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[[Image:Qoyllur R'Iti Shrine by night.jpg|thumb|200px|Shrine of the Lord of Quyllurit'i at night]]
'''Quyllurit'i''' or '''Qoyllur R'iti''' ([[Quechua language|Quechua]] ''quyllu rit'i,'' ''quyllu'' bright white, ''rit'i'' snow, "bright white snow,"<ref>{{cite book|last1=Flores Ochoa|first1=Jorge|title=El Cuzco: Resistencia y Continuidad|date=1990|publisher=Editorial Andina|language=Spanish|chapter=Taytacha Qoyllurit'i. El Cristo de la Nieve Resplandeciente}}</ref>) is a syncretic religious festival held annually at the Sinakara Valley in the southern highlands [[Cusco Region]] of [[Peru]]. Local indigenous people of the Andes know this festival as a native celebration of the stars. In particular they celebrate the reappearance of the [[Pleiades]] constellation, known in Quechua as ''Qullqa,'' or "storehouse," and associated with the upcoming harvest and New Year. The Pleiades disappears from view in April and reappears in June. The new year is marked by indigenous people of the Southern Hemisphere on the [[Winter Solstice]] in June, and it is also a Catholic festival. The people have celebrated this period of time for hundreds if not thousands of years. The [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] and associated festival was inscribed in 2011 on the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]].
According to the Catholic Church, the festival is in honor of the Lord of Quyllurit'i ({{lang-qu|Taytacha Quyllurit'i}}, {{lang-es|Señor de Quyllurit'i}}) and it originated in the late 18th century. The young native herder Mariano Mayta befriended a [[mestizo]] boy named Manuel on the mountain [[Qullqipunku]]. Thanks to Manuel, Mariano's herd prospered, so his father sent him to Cusco to buy a new shirt for Manuel. Mariano could not find anything similar, because that kind of cloth was sold only to the archbishop. Learning of this, the bishop of Cusco sent a party to investigate. When they tried to capture Manuel, he was transformed into a bush with an image of Christ crucified hanging from it. Thinking the archbishop's party had harmed his friend, Mariano died on the spot. He was buried under a rock, which became a place of [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] known as the Lord of ''Quyllurit'i,'' or "Lord of Star (Brilliant) Snow." An image of Christ was painted on this boulder.
The Quyllurit'i festival attracts thousands of indigenous people from the surrounding regions, made up of ''Paucartambo'' groups ([[Quechua languages|Quechua speakers]]) from the agricultural regions to the northwest of the shrine, and ''Quispicanchis'' ([[Aymara ethnic group|Aymara speakers]]) from the pastoral (herders) regions to the southeast. Both [[moiety (kinship)|moieties]] make an annual [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] to the feast, bringing large troupes of dancers and musicians. There are four groups of participants with particular roles: ''ch'unchu,'' ''qulla,'' ''ukuku,'' and ''machula.'' Attendees increasingly have included middle-class Peruvians and foreign tourists.
The festival takes place in late May or early June, to coincide with the full moon. It falls one week before the Christian feast of [[Corpus Christi (feast)|Corpus Christi]]. Events include several processions of holy icons and dances in and around the shrine of the Lord of Quyllurit'i. The culminating event for the indigenous non-Christian population takes place after the reappearance of ''Qullqa'' in the night sky; it is the rising of the sun after the full moon. Tens of thousands of people kneel to greet the first rays of light as the sun rises above the horizon. Until recently, the main event for the Church was carried out by ''ukukus,'' who climbed glaciers over [[Qullqipunku]] and brought back crosses and blocks of ice to place along the road to the shrine. These are believed to be medicinal with healing qualities. Due to the melting of the glacier, there are fears that the ice may no longer be carried down.
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In the city of [[Cuzco]] in the late 17th century, the celebration of Corpus Cristi reached a height under Bishop Manuel de Mollinedo y Angulo (1673–99), with processions through the city including Inca nobles in ceremonial regalia. The bishop also commissioned portraits of the nobles in their ceremonial clothes. Scholars such as Carolyn Dean have studies this evidence for its suggestions about related church rituals. <ref name="lane">[https://muse.jhu.edu/article/11737 Kris E. Lane, "Review: Carolyn Dean, ''Inka Bodies and the Body of Christ: Corpus Christi in Colonial Cuzco, Peru'' "], ''Ethnohistory,'' Volume 48, Number 3, Summer 2001, pp. 544-546; accessed 22 December 2016</ref>
Dean believes that such early churchmen thought that such Catholic rituals could displace indigenous ones. She examines the feast of Corpus Cristi and its relationship to the indigenous harvest festival at winter solstice, celebrated in early June in the Southern Hemisphere.<ref name="lane"/> According to the church, events of the late 18th century that included a sighting of Christ on the mountain [[Qullqipunku]] became part of myth, and the [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] festival of the Lord of Quyllurit'i is still celebrated in the 21st century.
