Capac Raymi- Inca EventEvent"Festival of the Magnificent"
Also known as: Qhapaq Raymi
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Description
At the December solstice, Inca boys ran footraces over mountain terrain, endured ritualized combat and flogging without flinching, then had their earlobes pierced for the golden spools of nobility. Capac Raymi made warriors under the sun at his most powerful.
Mythology & Lore
The Summer Solstice
Capac Raymi fell at the December solstice, the longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere, when Inti stood at the height of his power. Where Inti Raymi at the June solstice pleaded for the sun's return, Capac Raymi harnessed the sun at his strongest to consecrate the next generation of warriors.
The Huarachicoy
The heart of the festival was the huarachicoy, a grueling series of trials through which adolescent boys of noble birth proved themselves worthy of manhood. The candidates, typically fourteen to sixteen years old, underwent weeks of testing. They ran footraces from the sacred hill of Huanacauri to the city, competing over rough mountain terrain at high altitude. They endured ritualized combat and prolonged fasting. They were flogged by elder warriors and expected to bear the blows without flinching. Any sign of weakness could result in disqualification.
The culmination was the piercing of the earlobes, which were fitted with the large golden ear spools that marked Inca nobility. The initiates received their first weapons and the huara (breechcloth) from which the ceremony took its name. From this moment forward, they were full members of the warrior class.
The Sapa Inca presided over the ceremonies, personally bestowing insignia upon the most distinguished candidates. Provincial lords who had sent their sons to Cusco for initiation watched their children become part of the imperial elite.