Inti Raymi was the great celebration of Tawantinsuyu, a religious ceremony whose importance resulted in its observance across the empire. But it was at Qosqo that the focal point of festivities occurred. The ceremony's date, June 24th, was significant as the Incas believed the sun was resurrected annually on this date. This is today known as the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, although the modern date is recognized three days prior. Today's Inti Raymi remains on the 24th, corresponding to the ancient Incan sundial which originally determined the day.
What is now known of the ancient Inti Raymi has been retrieved from accounts by contemporaries of the Incas and witnesses to their subjugation by the Spanish, both militarily and culturally. Most prominent among these sources is the writings of Peruvian poet “El Inca” Garcilaso de la Vega, son of an Incan princess and a Spanish conquistador. A fast was undertaken at Qosqo for a nine day period, followed by another nine day period during which the near 50,000 participants were required to present gifts to the Sapa Inca, Inti's representative. At this time animal sacrifices were offered up to the god to secure good harvests from the renewed sun. The religious ceremony was joined by processions, dances and the Sapa Inca’s great banquet of meat, corn recipes, and coca tea which filled the main square of Qosqo (the modern-day Plaza de Armas).
1535 was the last year a Sapa Inca was to be present at Inti Raymi. The pressure bore down upon the “pagan” ceremony by the Spanish and Catholic authorities resulted in its decline, proceeded by a ban altogether by the reformist Viceroy Francisco de Toledo in 1572.
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