At 2pm on the On the 3rd of May In the Plaza de Armas yesterday in downtown Santiago were over 350 + people participating in the Fiesta de La Chakana. The month of May is considered the month of the cross and of the harvest. The Chankana is more than 4 million years old . The Aymara culture continues reproducing the symbol of the chankana in its fabrics. likewise the aymara even consider the lunar calendar of 13 months with 28 you gave each employed month by the ancestors. The 3rd day of Mayo is when the Cruz of the south acquires the astronomic form of a perfect cross. This astronomic cross name was given Chakana.
The program began as all the groups met at 8: 30am in their traditional clothing for buses heading for the hills of Santo Cristobal. They attended a ceremony first to ask for permission from the mountins and to receive energy back from the mountains for the long day ahead. The ritual is held in Potosi, Bolivia when the members of moieties, both men and women, fight hand-to-hand with those of the other moiety. Tinkus occur "between different communities, moieties, or kin groupsIn Bolivia, the Tinku is held around the 3rd of May and lasts for a few days.
Some blood is split back to the ( mother) earth as a symbol and for this to be a prosperous year . In the Andes, a tinku is a "ritual battle." These battles can be part of "festivities or rites of passages and are often sponsored or supervised by political and/or religious authorities." These are similar to games, like boxing, and military training exercises that are done in the United States today. They are celebratory battles that are controlled, as opposed to warfare, which is not controlled or celebratory.
At 11 am they tradionally shared food among all participants as By 12 pm they arrived by buses to the Plaza de Armas to prepare and at 2pm they arrived to begin dancing and playing music with several bands for the next 4 hours. Even one of Santiago famous buskers a clown who works his act in the center of the city was also taken in by the participation of the event. Erick Alvarez is one of the main organizers of the yearly event in Santiago and says, “ The event was brought to Chile by some young students who brought it here years back and the event grows bigger each year with more and more people particpicating.
It isn’t like the fiestas in the northern towns of Chile or Bolivia where it is celebrated but we do it in Santiago the best way we can with what we have here. The experience is different for everyone who is involved and what it means to them. Michelle (foto Michelle web small) 24 years of age has participated for the last 7 years with the Uta masi danza group one of the 10 groups involved . It is more about a celebration about the Cruz de Mayo and the environment for me. Keeping in touch with our tradional roots and culture as we often times forget while living in a large fast pace city.
Article and photographs by : Christian Peña
