Coyllority Festival Photo Gallery by Sergio Pessolano at pbase.com

Coyllority Festival

P E R U

The Coyllority (or Qoyllur Rit’i) is the festivity of the 'Lord of Ice' and the most important indian procession in America. It takes place during three days in a small valley at 16,000 feet altitude, close to the top of the snowy peak of Ocongate Mountain (Apu Sinakhara), which is located in the district of Ocongate (province of Quispicanchis, department of Cusco). This festivity join two traditions: the andean and the catholic tradition as theycelebrate that the image of Christ appeared on a solid rock at 16,000 feet altitude. Words can’t do justice to this extraordinary people gathering. It is a medieval epic, a pre columbian pagan dance, a primal spiritual expression of human devotion and love of life and Divine expressed through 80,000 natives coming togheter to pray, dance, and affirm life in ancient ritual. I was unprepared for the immensity of it, both in physical terms, the sheer mass of humanity, but also in energetic, or spiritual terms. Dancers come from as far away as Bolivia and Argentina. The costumes vary widely, from the Spanish mask and dress style of the Bolivian dancers to the headdresses of macaw feathers worn by the jungle tribes. Coming from the far reaches of what use to be the Inca Empire, they all travel the grueling, dusty, winding anddangerous roads to get to the base of the mountain. Then comes the arduous daylong climb to the 16,000 feet high valley, surrounded by glaciers, where the festival takes place. But the real mystics in this ceremony are the Ukukus or Pabluchas, the 'Soldiers of God' as they are called. They dress shaggy costumes and knit masks, bring long whips and speak with high pitched voices. They perform a secret all-night-long ceremony on the glaciers, from which some of them do not return. The next morning theynext morning they come down in long dark columns, each nation distinguished by the flags they carry, giving out deep sounds from special bottles they blow on. They bring back large chunks of ice on their backs, symbolizing the cristallization of the prayers of their tribe, the nourishment of their nation.