and its people. Over the decades the new Inti Raymi has gained in size and popularity. Today's ceremonial includes some 500 actors, entertains over 200,000 spectators, and offers free concerts and expositions for the congregated masses.
June 24th begins at Cusco’s ancient sun complex (the Qorikancha and the Church of Santo Domingo) where a fictional Sapa Inca, seated upon a golden throne, leads the procession through the city's streets to the militant percussion of drums. His arrival in the Plaza de Armas is announced by the blaring tones of the pututus, traditional shell horns. A pledge of friendship and community is made upon an Incan altar, the Usnu, by the mayor of Cusco and the Sapa Inca. From the new Inti Raymi diverges from the ancient as the procession mounts the hillsides overlooking the city to the Sacsayhuaman fortress complex. While spectators watch from stands the Sapa Inca mounts the sacred altar and, in the company of a theatrical Incan court, and recites the ancient Quechua rites to the performances of dances and actors.
A chinca toast is made before the Sapa Inca sacrifices a llama, displaying its heart while the actor-priests examine its entrails for predictions of the future. Fires erupt around the complex as priests light stacks of hay. The rituals are concluded as the Sapa Inca drinks to the welfare of the long departed empire. |
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Inti Raymi
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