The Wikis and the Kapak Raymi Ceremony of Ecuador

I have been doing a lot of hard work spiritually lately, on myself and helping others. And Great Spirit seems to be rewarding me. Spirit knows how much I love ceremony and learning about indigenous cultures, so I was gifted the opportunity in Ecuador to attend a private event that included both of these things. It’s held just once a year on or near the Winter Solstice and I just so happened to be in the right place at the right time.

I had arrived in Saraguro the day before, on my weekend off from the zoo volunteer project. I came here because I had heard it was a small traditional town and I wanted to see what their culture was like. As soon as I arrived, I met a kind native man at a coffee house who let me use his wi-fi. He wanted so much to show me Ecuadorian hospitality that I thought he may be a community figure. He introduced himself as Roberto and was excited to tell me about the strange scarecrow looking character sitting in a chair out front whom he called Wiki. But because of the language barrier, I did not understand what he said about him.

Saraguro was a small town, a little bit built up with several shops and a few restaurants and hotels. Like most South American towns, many of its businesses and a large catholic church faced the town square, where people often met to socialize. 

 

After a good night’s rest in a cheap hostel, I thought I would go visit the nearby town of Las Lagunas the next day, to find where I heard there were native crafts. I thought perhaps Roberto could help me get there easily. I just had the feeling I needed to go meet him again, even though either of us really knew the other one’s language. I can always get along okay in these situations regardless. On my walk to the coffee shop, I saw a processional go by. There were people dressed as the three wise men and Mary, holding a baby Jesus doll, was leading it. A truck playing Christmas music from a loud speaker and about fifty people followed behind in traditional dress.

I was glad to see that Roberto was at the coffee shop and soon found out that he was even the owner. He was talking to a group of women at a large table when I entered but he came and greeted me kindly. I asked if he knew a driver that could take me to Las Lagunas and he communicated that he and the women were going there soon and I was welcome to go with them. Of course, I said yes and thank you so so much!

Within a few minutes he introduced me to his mother who began to carry out baskets filled with different traditional foods: potatoes, corn, bread, fresh cheese and a gourd to fill with the chicha from a plastic bottle. Chicha is a type of fermented alcohol that has been a traditional drink in South America for eons. He introduced me to one of the women and pointed to the Wiki out front. In broken English, she explained to me that where we were going we were not allowed to come without gifts for the community. I was being invited to attend a Wiki fiesta with them in Las Lagunas! I could not believe my luck!

Once the food was carefully wrapped in clean white table cloths, we all loaded into the tour van and headed for the Fiesta. The women had come from Cuenca specifically to go to the Kapak Raymi fiesta of the Wikis, which they had heard about for many years and were invited to by our friend Roberto who was also their tour guide. The Kapak Raymi ceremony happens at several different places but this one was held on private land with several esteemed local elders present. It was clear when we arrived that Roberto was a beloved figure in the community.

We were greeted by a native man who brought us to meet the elders who were seated in a row at the front of the festivities. They were dressed in beautiful traditional outfits, the women wearing the iconic white hats of the region. We each shook hands with them, offering them the foods we had brought as we went down the line. 

Then a couple of characters, dressed just like the one called the Wiki, came out and took the huge basket of corn and ran off laughing. One of the villagers chased after them to retrieve it- laughing the whole time. And that is how we met the legendary Wikis.

Wikis are similar to Heyoka, of the Lakota tradition, and are there to lighten things up. I have read that “Being a wiki is an honor because it represents the figure of a strong man, risky, cheerful and infected with good humor. Everyone pays attention to what he asks. He is the most respected character. They relate it to the goodness and evil of human beings, especially when he makes jokes”. They are the village clowns. Wikis speak in high voices and love to tease people. They are always trying to steal kisses from the women and they especially love to drink chicha. The chicha was being served to all of the guests from a bucket, using the same cup for everyone to drink from.

We were then shown to the only table there, and invited to sit down and eat some of the days' first feast. We were served delicious beef stew, corn and boiled yucca root, which we also shared from wooden bowls. When we were full, we left the table to watch the festivities more closely. Soon another group of guests arrived and were ushered to the table to be shown the same hospitality. There was cooking that would be going on all day, in preparation for the bigger feast later. A woman stood outside of the kitchen cooking a few large cow heads sitting in the grass, by pointing a blow torch at them.

