Intirraymi
Inti Raymi (festival of the sun) is a ceremony celebrated in honor of Inti (the sun god), by the current inhabitants of the Andean countries. Being an Inca tradition, Inti Raymi remains a rite for many other indigenous communities of Inca legacy, some of which are settled in other parts of the ancient Inca territory, such as in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia and Chile.
The Embassy of Ecuador in New Delhi has thought about developing, for the first time in India, a cultural event in tribute to Inti raymi. Andean cultures have celebrated Chakana Day (Andean cross) every 3rd of May, for four thousand years and this cross has four ends and four intermediate points that represent eight ceremonies of the Andean culture, 4 coinciding with the solstices. The two solstices occur on June 21st and December 21st and mark the time of days and nights. In Ecuador and many Latin American countries, the celebration of the winter solstice or Intirraymi (Feast of the Sun) has a great cultural and historical meaning that begins with a ritual in honor of Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) in gratitude for the crops harvested and it is celebrated from June 21st to 28th of each year.
To commemorate that day, the Embassy of Ecuador, in collaboration with the center of New Delhi, will put on a stage performance with dramatized readings of the ceremony. The ceremony will begin with the making of the chakana by a "Yachac" (sage in the Quechua language), Jorge Vinicio Anrango Cabascango, who will heal the space followed by the wind ritual and a dance around the chacana with guitar music ( Jorge Anrango) and the sampoña (Juan José Saenz). The ritual will end with an offering of the harvest to all the guests.
