Festivals, Sacred Rituals, Religion
Peruvian festivals, pilgrimages, religions, religious ceremonies, sacred rituals, sacred beliefs, cosmology
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Climate Change & Disappearing Glaciers, Festivals, Sacred Rituals, Religion, Peru's Andes Mountains, Traditions + Rituals, Water
Three-faced Ukuku, Guardian of the Glacier
In Andean culture, ukukus represent mythical bear-men who guard the glaciers at Qoyllur Rit'i pilgrimage and assist in other village rituals. Each year, young men volunteer to serve as their village's ukukus and bring health and prosperity to the community. Jorge photographed this ukuku at the June 2006 Qoyllur Rit'i pilgrimage. They wear masks to protect themselves from the cold, but this ukuku was sporting one with three faces. In his hand, he holds a whip, used to fight the condemned souls who haunt the glacier and to punish pilgrims who drink alcohol at the festival, which is forbidden.
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A Peruvian (non)Thanksgiving Epiphany
It’s Friday, November 26, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States but which, in Peru, is just November 26. We don’t celebrate Turkey Day or Black Friday in this Andean nation of 30 million people. No pilgrims landed here. Just conquistadors. The locals were eating cuy, not turkey, when Pizarro invaded the place and smashed the Inca Empire. The conquistadors weren’t big on saying Thanks. They just grabbed. I was feeling unexpectedly sad yesterday morning. It was my third Non-Thanksgiving Day in Peru, and you think I would have gotten over it, but I hadn’t. What made my disappointment a surprise is that I’ve never been big on the holiday. Back in the…
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“All Hail the Glacier Gods”: El Fotografo’s MSNBC Pix of Qoyllur Rit’i
Back in December, msnbc.com published a photo story on Qoyllur Rit’i and global warming, with photos by El Fotógrafo and captions by yours truly. I neglected to provide the link to that slide show, which includes some of EF’s strongest images of the dangerous (and endangered) glacier pilgrimage, so here it is, belatedly: “Peru’s Disappearing Holy Glacier.” This photo, above, of a veteran ukuku is one of my favorites. The guy must be about 40 years old, but exposure to the harsh Andean elements has made his face a craggy moraine field. Most of the ukukus at QR are in their late teens and early 20s; you don’t see a lot of…
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Happy Non-insemination of the Virgin Mary’s Mother Day!
Happy Immaculate Conception Day! Did you think that this was the day that Mary did (not) get shtuped by Joseph and Jesus was immaculately conceived? I did. I even tweeted about it, erroneously. Thank god for Wikipedia and the efforts of reporters on the religion beat. Because it turns out that December 8 is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose birthday is celebrated September 8 and whose own conception is said to fall nine months earlier, on today’s date. As one Wikipedia contributor ponderously points, the Virgin Mary’s “immaculate conception in the womb of her mother, through sexual intercourse, should not be confused with the…
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Thank You, Lord of the Miraculous Chocolates
I was raving the other day about the chocolates and other treats made by nuns and sold at the church of the Nazarenes, in downtown Lima, where El Señor de los Milagros lives. I made myself so hungry writing that post, I had to go to the Nazarenes the next day and buy a stash from a nun in a brown Carmelitas habit. I’m not Catholic but I felt guilty going to church just to buy candy, so I picked up a purple religious candle while I was at it. Back home I lit the candle and said, Thank you, El Señor de los Milagros, for inspiring the barefoot sisters of…
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Peruvian Lord of the Miracles Batting .758, Survey Says
A recent poll by the University of Lima indicated that more than three-quarters of devotees of El Señor de los Milagros say the Peruvian Christ figure has answered their prayers. Nearly 76 percent — 75.8 percent — of those surveyed say that their prayer to or request of the Lord of the Miracles was granted, reports El Comercio. Some of the miracles attributed to El Señor include people being cured of brain cancer, handicapped people regaining use of their legs and sailors being rescued from sinking submarines. The Church does not keep records of these miracles. They are mainly anecdotal. The cult of the Lord of the Miracles reached a fever…
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Purple Month Strikes Again
It’s mes morado(purple month) again in Lima, and the faithful are dressed head-to-toe in purple clothing, a sign of their devotion to El Señor de los Milagros. This miracle-working Christ figure is housed in the Church of the Nazarenes, in downtown Lima (see photo above), where thousands of worshippers come to pray and make offerings each October. I blogged about Purple Month and the Lord of the Miracles in An American in Lima last year. Then I was fascinated by (1) the burning devotion of the faithful; (2) the creative ways that people found to weave purple into their wardrobes; and (3) the abundance of seriously good candy and pastries to be had during…
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Happy, Fiestas Patrias, Peru!
