Inti Raymi- Inca EventEvent"The Great Festival"

The Solstice Crisis

Inca priests tracked Inti's retreat through autumn and winter using stone pillars on the ridges surrounding Cusco. As the sun's rising point shifted northward, they watched its angle against the markers. When it reached the designated pillars, the question pressed: would Inti reverse his retreat, or continue withdrawing into permanent absence? The Unu Pachakuti, Viracocha's primordial flood, had proved the world could end. Inti Raymi was nine days of ceremony to strengthen the sun and call him back.

Garcilaso de la Vega, himself of Inca royal descent, provided the most detailed account, drawing on memories his mother's family shared of the festivals they had witnessed before the Spanish suppression.

The Fast

Three days before the solstice, the people of Cusco observed a rigorous fast: raw white maize and herbs, water only. Every fire in the city was extinguished. Every hearth went dark. The ordinary sounds of cooking and commerce gave way to silence.

Behind the walls of the acllahuasi, the Chosen Women prepared enormous quantities of chicha and food for the feast to come. The Punchao, the sacred golden image of Inti that contained the preserved hearts of every former ruler, was readied for procession from the Coricancha.

The Dawn

Before sunrise on the solstice morning, the Sapa Inca and the nobility assembled barefoot in Haucaypata, Cusco's great central plaza. They faced east in the darkness and waited. When the sun's edge appeared above the mountain ridgeline, the assembly prostrated themselves. A great wailing rose from the crowd. The Sapa Inca raised golden cups of chicha toward the sun, pouring libations and drinking in communion with his divine father.

The Punchao was carried from the Coricancha in procession, surrounded by priests and shielded by featherwork canopies. Its golden surface caught the morning light and blazed.

The Sacred Fire

A senior priest held a polished concave golden mirror and focused the sun's rays onto a tuft of raw cotton. When the cotton ignited, a flame was born that no human hand had struck. From this fire, all the fires of Cusco were relit: the eternal fire in the Coricancha first, then the ceremonial fires throughout the city, then the household hearths. Chasqui runners carried the sacred flame outward along the four royal roads, relighting fires in provincial temples and towns until the renewal reached the farthest edges of Tawantinsuyu.

If the sky was overcast, fire was kindled instead by friction with a wooden drill. An overcast solstice was an unfavorable omen, and additional offerings were required.

The Royal Mummies

Each deceased Sapa Inca was brought from his palace by his panaca, the kin group that maintained his estate. The mummies were dressed in their finest cumbi cloth, adorned with gold and silver, and seated on golden thrones alongside the living ruler. Chicha was poured into their mouths and drained through tubes. Food was placed before them and later burned. Their attendants spoke on their behalf, relaying the ancestors' wishes. The living ruler consulted his predecessors about the coming year.

Every ruler who had ever held the fringe crown was present. The living and the dead sat together in Inti's light.

Sacrifice and Feast

White llamas, the purest offering, were slaughtered in vast numbers. Molina recorded two hundred on the first day alone. Priests examined the lungs and heart, reading Inti's will about the coming year. The sacrificed animals were prepared and distributed among the assembled thousands.

Chicha flowed. The Sapa Inca personally served the most important nobles from golden cups. Coca and gold figurines were offered. Warriors reenacted Pachacuti's victory over the Chankas. Provincial delegations presented tribute. Nine days the festival lasted, and when it ended, new fire burned in every hearth from Cusco to the edges of the empire.