Manhood Races
by hughpierre
Execution
Animal Sacrifices
Several sacrifices are made by lines of priests who:- Break a falcon's neck to grant strength
- Drive a needle through the back of a vicuna's head to grant speed
- Strangle a fox to grant cunning
- Crush a hummingbird's skull to grant focus
- Decapitate a serpent to grant fertility
- Cut a toad in half to grant luck
Footrace
The race is long. It starts at the top of Huanacauri and tends downhill across a rolling plain, where loose piles of rock can tumble from a llama corral, and then up to the base of sacsahuaman hill. Afterwhich, the racers bathe in sacred waters to clean away the sweat and dust.Components and tools
Galleries
The emperor and his court have special seats carved into the mountainside to observe and cheer on the racers.Breechcloths
Every participant are given breechcloths as prizes at the end, with the ten fastest donning white ones and ten slowest being marked in black.Participants
Emperor
The red fringe leads the graduating class to the windy top of Huanacauri hill and later pierce the lobes of the fastest boys.Sapa Heir
The yellow fringe gives a short speech to encourage the racers and invokes the sun god's blessings.Boy Graduates
On the day of the race, racers wake up together, having slept in the field where the race would start, to sing to the rising sun and practice skirmishing.Spectators
At the end of the race, girls of the runners' own ages and lines of chosen women wait for the competitors to hand out maize beer.Observance
The footrace takes place before the formal manhood ceremonies. It is but one part of the performance rituals and after-class duties that lasts for more than a month; and involves making their parents comfortable, and themselves uncomfortable.
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