Situa

The festival was held when the rain season had just begun and many illnesses tended to occur. Rituals to the Creator-god were thus executed both in Cusco and in other lands conquered by the Incas in order to purify them and "send the evil away". purification by bathing in the river water, lighting large straw torches (like large balls, called panconcos) and preparing and eating the ritual maize buns called sanco (sankhu in Quechua) whose dough was often mixed with blood. All were allowed to drink chicha (fermented beverage, corn beer) during the four days festival «without stopping». A great number of persons and beasts gathered in the main plaza of Cusco (Haucaypata), which in Inca times was much larger than the current . Figures of the deities from the huacas (shrines) were carried to their respective temples they had in Cusco. To obtain proper cleanliness of the city, all foreigners and those with physical defects were banished from the city for a distance of two leagues. According to Molina, Pachacuti Inca was the sovereign who defined the way the festival had to be performed, giving rules to an ancient tradition. ==Description of the situa==

Preparation According to Garcilaso, the priests could detect the equinox by observing the shadows of stone columns as projected though an east to west line and could discern the exact date of the situa. all the hunchbacks and anyone who had a lesion or defect on their body were taken out of city, being considered as carriers of bad fate. Even the dogs were chased out of the city so that they would not howl. In the meantime, many armed warriors met in the small square in front of the temple, while the statues of the deities from some huacas were brought to that same square. The high priest of the Sun would then declare the festival opened. It was filled with chicha poured on top of it as a sacrifice, which everyone could drink. After this, the men returned to their houses, to end the day eating sanco, which they also put on their faces and in places where they kept their food and clothes. They also threw sanco into the springs, wishing not to be ill and any illness to be kept out of their houses. Sanco was also given to the other members of the family and friends. The mummies of the dead relatives were warmed with sanco, so that they could enjoy the celebration. The day ended in joy, and everyone ate and drank the best foods they had; even the poorest persons had saved food for the festival. and Juan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti Yamqui Salcamaygua is the following: Later remnants When the Spaniards conquered the Empire and imposed the Christian religion as the only one, they started a fight against idolatry, forbidding all Inca festivals and ritual practices to take place. Even the situa, among the most important, was suppressed. It became a sort of folkloric memorial rather than a religious feast. Polo de Ondegardo states in 1559 that the bathing, the drunkenness and some trace of the situa still lasted four days with somewhat differentiated ceremonies, and with a lot of secrecy. == See also ==