It is told that an Indian boy named Mariano Mayta used to watch over his father's herd of [[alpaca]] on the slopes of the mountain. He wandered into the snowfields of the glacier, where he encountered a [[mestizo]] boy named Manuel. They became good friends, and Manuel provided Mariano with food. When the boy did not return home for meals, Mariano's father went looking for his son. He was surprised to find his herd had increased. As a reward, he sent Mariano to [[Cusco]] to get new clothes. Mariano asked to buy some also for Manuel, who wore the same outfit everyday. His father agreed, so Mariano asked Manuel for a sample in order to buy the same kind of cloth in Cusco.<ref>Randall, ''Return of the Pleiades,'' p. 49.</ref>
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The tayanka tree was sent to Spain, as requested by king [[Charles III of Spain|Charles III]]. As it was never returned, the Indian population of Ocongate protested. The local priest ordered a replica, which became known as Lord of Tayankani ({{lang-es|Señor de Tayankani}}). The burial site of Mariano attracted a great number of Indian devotees, who lit candles before the rock. Religious authorities ordered the painting of an image of Christ crucified on the rock. This image became known as Lord of Quyllurit'i ({{lang-es|Señor de Quyllurit'i}}). In [[Quechua languages|Quechua]], ''quyllur'' means star and ''Rit'i'' means snow; thus, the term means Lord of Star Snow.<ref>Randall, ''Return of the Pleiades,'' p. 49.</ref>
==[[Christian pilgrimage|Pilgrims]]==
[[Image:Qoyllur Rit'i young dancer.jpg|upright|thumb|Dancers at Quyllurit'i. A ''ch'unchu'' performer can be seen behind and to the right of the child.]]
[[File:Festive Costume (3938465581).jpg|thumb|right|220px|Festive costume of Qhapaq Qulla dancers]]
[[Image:Qoyllur Rit'i dancers.jpg|thumb|Dancers with the mountains Qullpiqunkpu and [[Sinaqara]] behind them.]]
The Quyllurit'i festival attracts more than 10,000 [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrims]] annually, most of them indigenous peoples from rural communities in nearby regions.<ref>Dean, ''Inka Bodies'', p. 210.</ref> They are from two [[moiety (kinship)|moieties]]: Quechua-speaking ''Paucartambo,'' people from agricultural communities located to the northwest of the shrine in the provinces of [[Cusco Province|Cusco]], [[Calca Province|Calca]], [[Paucartambo Province|Paucartambo]] and [[Urubamba Province|Urubamba]]; and Aymara-speaking ''Quispicanchis,'' which encompasses those living to the southeast in the provinces of [[Acomayo Province|Acomayo]], [[Canas Province|Canas]], [[Canchis Province|Canchis]] and [[Quispicanchi Province|Quispicanchi]], This geographic division also reflects social and economic distinctions, as the Quechuas of Paucartambo cultivate agricultural crops, whereas Quispicanchis is populated by the [[Aymara ethnic group|Aymara]], whose lives are based on animal husbandry, especially herds of [[alpaca]] and [[llama]].<ref>Sallnow, ''Pilgrims of the Andes'', p. 217.</ref>
Peasants from both moieties undertake an annual [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] to the Quyllurit'i festival, with representatives of each community carrying a small image of Christ to the sanctuary.<ref>Allen, ''The hold life has'', p. 108.</ref> Together, these delegations include a large troupe of dancers and musicians dressed in four main styles:
*[[Ch'unchu (dance)|Ch'unchu]]: wearing feathered headdresses and carrying a wood staff, the ''[[Ch'unchu people|ch'unchu]]s'' represent the indigenous inhabitants of the [[Amazon Rainforest]], to the north of the sanctuary.<ref>Sallnow, ''Pilgrims of the Andes,'' p. 222.</ref> There are several types of ''ch'unchu'' dancers; the most common is ''wayri ch'unchu,'' which comprises up to 70% of all Quyllurit'i dancers.<ref>Randall, "Qoyllur Rit'i", p. 46.</ref>
*[[Qhapaq Qulla]]: dressed in a "waq'ullu" knitted mask, a hat, a woven sling and a [[llama]] skin, ''[[Qulla people|qulla]]s'' represent the Aymara inhabitants of the ''[[Altiplano]]'' to the south of the sanctuary.<ref>Randall, ''Return of the Pleiades,'' p. 43.</ref> ''Qulla'' is considered a [[mestizo]] dance style, whereas ''ch'unchu'' is regarded as indigenous.<ref>Sallnow, ''Pilgrims of the Andes'', p. 223.</ref>
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*Machula: wearing a mask, a humpback, and a long coat, and carrying a walking stick, ''machulas'' represent the ''ñawpa machus,'' the mythical first inhabitants of the Andes. In a similar way to the ''ukukus,'' they perform an ambiguous role in the festival, being comical as well as constabulary figures.<ref>Sallnow, ''Pilgrims of the Andes'', p. 220.</ref>
Quyllur Rit'i also attracts visitors from outside the Paucartambo and Quispicanchis moieties. Since the 1970s, an increasing number of [[middle-class]] mainstream Peruvians undertake the [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]], some of them at a different date than more traditional pilgrims.<ref>Sallnow, ''Pilgrims of the Andes,'' pp. 223–224.</ref> There has also been a rapid growth in the number of North American and European tourists drawn to the indigenous festival, prompting fears that it is becoming too commercialized.<ref>Dean, ''Inka bodies'', pp. 210–211.</ref> The pilgrimage and associated festival were inscribed in 2011 on the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]].
==Festival==
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