Pilgrimage
Hello everyone… it has been a few weeks since I have updated as I have been away on photo shoots for the project.
In the last post, I mentioned the effects of living and working at this high elevation. I am recovering from those effects which takes longer up here, especially at my age. The past few weeks have been spent working at elevations of 4,000 to 5,000 metres (13,000 to 16,000 feet). My body feels like it has been punished for my mind’s sins at the moment.
There is plenty of photo editing to be done at the moment. This is also taking longer due to the hard drive failure I incurred. That will take a few months to rectify and recover all the files. I am carefully navigating that with a band-aid solution for now. I will have stories and photos to share with you soon once I have finished editing.
In the meantime, I wanted to share a very personal story with you from the recent pilgrimage to the religious festival of Qoyllur Rit’i. It was powerful and had a deep impact on me. If you have been following along with this journey you will know that this was my second time making the pilgrimage. However, this year I was able to attend the final day which I was unable to do last year. This last day involves a 24-hour hike starting at midday and going through the night until the following midday.
My friends from the participating nation of Quispicanchis who dance in the style known as Wayri Chunchos and Chunchacas, invited me to join them once again. This time, however, they invited me to attend as one of them, as a Ukuku also known as a Pablito. This was an incredible honour and I was hesitant as I wasn’t taking it lightly. They talked me into it and assured me that they wanted me to join them as un hermano (a brother) which is like being made part of the family.
After getting past my reluctance, I joined the group in Cusco at San Pedro Cathedral to participate in the dance (video at the top) and mass service which marks the commencement of Qoyllur Rit’i celebrations. After more dance and prayers the group travelled by truck through the night to begin the pilgrimage the next morning. Over the next five days, the group would march, dance, sing, and pray along with thousands of others high in the Andes Mountains.
The music and dance never stops. Not for one minute. That is a big part of the pilgrimage. It gets inside you like chanting. When you can lie down for a few hours, you feel it in the ground. I can still hear the music and feel the drums and dance now. It seeps in and stays with you.
Over the five days, I had a total of maybe 6 to 8 hours of sleep. Much of that was huddled together as we tried to fend off the bone-chilling cold. As we bunched together shaking in the cold, sleep-deprived, music in the air, dance and drums reverberating in the ground, I looked up at the stars and the Milky Way in absolute awe. In this state, I felt broken down to my core, to the essence of my being. When I closed my eyes I began to have visions and I allowed myself to let them take me where they wanted.
I learned at a young age not to explain my dreams or hallucinations so I won’t bore you with them here. They were for me and me alone. It was powerful and I found myself overcome with emotion at times throughout the pilgrimage. I felt something shift inside me, a transformation of sorts taking place. It is difficult to explain but one of those moments in life I will always remember. This is precisely what a pilgrimage is meant to be.
This entire project and journey has been a type of pilgrimage. I care deeply about this project and have put everything I have into it, but it has also been about more than just the project. It has been about reevaluating what is important to me and what I need at this point in life. It was worth every step of the 55 km I walked over the four days and I am extremely grateful to mi hermanos y hermanas for the experience and the opportunity. I am beyond grateful.
My friend Manuel who is one of the leaders of the Wayri Chunchos and who originally invited me to partake, told me before the first journey that I needed to make the pilgrimage three times to fully understand and to benefit from it. His description of the first two experiences has been completely accurate.
With that, I intend to be here one more year and experience it one more time before I complete this project and return to Canada. Next time I will be even better prepared professionally and personally to make the most of it.
With deep respect and thanks,
MB
(AKA - Ukukun Gringo)
