The Virgin Del Carmen Of Paucartambo

THE CUSCO LOCATION OF PAUCARTAMBO IS THE SCENE OF A FESTIVITY OF GREAT TRADITION AND RELIGIOUS FERVOUR. THE FEAST OF THE "MAMACHA CARMEN" STANDS OUT BECAUSE OF THE VARIETY OF DANCES THAT ARE PRACTICED IN IT AND BECAUSE OF THE COLOURFUL MASKS AND COSTUMES THAT THE PARTICIPANTS USE.

Data:
- The Virgin Del Carmen of Paucartambo feast is celebrated between July 15 and 18.
- It has been declared a National Cultural Heritage by the INC in the year 2006.

THE EFFIGY
The effigy of the Virgin of Paucartambo is characterized because of its happy face. The also called "Mamacha Carmen" holds baby Jesus with her left arm and, in the right hand; she holds a golden ceremonial cane. She wears a brown habit, embroidered with silver and gold threads, crown, cloak, white mantillas and a pectoral of embroider cloth with precious stones. During the festivity, she changes clothing for a yellow sepia dress. The rest of the ornaments she keeps, with the exception of the pectoral. When she rests in her altar, two figures which represent the merchants of Puno (the qhapac qulla) and the black slave (qhapac Negro) accompany her.

THE DANCING BANDS
The dancing bands play different functions during the festivity. The qhapaq ch'unchu (sylvan or chunchos), of white faces, have one of the most important roles, because they are the Virgin guards. They appear accompanied by a typical band of whistles, bass drums and drums. The qhapaq qulla also intervene, who represent the highland merchants and dance accompanied by the music of accordions, quenas and violins. On July 17th, both groups present a very colourful confrontation in the main square of the town.
The selection of the band members is very demanding. Normally, they ask the dancers to be natives of Paucartambo or have some link with the community. It is normal that they also ask them to speak Quechua (native tongue).

BEGINNING OF THE FEAST
The afternoon of July 15th, the reveille is played which marks the beginning of the celebrations. The dancing bands make their way to the temple's atrium of the Virgin of Carmen and exhibit their best choreographies, while the congregation arrives, carrying offers to the Virgin, which include candles, flowers and dolls. During the night, the feast goes on at the square. Bonfires are lit and the dancers jump over them. Then, without using the typical costume, they offer a serenade to the Virgin dancing in front of the temple's door. July 16th is the main day of the event. In the morning, a religious mass is celebrated and then, the prioste, organizer and the one responsible of the entire festivity, gives out, from the balcony of the municipal library, handicraft objects, toys and fruit to the inhabitants that participate in the feast. They also give away bags with eleven types of bread as an expression of gratitude to the authorities and the dancing bands. In the afternoon, the procession takes place. The Virgin walks about the streets guarded by the dancers of the qhapac ch'unchu and followed by the rest of the dancing bands and devotees. Some saqras (demons) dance jumping about and other screaming from the roofs or balconies. At the end of the walkabout, some dancing bands carry on the celebration at the square. Others gather at their respective karguyuc (foremen) houses for dinner.

DAY OF THE GUERRILLA
The second day of celebrations starts off with the dancing bands visiting the cemetery (photo 1), where they sing and evoke their ancestors. Then, they visit the jail, located at the outskirts of the town. There they stage the dance of the siklla, which represents the trail of a young villager. In the afternoon, the Virgin arrives to the Carlos III Colonial Bridge and goes back to her temple.
In the end of the afternoon, the "guerrilla" between the collas and the chunchos gets started (photo 2). The demons also participate, who are in charge of picking up the "dead" that lay down on the ground. The performance ends with the funeral cortège of the chief of the collas, who dies during the battle. Finally, the dancing bands dance the kacharpari or farewell.

