The Killa Raymi is celebrated by students and teachers of the UDA and the Quilloac Institute

With songs in thanks to Mother Earth, students and teachers from the University of Azuay, UDA, and the Quilloac Higher Pedagogical Institute celebrated the Killa Raymi, one of the four most important celebrations of the Andean native peoples.

Around a chakana made with grains, fruits, seeds and flowers, tayta Alexander Padilla, a native of the Cañar canton, led the ritual performed in the La Asunción Educational Unit. With the sound of the kipa, the tayta invited those present to express their gratitude to Pacha Mama. "This is the time when the soil preparation ends and we have prepared this altar to bless the new foods that will be sown in the farms," ​​said the tayta, dressed in his traditional dress.

The celebration of the Killa Raymi was thanks to an inter-institutional agreement between the UDA and the Quilloac Institute, which carry out a joint effort to strengthen the culture, knowledge and the Kichwa language.

Tayta Andrés Quindi, Academic Vice Chancellor of the Quilloac Institute, stressed the importance of bringing youth to the Andean Cosmovision to consolidate and transmit ancestral knowledge.

Quindi said that this celebration coincides with the autumn equinox that is related to Mother Earth, mother moon, women and everything feminine.

Every September 21 celebrates the Killa Raymi, it is the day when the elements that govern life, which are water, fire, earth and air are recharged with energy and when we do the rituals we purify ourselves, Quindi explained.

Prior to the ceremony, a conference was held with students and teachers, where the Taytas explained, both in Kichwa and Spanish, the importance of this celebration.