Takanakuy

On the 25th of December, Christmas day, in the middle of the Peruvian Andes, in a remote province of Cusco, at an altitude of higher than 3600 meters, occurs one of the most important festivals of the year for residents of Chumbivilcas. A practice established more than two centuries ago, was born as a form of rebellion against the Spanish conquest and religious imposition. Takanakuy is the struggle among the residents of the region to resolve the conflicts generated during the year, allowing them to start a new cycle in harmony. A necessary catharsis in a place where there is no presence of State, of the judicial system or of any type of governing force. Apart from that, the rite affirms, in its own way, the honor of each participant. Two masked men, each with a stuffed bird adorning his head, face each other with fists raised in the middle of a gigantic human arena. It was there that this fantastic adventurey, Takanakuy, began: in a bar in downtown Lima. —yusufpiskin