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National Geographic : 1982 Jul
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( IVE ME YOUR BLESSING, * r Sefor de Qoyllur Riti, so that I G7 can return to my home." I heard the final Mass said at the sanctuary after the ukukus' return. Then the crowds dispersed, except for a group of a thousand or so who headed out for the trek to the village of Tayankani, 20 miles away. Many dancers-such as the one above, at right-were going, and I joined them. Near the sanctuary we saw tiny stone houses and corrals (left) built by pilgrims who were asking the mountain god for the fertility of their livestock. We walked all day to arrive at a small hamlet where we rested until moonrise. Then we continued-a long Peru'sPilgrimageto the Sky single-file line serpentining over the moonlit mountain trails. Along the way stops were made for prayers at various shrines. With the light of dawn the image of Christ was placed at one last chapel (above left) before being carried down to Tayankani. Are the Christian elements of this pilgrimage-the candles, the Mass, the images of Christ-merely a thin veneer of Catholicism pasted over ancient native beliefs? Or have they combined with indigenous religion to form a completely new, or syncretic, belief? The origins of this pilgrimage provide fertile ground for scholarly dispute. For these Andean Indians there is no dispute-just belief. O 69
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