Inti Raymi

Here in Ecuador (as well as other parts of the former Incan Empire), the celebration of the summer solstice is a big deal.  Last year we went to a festival in Ingapirca, some Cañari/Incan ruins a few hours north of Cuenca.  This year we went to Chobshi, another town about an hour away from Cuenca that is known for a cave where a prehistoric culture lived and a ruined pre-Incan castle.

Last year we walked around the ruins and watched local groups perform traditional dances.  The weather was beautiful.  This year was a bit different.  We ended up getting our auras cleansed by some hippies in a castle in the rain.

Apparently there was supposed to be traditional dances and such at Chobshi, but the intermittent downpours seemed to prevent that.  Carlos and I had some lunch at the museum, then made our way down to the castle (15 minute walk on a muddy road) to await the ceremony that was supposed to take place around 4PM.

For disclosures sake, I don't believe in people having good energies or bad energies.  I don't believe what the witch doctors tell me.  I don't believe that visiting the curanderas will stop babies from crying or get rid of my nightmares.  But I go because the people I care about believe in these things.  And because I find these events interesting.

So the ceremony starts.  We all form a circle.  There is some of the harvest (maize, bananas, apples, etc.) in the center and a few guys trying to keep a small portable fire going in the rain.  There is some chanting towards the four cardinal directions with each of the four elements (air, water, earth, and fire).  Then there is a sign.  A rainbow appears.  We must be doing something right.

Then some of the leaders come around to everyone in the circle and use each element to bless each person.  I am tickled with a feather (air), sprinkled with water (water, duh), given maize to throw in the fire (earth), and finally bathed in smoke (fire).  There is some more chanting, some more music.  Then the leader throws a bunch of herbs of the ground for everyone to take so that they can be cleansed.

So Carlos grabs a few herbs and we go wait for the smoke men to cleanse us.  He told me that my aura was very dirty.  I told him that I had nightmares almost every night.  Scanning his tools, he made a quick diagnosis.  My treatment was as follows (note: I couldn't take photos of myself and Carlos was also being cleansed as well, so the process photos are of others).

First he grabbed to sticks, small thin branches, and proceeded to whip the air around me.

Then I was given a crystal to hold in my hands, while he tapped small stones around my head.

Next were the feathers, which I guess was meant to calm the air.

I was not hit with flowers.  This time I just needed to stand on them, but I don't have a photo of that.

I think after that was the alcohol, which was sprayed upon me.

Then the conch shell was blown all around me.

And that was it.  I got a hug at the end (sorry, no photos of that).

I am not sure what the full process was for Carlos, since part of it was occurring simultaneously.  But I did see that he had the bad spirits pushed out of him, i.e., he got whacked on the back a few times, like you would pat someone who was coughing, only harder.

At the end, Carlos felt better.  But I felt the same, just wet.

I wonder what will happen next year?