FINAL ACTS
The morning of July 18th the mass of watatiaykuy (live the year) takes place, which marks the end of the event. The head of the town's parish gives his blessings to the prioste and the karguyuq who will be in charge of organizing the next feast. Then, the Virgin arrives to the temple's baptistery carried by the saqras, whom for that time have stopped using the masks of devils. This act represents the victory of the Virgin upon the demon's forces. The image is placed in the temple's atrium and it is inclined four times, in the direction of each of the cardinal points. The next day, it is tradition that the participants drink the hampinakuy, a camomile tea with mint, celery and aguardiente or pisco which is used to mitigate the fatigue of the participants. The musicians are entertained with fruit and handicrafts, a tradition that is known as walqanche. Finally, the Virgins clothing is changed for the one she will use for the rest of the year.

THE TEMPLE
A cobbled atrium and an arch with ornaments, also made out of stone, embellish the entrance to the façade of the temple of the Virgin of Paucartambo. The entrance is characterized by Corinthian columns and the fonts of holy water made from cut stone. It has two lateral chapels: the one of the Lord of Sentence and the one of the Lord of the Tremors. In the inside, there is a major altar of a neoclassic style, as well as other altars and altarpieces, and it still keeps a wooden pulpit, religious paintings and paintings of the Escuela Cuzqueña (School of Cuzco). The bells that sound during the festivity keep an inscription where the date of their creation is read: 30 of August of 1794.

DANCES AND CHARACTERS
During the festivity, numerous dances from the south of Peru are performed. These are accompanied by music from accordions, violins, quenas, harps and bass drums. The motifs of the dances are different: the k'achampa, for example, is inspired from the Incan warriors; the majeno, in the ancient muleteers or muleskinners who commercialized the aguardiente (liquor) and the Chilean auq'a satirizes the Chilean soldiers who invaded Peru during the Pacific War. In the dance of the black qhapac, the dancers represent the slaves who arrived from Africa (photo 2). Another very popular dance is the waka waka, which satirizes the bullfighters from the Colonial time (photo 1).
The masks are the elements that the dancers use to interpret their characters. There are masks with human faces and of animals. Some of them, like the ones from the black qhapac, have a suffering expression; others, like the ones from the maqt'as, young villagers that make people laugh, are of joy. The masks of the devil also stand out (saqras) with features of a rooster, cat, pig or bat, decorated with reptile figures.

Useful Facts:
The town of Paucartambo is located in the province of the same name, in the region of Cusco. From the city, the trip by bus takes about three hours. The town gets organized to offer accommodation for the visitors.
Temperatures are usually very cold during the feast days; that's why it is recommended to take winter clothing.

Web Pages:
- INC http://www.inc.gob.pe
- Others http://www.infocusco.com

DAILY CONSUMPTION
The coca is consumed more frequently during the collective work, both in the ayni, reciprocal presentation of work between the members of a community, as in the minka, the work in favour of the community. In both cases, the comuneros (villagers or people that belong to a community), neighbours and relatives agree on the days of work. Approximately at seven in the morning, the members of the community make their way to the work place chewing coca leaves. The chacchado takes place on five occasions: at the beginning of work, during the first break (nine in the morning), at noon, at three in the afternoon and at five, when the working day comes to an end.
The coca is not chewed on its own. The chacchadorla sweetens it with llipta or tocra. These elements, which are considered indispensable, are made with ashes of banana leaves and of maguey. Some people add anisette to improve the taste. In the coast they are used to chewing the coca with lime. At the moment of chacchar, you take in a deep breath so you do not salivate too much. When coca leaves are acquired, it is habit that before starting to chacchar some leaves be burnt in honour of the Andean divinities. The right way to offer to the other kintus (complete coca leaves) is by gathering them up by one of their vertex with the thumb and the index. The guest will hold it in the same way and must blow above the kintu at the same time as he invokes the gods. This act is called pukuy. The invitation is preceded from the Quechua phrase: "mastiquemos juntos- Lets chew together".

THE TRIBUTE PAYMENT TO THE EARTH
August is the chosen month by most of the Andean villagers to pay tribute to the earth. The ritual, which lasts an hour, takes place at homes with the purpose of gaining favours from the pachamama (mother earth) for fertility, abundance and health of the animals. The tribute is paid by the head of the family who is in charge of leading the ritual. Before, he asks for God's permission, by reciting the prayer “Our Father”. Then, he places three plates on the ground: two are for the earth and one, for the wind. Above them, he places papers, a layer of cotton and the kintus kintus, to which he puts llama's fat and wine. He adds rice, corn, coffee, cookies, candy, sugar, incense, huairuros and a llama's fetus. In the tribute to the wind, the same procedure is repeated, but replaces the offering of the llama's fetus with two pig's fetus. These are burnt at two in the morning. After sharing liquor and coca leaves, the participants hug and leave. The only one who stays is the head of the family, who pick up the ashes to bury them.

