Feliz Anos Nueve - in the Aymaran culture anyway!
Trip Start
Jan 28, 2008
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55
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Trip End
Sep 18, 2008
Tiahuanaco,
Bolivia
Saturday, June 21, 2008
One such ritual in the Willka Kutu, the welcoming of the Winter Soltice sunrise, hence the Aymaran New Year. This celebration begins in Tiahuanacu, Bolivia, with the first sunrise being viewed by elders through the 1000 year old Sun Gate (Puerta del Sol). Four days later, there is a huge celebration in Cusco, Peru around the Machu Picchu region, and many people make a pilgrimage from Tiahuanacu to Cusco. Cameron and I were pretty stoked that we had fluked being in town for the Aymaran New Year, and planned a little side trip to see the festival.
We were surprised to find that at short notice there was still accommodation available in Tiahaunacu, and booked a triple room for ourselvces and Leah (an intrepid Californian who seeks out Andean mountain peaks for kicks!)
Milk and alcohol drink
. We booked onto a regular day tour of the Tiahuancan ruins, but planned to stay over night instead of returning to La Paz. Our guide, Carlos (Diana Tours) was one of the best we have had all year. His background was in lecturing history in Universities, and more recently, training younger guides in the business. He gave our group a fantastic commentary about La Paz, the Altiplano region, and of course the history of Tiahaunacu.About 3000 years ago, a civilised group of people who watched the starts, built a temple complex where they could worship their gods, semi-gods, and other mortal power figures. The one we heard about most was Pachamama, or Mother Earth. Many animals were important to these people, but the Condor, Puma, Snake, Llama and Fish were very special. Carlos told us that about 400 years after the temple was built, a natural disaster, a 60 year drought, caused the lush forests to disappear and the great lake to dry up. Only the Condor and the Llama survived in the area, and the Fish in the now shrunken Lake Titicaca. The people moved north to find better land, and ended up building Machu Picchu.
The temple complex at Tiahuanacu was covered by a massive mudslide at the end of the great drought. It was rediscovered in the 1930´s. Due to politics, money and weather, the temple complex has only been partially restored. The main seven tiered pyramid is still mostly under a mound of dirt. Carlos explained to us the significance of the buildings shapes, heights, and positions in relation to the starts and mountains.
The tour ended, but the three of us remained in the dusty little town to take a slower walk around the ruins
Our own Indy tour guide, Carlos
. We explored the town a bit, and felt sad that it probably was headed towards a bleak tourist-invaded future.Anyway, the locals started partying about 11pm. It was bloody freezing, but Leah and I wandered through the plaza, amused by all the toys, food and alcohol for sale. We tried Sucombi, a milk and cinnamon hot drink, which helped us fall asleep. We only found out later it also included a potent shot of alcohol, kind of like turps. Cameron missed these late night festivities, he feeling pretty ill and was already in bed.
We awoke at 5:30am, already in our thermals, and made our way through the firelit streets to the temple ruins, and the Puerta del Sol, to watch the dawn ceremony. We found a spot on top of the pyramid mound, overlooking the Sun Gate area where the Aymaran Priests, town elders, and town officials were waiting for the sunrise. Hundreds of locals and visitors were dancing to keep their toes warm.
As the sun rose, people raised their hands. There was drumming, pan flutes, and somewhere down near the Sun Gate, the President of Bolivia slit a llamas throat and burned the body as an offering. It was really a great moment, but we were happy to head back down into town, to the nearest café for some hot breaky.
By lunch time, most of the locals had passed out asleep, propped up against walls or strewed across the railway tracks. We hitched a ride back to La Paz with a Bolivian couple, just in time for Cam and I to relax before our overnight bus trip headed south to Uyuni.
Happy New Year!!!
Comments
Rtn to work
Hi Jill & Cam - have been keeping up with your travels & photography! Congrats on engagement. Have returned to work three days a week (14/7/08). Health good at the moment. Meredith