"There's a legend that says that Amaru, ancient god with the shape of a snake, emerged from the bottom of a lake and turned into a bull, an animal characterized by its strength and size which is always willing to help them plowing the soil. This brought fertility and wealth.
In order to honor Pachamama (or Mother Earth), the natives celebrate a ceremony in which they make lacerations on a bulls skin to make it bleed (without killing it), then put hot peppers (rocoto) on the bull's nose and set it free. This makes the bull run freely towards the sacred mountains while spilling its blood on the soil, which was believed to make it fertile.
In order to obtain fertility, some people put little ceramic bulls on their roofs when the houses are first blessed. This sculpture is known as Torito de Pucará (Pucará is a town where the bulls were originally sold)."
(Information Source)
© Anna Johnson, 2012. All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment