Tiahuanaco y el Solsticio
On June 21st, an old Incan tribe, the Aymara, one of Bolivians three most prominent groups, celebrated their New Year on the Winter Solstice. In Tiahuanaco, a pueblo with the country's largest ruins, the Aymara host a festival until the sun rises and the religious rituals begin at the site of the ancient stone structures and statues. In addition to dancing the night away with numbers of bands playing native folk music in the plaza, we shivered through the coldest part of the night (from 3 am until 5 am) camped out near the entrance to the ruins with our small bonfire and a warming bottle of wine. At sunrise, I finally got to watch President Evo Morales speak -- one of my goals since I arrived in Bolivia (although his speech was just a brief introductory kick-off to the ceremonies). Then came the holy men who told this year's future by interpreting scattered coca leaves (unfortunately they spoke Aymara, so the winning PowerBall numbers are still a mystery to me), followed by a larger bonfire where other Aymara poured offerings to their god Pachamama (Mother Earth). The sleepless night and ceremonies in the Tiahuanaco ruins were the perfect way to welcome the rising sun of the New Year 5518.
(Sunrise over the mountains: La Puerta Del Sol, the opening in the stone wall at the bottom of the photo, marks where the first sunlight passes through on the New Year)
(Tiahuanaco)
(President Evo Morales pictured again, second from far left without any hat)
(Faces you'll remember more than the face of the President shown above)
(Aymara Rituals at Sunrise)
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