2021-08-24 Tue

Inti Raymi is a traditional winter solstice celebration in Peru. The festival of Inti Raymi was a religious ceremony that honored the Incan sun god Inti.

The sun was worshiped as a patron deity of the Inca Empire. Inti Raymi marked the beginning of a new agricultural season. The festival was preceded by three days of fasting. The celebration itself lasted for nine days and involved colorful processions, dances, feasting, and ritual animal sacrifices to ensure good crops.

The first Inti Raymi was held in the early 15th century. The main celebration takes place at Saksaywaman, a walled complex near the city of Cusco, the site of the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Celebrations involve colorful costumes, music, dancing, and traditional food.

It was previously banned by the Spanish but was revived in 1944 as a historical reconstruction of the ancient Incan festival. It has been celebrated on June 24 since that year. Peru issued a number of stamps to celebrate this festival. The above stamp is a 3 Peruvian nuevo sol depicting the Inti Raymi festival with sun worship that prevailed during the ancient time. The stamp was issued to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the revival of the festival.

Image Courtesy: colnect.com