SOCIAL USES
The coca is also part of several rituals related to the family and community life. The night before a marriage proposal of a woman, the suitor chews coca leaves. If they taste sweet, it is believed that the answer of the woman's parents will be positive. In that case, the man and his mother make the proposal. After making the commitment formal, the bride and groom's families share coca and aguardiente. The birth of new members to a family is also an occasion to chacchar. During the birth, the present family members chew coca because it is believed that by doing this they will protect the newborn and the mother from the bad spirits. If a boy is born, the father and the other men of the house are used to burn the placenta with a kintu, as an omen of good fortune. At the funerals, while they highlight the virtues of the deceased and pray that he meets with God, the relatives share a handful of coca with the attendees. Also, it is chaccha during the funeral cortège and the burial.

TRIBUTE PAYMENTS AT WORK
Besides the earth tribute payment, the coca takes part in many other rituals. Many are work-related. Before the beginning of the Work Day, there is usually a small tribute payment to the pachamama called pagapa. Another small ritual is the phukurikuy, which takes place before starting digging to build andenes (agriculture platforms) or ducts. Also, they pray and offer a pagapa once the work is finished. Five or six complete coca leaves are chosen to make the offer and some more to chacchar with the pachamama. In the same way, tributes take place before starting a house construction or during the agriculture labours. When it is time to sow, the villagers make a payment to mother earth so that the weeds won't affect their crops. After the harvest, the owners give out kintus among the assistants and places coca leaves over the products so that the environment doesn't mistreat them. This ritual is accompanied by prayers.

OTHER TRIBUTE PAYMENTS
On the eve of a short trip, the relatives of the traveller chew coca. If it tastes bitter, it is considered a bad omen. In that case, the bun has to be spitted out immediately and must go back to chacchar until you feel that the coca is sweet. The travellers that will have to cross mountains, caves and unknown roads must do payments so they don't receive “the damage”. The villagers believe that spirits of the hills and of the ancestors live in the caves; that's why, when a traveller finds a cave, he must throw a chewed bun of coca. If he does not do this, the spirits will punish him causing stomach aches and making him not feel well in general.
The coca is also used by curanderos (healers) to make payments for the health of a sick patient. The offerings are made up of coca leaves, food, alcohol and fabrics. Its intention is to pacify the anger of the divinity that provoked the sickness. Other rituals of healing consist of burning coca, incense and food. In this case, if the ashes that come out are white, it is a sign of good omen. If the ashes are black, the offer must be repeated.

MEDICINAL USES
Poor inhabitants also use the coca for therapeutic means. Because of its analgesic qualities, it is used to control discomfort like tooth aches. It is also used in teas to treat spasms, digestive discomforts, treat aches and to mitigate high altitude sickness (soothe). The poultice of coca leaves are recommended to treat rheumatism. To relief eye irritation, the chacchadas coca leaves mass is applied over the eyelids.

FORETELLING
One of the most known traditional uses of the coca is the foretelling ritual. It is still believed that the shape, size, colour and condition of the leaves can reveal the future. The fortune-teller puts them over a cloak near a coin of scarce value. The little and green leaves represent the children; the faded and mistreated, diseases; the elongated and complete ones, adult man and the rounded ones, women. The diseases are also manifested through this reading. A bone discomfort, for example, will be manifested through an elongated leave. A parted leave represents death.
The ensemble of leaves also give messages: many leaves that are round a small one means protection; all oriented to the same direction, a union; leaves set opposite and scattered, family problems; the union of two leaves by the obverse and reverse, one over the other, means accident or bad luck..

Web Pages:
- DESCO http://www.desco.org.pe/documentos/
- PROMPERU http://www.peru.info/peru.asp

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