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Thousands of pilgrims from all corners of the Andes mountains gather in the Ausangate region, Peru, to take part in the traditional Snow and Star festival dating back to 1783.
Vivid Colors at Peru's Snow and Star Festival
As reported by The Guardian, the Qoyllur Rit’i festival, also known as the Snow and Star festival, takes place every summer in the Sinakara valley at the base of Mount Ausangate, creating a mystical and spiritual atmosphere.
This is an occasion for local people to express their religious devotion to the glaciers, snow, and stars in the sky.
During the festival, young women dress in brightly colored flowing dresses, while young men play drums and flutes to celebrate the appearance of Jesus and the Pleiades constellation, signaling the beginning of the harvest season.
In accordance with festival tradition, locals gather around the glacier area believed to possess 'energy and power' for healing purposes.
At present, men clad in Ukukus attire, resembling half-man half-bear, carve ice blocks for the villagers, seeking to bring faith, luck, and good health.
The snow and star festival faces the risk of extinction as recent climate change phenomena have led to increasingly high temperatures, resulting in the melting of most sacred glaciers.
As a consequence, the festival rituals once conducted at the glaciers now pilgrimage to higher snow-covered mountain slopes.
In 1997, the Peruvian government conducted a study on glacier streams and observed a 20% reduction over 30 years due to climate change.
Meanwhile, Peru's National Climate Change Commission forecasts that all glaciers in Peru could disappear within the next 40 years.
According to Huynh Phuong/Tuoi Tre
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Reference: Travel guide Mytour
MytourJune 22, 2018
