Chiaraje
Since ancient times, ritual gatherings have taken place throughout the Andes to make offerings to their deities. In some of these gatherings, offerings to Mother Earth and the Apus are made with human blood. According to the Andean worldview, this helps fertilize Pachamama and ensure the prosperity of the harvests.
One of the most striking of these gatherings is the ritual battle of Chiaraje, which has the particularity of pitting two neighboring communities against each other on a real battlefield. Every January 20th, in southern Peru, near Cusco, the communities of Checca and Quehue face each other on top of a mountain called Chiaraje, more than 5,600 meters above sea level, throwing stones at each other with slingshots known as huaracas.
This tradition is still practiced today, and different versions of its meaning coexist throughout its history. For some participants, the encounter is a game; for others, it is a deeply rooted religious ritual inherited from their ancestors, the K'anas, who were considered among the strongest warriors of the Inca Empire.
In 2015, my friend Felipe and I traveled to Chiaraje to photograph and make a documentary about this encounter. We spent a couple of weeks in the community of Checca, surrounded by one of the most extreme landscapes in the Andes, witnessing a tradition that was as unique as it was difficult to understand.
These photographs are a respectful approach to this ritual and to the people who, year after year, continue to keep Chiaraje alive.
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