Lord of the Earthquakes

The procession of the Lord of the Earthquakes is as dramatic and spiritual as its name suggests. In a country with a depth and complexity of history as Peru, ancient and deep-rooted religious beliefs vie with the official national religion of Catholicism. Add to this the dramatic physical and political impacts of the great earthquake of 1700 and the invasion of the Spanish Conquistadors – and you have the makings of a fantastic spiritual outpouring in the guise of a procession.

Taking place on the moveable feast of Holy Monday, the procession carries aloft a statue of Christ, the ‘Taytacha' which was (according to one of a number of legends) inspired by the statue at the cathedral in Burgos, and was a gift from Charles V to Cuzco, the most important city, the ‘seat of kings', in his new dominions in South America. Today blackened by the smoke of thousands of candles over the centuries, the statue is an impressive if somewhat eerie sight. In 1977, the restorer Pedro Querejazu discovered that it was made from wood and cloth stiffened with glue and covered in Llama skin. It has a head and beard of human hair and a crown of thorns in solid gold, fashioned in the mid-17 th Century by locals in the Hispanic tradition.

On the day, the singing of two groups of Quechua singers known as chaynas or jilgueros heralds the preparation of the moving of the statue from the cathedral. Other senses are awakened with the rich colour of the crimson ñukchu flower which decorates the cross, symbolising the blood of Christ. Finally, flanked the singers and surrounded by crowds of people, the procession starts its winding journey through the streets of Cuzco to the Main Square, just as it did for the first time on Thursday 31 st March 1700.