July 28 marks Peru’s declaration of independence from Spain in 1820, and today Peruvians are celebrating Fiestas Patrias with almuerzos, parties and plenty of booze. More than 1300 litres of pisco will flow from the fountain in Lima’s historic Plaza de Armas, served to passersby compliments of the Municipality of Lima. The city’s also sponsoring performances by Afro-Peruvian musicians, paso horses and a fireworks display. Events start at 11:30 in the morning and run continuously for the next 12 hours. El Hijo’s British-Peruvian school put on a big outdoors Fiestas Patrias event two weeks ago that upstaged the previous year’s effort. The schoolkids dressed in elaborate costumes and performed regional dances…
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Blogging & Social Media, Festivals, Sacred Rituals, Religion, Money, Economics, Politics, Peru's Andes Mountains
Blogging about Greed and Injustice in Cusco
Many thanks to Alenja and Holly of Collecting Tokens for including my rant on the archbishop of Cusco as a June “Just Post for a Just World.” The Just Posts roundtable highlights “posts about topics of social justice and activism in all shapes and sizes,” writes Alenja. She adds that “Holly and I are pleased to share this wealth of posts that inspire and move and make us think.” I am honored to be part of the June roundtable, and I encourage everyone to check out Collecting Tokens’ recommended readings. I’ll be adding that “Just Posts” logo to my left sidebar as soon as I figure out the code. 🙂
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Supermarket Cowboys
Peru’s biggest supermarket chain – Wong – plays up Fiestas Patrias in a big way, sponsoring patriotic events and featuring the “flavors of Peru” during the month-long season. The store’s colors are red and white, the colors of the Peruvian flag, but to celebrate the Independence Day spirit during July, some employees wear outfits distinctive to Peru. The young men who bag your groceries wear these white ponchos with red scarves and big straw hats – the traditional costume of el chalán, the horse trainer or cowboy from northern Peru. Peru is such a service-oriented country that the Wong bagmen will walk you home with your groceries, free of charge…
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Happy Father’s Day, Peru-style
A tension has been building up all week in our house as Father’s Day approaches. This was a low-key holiday for us back in the States — El Hijo would make El Fotografo a card at the last minute, or I’d haul him off to the mall to buy an electric razor — but since moving to Peru in ’07, Father’s Day has grown into an Event. This change is partially due to the hoopla made by EH’s British-Peruvian school over Dia del Papá (and over Mother’s Day as well). From what I understand, this is common practice at schools in Lima. I’d always thought of Father’s Day as a family…
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Photo of a Pilgrimage Leader
"The Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i wants us to live together on this earth peacefully," he explained. "We travel to Qoyllur Rit'i in comparsas to learn to share, to stop being egotistical and hypocritical."
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Photo of the Day: Our Campsite at Qoyllur Rit’i
We camped out for three nights (June 6-9) in the valley below receding Qolqepunku Glacier. That dark mountain on the right used to be covered with snow and ice. Once upon a twentieth century… I look at this photo, and what strikes me is how pleasant and cozy the scene appears. Warm sunlight, plenty of space between campsites. That’s anything but the truth. Climbing out of that tent in the frigidly cold morning was torture. I got dizzy bending over in the high altitude and sort of collapsed onto this chair just minutes before El Fotografo snapped this shot. There is an 11-year-old child inside the zippered tent, refusing to come out after a sleepless…
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Climate Change & Disappearing Glaciers, Festivals, Sacred Rituals, Religion, Peru's Andes Mountains, Traditions + Rituals
I End up Doing the Whipping Dance
El Fotografo and I were making friend with our camping neighbors — a comparsa from Cusco — at the Qoyllur Rit’i pilgrimage last weekend, when suddenly one of the young dancers snatched me by the arm. “Come on, dance,” she said. No, I said, several times — No to the satin skirt being pinned around my (enormous) down jacket, No to the elaborate flat hat (montera) being strapped on my head, No to the leather whip being thrust in my gloved hand. No, because this gringa didn’t want to risk having a heart attack by foolishly dancing the “Yawar Mayu” (River of Blood) ritual whipping dance at 15,500 feet above sea level. Not…