Bolivia has marked the 5,531st Andean and Amazonian New Year with traditional Aymara and Guarani ceremonies at principal archaeological sites across the Altiplano and the country’s east, symbolizing its indigenous heritage, according to Bolivian President Luis Arce.
The ancestral South American indigenous communities have observed this Andean ritual for 5,531 years.
The ceremony commenced with an offering to Pachamama (Mother Earth), followed by the traditional wajta (a combination of sugar, animal fat, sullu, myrrh, and incense) placed onto a bonfire.
The burning of the wajta signifies a positive omen as per indigenous Bolivian customs.
The event was graced by both national and indigenous leaders, along with diplomatic corps based in La Paz, who welcomed the first sunlight with open eyes and hands, symbolizing the acceptance of positive energies in accordance with tradition.
In the country’s eastern region, the Santa Cruz de la Sierra municipality organized the Guaraní Lucero del Alba ceremony, an Amazonian equivalent of the Andean New Year.
This ceremony predicts the conditions of the upcoming agricultural year based on the glow of Venus at dawn on June 21.
In Bolivia, the Andean and Amazonian New Year is celebrated every June 21, underscoring the appreciation of Bolivian culture.
With information from Sputnik