Bolivians welcome Andean New Year 5534 with rituals after prolonged conflict

Bolivians welcomed the Andean New Year 5534 on Sunday, embracing the first rays of sun with ancient rituals aimed at recharging energies. The celebration, known as 'Willka Kuti' in Aymara and 'Inti Raymi' in Quechua, occurred amidst ongoing conflicts that have marked the past month and a half.

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this festivity is not only for Bolivia, but for the whole world, because the sun rises for everyone.

In La Paz, dozens gathered before dawn at the Killi Killi viewpoint, a sacred site offering panoramic city views, to await the sunrise. The city's mayor, César Dockweiler, led a ceremony featuring ancestral rites, Aymara prayers, and an offering to Pachamama, the Earth Mother. Nearby, a group performed traditional music and dance.

Attendees raised their hands to the sun, exclaiming 'jallalla,' an Andean expression of 'viva,' to convey good wishes. Indigenous wise woman Elena Martínez Quispe explained the festival's significance extends beyond Bolivia. "The sun rises for everyone," she stated, emphasizing that the celebration marks a renewal of the sun, of people connected to the sun, and of the Earth, ushering in a new cycle for productivity and well-being.

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We are celebrating the Andean New Year, the renewal of each sun, of us who are also part of Tata Inti (sun), of Mother Earth, of a new beginning, a new cycle for production, to walk well, to be well with everything, energized.

Martínez highlighted the purpose of the celebration is to prevent the loss of "ancestrality" among the indigenous peoples of Abya Yala, the indigenous name for the Americas. She noted that wise elders and spiritual leaders gather at sacred sites, often associated with mountain deities known as 'apus,' to welcome the new year. Martínez herself has celebrated 'Willka Kuti' at Killi Killi for about 16 years, viewing the sunrise as a moment to open a new cycle for the "territory, the body," and the "ajayu" or soul, infusing them with the sun's wisdom and strength.

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ancestrality

While Tiahuanaco, a pre-Hispanic UNESCO World Heritage site, traditionally hosts the main festivities, this year's event there was limited to indigenous authorities and local residents due to ongoing blockades. Ceremonies were held in 68 sacred locations across seven of Bolivia's nine regions, according to the Vice-Ministry of Cultures and Folklore.

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for the territory, the body and the ajayu or soul, so that the wisdom and strength of Father Sun is in us walking with that shine that it has.