A young Incan boy prepares to perform at the Inti Raymi festival of the sun in Saksaywaman, Peru.
Inti Raymi is a traditional religious ceremony of the Inca Empire in honor of the god Inti (Quechua for “sun”), the most celebrated deity in Inca religion. It is the observance of the winter solstice and the Inca New Year in the Andes, when the hours of daylight would begin to lengthen again.
The first Inti Raymi was in 1412. The last Inti Raymi with the Inca Emperor’s presence was carried out in 1535. Since 1944, an annual theatrical representation of the Festival has been taking place at Saksaywaman on June 24, 2km from the original site in central Cusco.
