HUARPE NEW YEAR IN CUYO.

Huarpe New Year was cellebrated during 24 to 26 August 2018.

The Huarpe Community live in Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis, three provinces in Argentina. 

Huarpe New Year was cellebrated last 25 August in “Encon”, or let´s say near Encon,  a zone which is shared by the three provinces.

Miguel Gil Huaquinchai,  the chief (Cacique) of the Huaquinchai Huarpe community, was in charge of the whole meeting, along with his beloved wife.   Many other authorities (mostly “ancianos”, elders of the community) were there too.

In fact the cellebration lasted three days.

The meeting took place near some huts built on the sand. Many tents were there, prepared by people who came from Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis.   Therefore the cellebrants were Huarpes and other attendants who were quite enthusiastic about the spiritual experience.  

The cellebration had some stages:  firstly  they all greeted the sun who was dissapearing on the west.   Amazingly and Unexpectedly, the moon appeared too  to accompany the group in the following activities.  (Huaquinchay said they did not expect the moon to appear).   Some mantras were repeated, such as  some sort of repeated scream  while agitating the hands towards the sun..

Then they had to walk in pairs. Men at the left and women at the right.   A big, old tree was met in the middle, and the group had to touch it for a moment, elevate a prayer and ask for health and good. Then, they had to dance by a fire, while repeating some other mantras, such as “teka, teka tecka”.  Men had to kneel and women had to dance over them. It was a joyful momento.

After that,  they had to walk in pairs (again),  separate, and then be reunited.  They had to hug each other and see  themselves on their eyes. 

Finally they had to touch another tree, “Aromo” or “unquillo”,  and ask for health and protection “in the wáter”. “Protect the life in the earth”, “Protect the life in the wáter”, were some of the mantras.

As a final speech, Gil Huaquinchai and her wife repeated that the most important elements for them were their own kids, who represented the way to regain their identity as HUARPES. 

They wait for us next year, to cellebrate the new HUARPES NEW YEAR.