Tinku

In an extreme height amidst the Andes Bolivianos each May 3, around eighty indigenous communities arrive at the village of Macha, located in the north of Potosí state, in Bolivia, to celebrate the festival of Tinku, which in Quechua means "meeting". A meeting that they say, between communities, will remove tensions for some animal stolen or some land dispute . A meeting to show their bravery and the possibility choose a possible partner to get married. An encounter where they will fight. An encounter where there will be some deaths. With the blows, their blood shed will be an offering to the Pachamama (Mother Earth) to fertilize the soil and get good crops in the coming year. Although the celebration has deep roots in the indigenous past, it has merged with the Catholic faith transforming itself into a syncretic festival where communities come to the town square, carrying the Wila Cruz, which often has face masks like that of Jesus, whose honor must be celebrated through dances and drinks. This type of ritual encounters were more common in The Andes in the past, but have been outlawed by the church and the police. Currently, the Tinku is only held in some remote villages like Macha, where tradition and belief is so ingrained in its culture, that they continue meeting today.