 

 

While the elders sat, young children performed traditional dances for them, dressed in fanciful ceremonial attire. One of the elders played a drum and another a fiddle, performing one or two of the same songs over and over again. First, the girls danced and then the boys and then the children Wikis. The dances seemed like they were being performed just as they had for centuries. 

Occasionally you would see one of the elders nod off to sleep, still sitting upright. They had all been up since 2am when the ceremony began. I can only imagine what that part of the fiesta was like. The Wikis kept coming over to us to tease and drink more chichi from the bucket- keeping everyone laughing.

After the dancing was done, the children each came up to the elders with their parents. They were gifted special loaves of bread in the shape of people and the elders spoke to them in a very personable way. I can only imagine that they were thanking them for their honorable performances and offering some sage advice for the children’s future.

During this a few of the men at the center where the dances were, were now stripping a log of its bark. At the top of the log were four flags that looked like they would turn with the wind once the pole was lodged in its hole at the center of the circle. There was another stripped pole outside of the circle with various fruits and large bottles of soda hanging from it. At some point, the children would be challenged to climb the pole to retrieve the sweets for treats.

 

I wish I knew what it all meant, however, I did not understand the language (it was in Quechua, not Spanish) and I really did not have anyone that I could ask questions of. But it was all very beautiful and I felt so blessed just to witness it. It was an added bonus that they allowed us to take photos!

                    

After a couple of hours our group decided it was time to go. Since I was with them now, they invited me to continue on their journey. From there we drove deep into the mountains where we visited another kind indigenous woman at her home. She served us a warm traditional drink of corn porridge while we sat admiring the beautiful valley from her dining area.

This is an image of the Inca Cross that was on her land. Here is what Wikipedia says about it. “The chakana (or Incan Cross) is a stepped cross made up of an equal-armed cross indicating the cardinal points of the compass and a superimposed square. The square is suggested to represent the other two levels of existence. The three levels of existence are Hana Pacha (the upper world inhabited by the superior gods), Kay Pacha, (the world of our everyday existence) and Ukhu or Urin Pacha (the underworld inhabited by spirits of the dead, the ancestors, their overlords and various deities having close contact to the Earth plane). The hole through the center of the cross is the Axis by means of which the shaman transits the cosmic vault to the other levels. It is also said to represent Cusco, the center of the Incan empire, and the Southern Cross constellation.”

An hour later we were off again.

One of the Cuenca, women sat with me at the back of the bus talking to me some but mostly they were all speaking Spanish to each other, enjoying each other's company as old friends do. I just loved being a part of this and watching them laugh together. I never really knew where we were going next.

An hour or so later we were at our next stop, in Saraguro again and enjoying tea at one of the quaint restaurants on the square. The women had agreed to take me back to Cuenca on the bus with them whenever they were ready to go that evening. I was grateful because otherwise I would have had to take a public bus which would probably take twice as long, about five hours. And anyway, the women were all so kind, checking that I was comfortable and sharing chocolate and rum with me as we traveled around.

During tea one of the women jumps up saying, “They are coming! Vamos!” and so I followed them out for who knows what final adventure. It was getting dark and I knew we would be heading home soon.

And guess what we saw? It was the three wise men and Mary with the baby Jesus, coming up to the church. They were followed by several tall puppets and the same Wikis from our fiesta as well as some new characters dressed in large grass costumes and a bear-like figure. I had no idea what those characters were, or the puppets, as we did not see the end of the festivities on the land. The young female dancers were all there and sat sheepishly posing for pictures as one of the elders enveloped them in copal smoke. (Copal is a resin that is often used in ceremonies in South America for protection and purification.) It was such a fantastic ending with all of the main players performing one last time in front of the beautiful old church.

 

It made perfect sense really. The day began and ended with Mary, baby Jesus and the wise men at the church, to include Catholicism in the rites. In many cultures the people were forced to convert to Catholicism and lost their tradition completely but sometimes, as in this case, they would be permitted to continue their own traditions as long as Catholicism was included. They had found a remarkable way to keep practicing their age-old tradition even through colonization.

The characters danced around a bit and with that, all of the villagers entered the church to finish the ritual and end the eighteen-hour day of ceremony.

And I was so grateful, again, that the Universe conspired to treat me to this special experience. A beautiful Solstice gift indeed and one that I never want to forget!

I even bought myself this wonderful Wiki doll to remember it by.