The territory of modern Peru was home to the capital of one of the most powerful states of the indigenous Indians — Inca Empire (11th-16th centuries). And the annual observance of «Indian Day» in Peru, which is celebrated on June 24, is an attempt to preserve the culture and traditions of this great people.
The rain forests of eastern Peru are home to about a hundred Indian tribes. These tribes, practically isolated from the rest of the population, speak local dialects and obtain food through hunting, fishing and agriculture.
Another indigenous group includes Indians who speak Quechua and Aymara. Many of them moved to the capital — Lima and other cities on the coast, but most continue to live in the Andes, farming and ranching.
This is a holiday of the descendants of great builders and valiant warriors. Wrapped in multi-colored ponchos made of alpaca wool, knitted, with ears, chuglio caps, on this day they walk down from the Puno — plateau of the crossroads of peoples, where on the shores of the world's highest lake Titicaca they met and managed to find a formula for the peaceful coexistence of the two great Indian civilizations of South America — Quechua and Aymara.
They come from Arequipa — « pearls of the south», a miracle city made of carved siliar — white volcanic tuff. They come from hundreds of large and small villages in Peru, where the original Indian culture and thousand-year-old way of life of the mountaineers have been preserved in their original form. They all gather for a celebration in the city of Cusco — «center of the universe» to honor the great spirits of the mountains, ask the powerful Indian shrine for mercy to purify souls and take with them the healing particle of the deity.