Qoyllur Rit’i, the annual sacred festival held in the high Andes Mountains of Peru at the foot of Mt. Ausangate, in the Valley of Sinakara, is probably the most important festival of the year. It combines a dangerous moonlit trek to what remains of a melting glacier in an ancient Andean ritual of renewal by sacred Apu waters with the Roman Catholic ritual of the Mass, celebrating the Lord of the Snow Star. The fiesta runs three days and nights without pause. It is an exhausting cacophony of noise, a riot of costume, and a spectacle of movement. Part of the festivities include dancing and dressing up as various mythological or historical figures each wearing their uniquely identified costumes. One of these groups, the Qollas, dress in this mask with a hat, a woven sling, and llama skin and represent the Aymara residents of the Altiplano region of the Andes mountains. Another group, called the Ukukus, or bears, also wear this type of mask.
Fair and ethically
traded products
traded products
- Offering authentic, sustainable products that support artisans, their families, and indigenous ways Learn More...
Providing a connection to the sacred
arts of indigenous communities
arts of indigenous communities
- Consciously serving our community for over 22 years with integrity and passion Learn More...
Living in harmoney with each other
and our earth
and our earth
- Reducing our use of resources with Earth conscious shipping and packaging practices Learn More...
Fair and ethically traded products. Learn More
- Offering authentic, sustainable products that support artisans, their families, and indigenous ways Learn More...
Providing a connection to the sacred arts of indigenous communities. Learn More
- Consciously serving our community for over 22 years with integrity and passion Learn More...
Living in harmoney with each other and our earth. Learn More
- Reducing our use of resources with Earth conscious shipping and packaging practices Learn More...