The History of Qoyllur rit’i

Abstract

Qoyllur rit’i is a major religious festival held annually in the Cordillera Vilcanota of southeastern Peru, where Catholic and Quechua traditions converge in a syncretic pilgrimage. Timed to coincide with the Southern Hemisphere’s winter solstice and the reappearance of the Pleiades star cluster, the celebration blends Christian iconography—centered on the 18th-century apparition of a radiant Christ child—with enduring Andean ritual practices, including offerings, dances, and ceremonies at Nevado Sinakara. Though the festival’s documented origins date to 1783, its alignment with solstitial astronomy and Indigenous agricultural calendars suggests deeper pre-Hispanic roots. This paper explores the historical, cosmological, and cultural dimensions of Qoyllur rit’i, emphasizing its significance as a living expression of Andean resilience and spiritual continuity.

What is Qoyllur rit’i?

The Qoyllur rit’i is a religious festival held in the Cordillera Vilcanota of the southeastern Peruvian Andes. Blending Catholic and Quechua traditions, it occurs 58 days after Easter, generally near the Southern Hemisphere’s winter solstice (June 21–23). In practice, the festival is celebrated on June 24, which falls just past the solstice but within the broader solstitial period. The celebration begins with a pilgrimage from Mahuayani, Peru, to the base of Nevado Sinakara in the Sinakara Valley of the Cordillera Vilcanota. The term Qoyllur rit’i translates from Quechua as “The Lord of the Snow Star.” The Quechua roots are qoyllur (star) and rit’i (snow), with the title “Señor de Qoyllur rit’i” (Lord of Qoyllur rit’i) reflecting a Spanish colonial overlay that incorporates Christian honorifics alongside Indigenous terminology (Montero Quispe, n.d.).

Ruta tradicional a Qoyllur Rit'i 1

Upon reaching Nevado Sinakara, pilgrims take part in three days of festivities that include offerings, traditional dances, Catholic processions, and Andean ritual practices (Montero Quispe, n.d.).

The Beginnings

The Qoyllur rit’i, in its present form, dates back to the 1780s. According to tradition, a child named Marianito Mayta from Mahuayani encountered a mysterious “white” child who helped him tend his herd on Nevado Sinakara. This child wore garments made of the same fabric reserved for Catholic bishops, which miraculously never faded or became tarnished. One day, however, the garments appeared torn and soiled. Concerned, Marianito offered to travel to Cusco, Peru, to purchase new cloth so that fresh garments could be made. In Cusco, he obtained the fabric reserved for bishops and appealed to Bishop Juan Manuel Moscoso y Peralta, who instructed a parish priest from nearby Ocongate to investigate (Montero Quispe, n.d.).

On June 12, 1783, the priest accompanied Marianito to the pastures, where they witnessed the mysterious child radiating light. Days later, when the priest returned, he again saw the child glowing. As he drew nearer, the child fled behind a rock and vanished. In his place appeared an image of the crucified Christ upon the stone, marking the origin of the present-day devotion to Qoyllur rit’i (Montero Quispe, n.d.).

The Qoyllur rit’i Before Catholicism

The Quechua did not possess a written language prior to the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1532—or, at least, no system of writing has survived colonial suppression. The extent to which khipus functioned as a complex system of record-keeping or storytelling remains uncertain (Platt, 2007). As a result, it is impossible to know with certainty what traditions related to Qoyllur rit’i may have existed before Spanish influence. It is plausible that the festival predates European contact and that Catholic elements, including the Marianito Mayta narrative, were later incorporations introduced under colonial rule.

Andean rituals taking place on Nevado Sinakara 2

Nevertheless, aspects of the celebration—such as the Quechua rituals of offerings, the ceremonies at Nevado Sinakara, and even the name of the festival—suggest pre-Hispanic origins. The name Qoyllur rit’i (The Lord of the Snow Star) is closely tied to the Pleiades star cluster, which becomes visible in the eastern night sky near the Southern Hemisphere’s winter solstice. The observation of the Pleiades has long been central to Andean cosmology and agricultural cycles, and communities in the region continue to mark its reappearance around the solstice (Orlove et al., 2002). However, while these practices demonstrate an enduring agricultural ritual tradition, there is no direct evidence linking a pre-Spanish version of Qoyllur rit’i to the observation of the Pleiades. Rather, the connection remains a plausible hypothesis supported by broader Andean cosmological patterns.

In Andean tradition, the brightness, clarity, and number of stars visible in the cluster serve as indicators for agricultural decision-making. When the cluster appears bright and clearly defined, farmers may plant their crops earlier in the season; when it appears dimmer or less distinct, they delay planting. According to these traditions, the observation of the Pleiades is directly tied to predicting the onset and intensity of the rainy season (Orlove et al., 2002).

Conclusion

The Qoyllur rit’i festival stands as a powerful example of syncretism in the Andes, merging Catholic narratives with enduring Quechua cosmologies rooted in the landscape, stars, and agricultural rhythms. While its formal origins trace back to the late 18th century, the festival’s core—its timing with the winter solstice, the pilgrimage to Nevado Sinakara, and its reverence for celestial bodies like the Pleiades—points to much older, pre-Hispanic traditions. Despite the absence of written records or fully deciphered khipus, the persistence of Andean ritual elements in Qoyllur rit’i offers compelling evidence of Indigenous continuity beneath colonial overlays. In honoring both Christ and the Snow Star, the festival not only reflects historical layers of belief but also reaffirms the resilience of Andean cultural memory in the highlands of the Cordillera Vilcanota.

References

Montero Quispe, R. (n.d.). Qoyllur rit’i: The Lord of the Snow Star. MAVCOR Journal. https://mavcor.yale.edu/mavcor-journal/qoyllur-rit-i-lord-snow-star.

Orlove, B. S., Chiang, J. C. H., & Cane, M. A. (2002). Ethnoclimatology in the Andes: A cross-disciplinary study uncovers a scientific basis for the scheme Andean potato farmers traditionally use to predict the coming rains. American Scientist, 90(5), 428–435. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27857722.

Platt, T. (2007). [Review of The Cord Keepers. Khipus and Cultural Life in a Peruvian Village, by F. Salomon]. Chungara: Revista de Antropología Chilena, 39(2), 285–286. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27802488

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