Happy New Year 5521!

As in the past two years, we again joined hundreds of indigenous Aymara to celebrate the June 21 Winter Solstice haling the dawn of the new Aymaran year 5521.

We got up at 4:30 a.m. By 5:10, in utter darkness, we were climbing a nearby mountain along with crowds of other celebrants.

The sacred ceremony is led by Aymaran priests, called yatiris. The head priest, pictured below, opened the event by blessing the mountains, called apus or “protectors,” the sky, Lake Titicaca and its tributaries, and the people of all nations – he named countries in South America, Europe, and also the U.S.

The yatiris solemnly prayed for the blessings of the Supreme Spirit, Pachamama (Mother Earth), Inti, Wara, Yassi (Father Sun, Mother Moon, and the stars), and Manco Kapac and his sister/wife Mama Ocqllo, who, according to the Aymaran creation story, mystically appeared from nearby Isla del Sol, Sun Island, under direct orders from the sun after a very long period when the earth was a dark and lifeless wasteland.

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