Next: 24 Jun 2027
Inti Raymi
Gold for the sun, red and woven stripes for the Inca court, and the rainbow flag of Cusco, at the Andean winter solstice.
The colours of Inti Raymi
Inti Raymi, the festival of the sun, was the great Inca ceremony of the winter solstice. It was banned by the Spanish in the sixteenth century and has been staged again in Cusco since 1944 as a pageant in Quechua, with hundreds of performers. The man who plays the Sapa Inca wears gold: a gold breastplate, gold discs and a crown with red tassel and feathers, because the sun, Inti, was the ancestor of the Inca rulers and gold was called its sweat. His court wear tunics woven in red, yellow, black and white. The square is hung with the flag of Cusco, seven stripes in the colours of the rainbow. In Ecuador and Bolivia communities keep their own solstice dances.
#E0A526Inti goldThe sun god, and the gold worn by the Inca.#B5121BInca redWoven tunics and the royal fringe, dyed with cochineal.#6A3FA0Cusco violetOne of the seven stripes of the city flag.#3E8EDEAndean skyThe blue of the rainbow flag and the high sky.Values are fair approximations, not official shades.
Read about the colours
Also part of it, and being written: Cochineal (The insect dye behind Andean reds.), Rainbow (The flag of Cusco.).
Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Inti Raymi" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.