NC Team Serves In Peru During The Heart of the Peruvian Carnival

Traditions of Carnivals in Peru

Joanne Robitaille, Demand Media, USA TODAY

Peruvian culture is a mix of both native traditions and customs imported from the Spanish colonists. Roman Catholic traditions have seeped into many aspects of Peruvian life, including the Carnivals that take place in February. And, like the other Carnivals celebrated throughout the West, the festivities act as a precursor to the solemn Lenten celebrations that follow.

Ritual of the Yunza

The Andean highland ritual of the "yunza," known as "umisha" in the jungle and "cortamonte" in the coastal region, is an important aspect of Carnival. Those in charge of the festivities artificially plant a tree loaded with gifts and decorations. When all of the guests have arrived, everyone begins dancing around the tree. After a while, couples begin to chop at the tree with an ax or a machete. The tradition continues the following year, when the couple who makes the final swing that brings down the tree make all the arrangements for that year's yunza.

Getting Wet

Watery street battles are a tradition that dates back to the 1800s. Historically, Carnavals in Peru would shut down entire cities for three days, and anyone who dared to venture out during that time ran the risk of being drenched with water. Men would roam the streets with sealed eggshells filled with scented water while women watched from above, preparing to dump buckets of water onto unsuspecting people passing below. In the modern era, the eggs have been replaced with water balloons.

Parades

Parades are one of the most familiar aspects of Carnival celebrations. Though each Peruvian city or region has its own specific elements and traditions, certain elements such as parades, costumes and dance are the same throughout the country. Families and neighborhoods get together to create allegorical floats for the parades, and people wear brightly colored costumes and masks that represent traditional characters and events. A traditional Peruvian dance called the "pandilla" is one of the more common styles of dance performed during Carnival.

Carnival Royalty

Two of the most recognizable figures in any Carnival celebration are the Carnival Queen and King Momo. The Carnival’s Queen is elected, and she presides over the music contests that take place on the aptly named Queen’s Night. The King, known in Spanish as "No Carnavalon," traditionally rules over the festival’s parades as an embodiment of the God of craziness and fun. A representation of King Momo is traditionally burned at the end of the festival so as to banish any unwanted elements, such as fertility, before the Lenten season.

Dolls & the End of Carnival

Dolls feature in different ways during Peru’s Carnival celebrations. In Cajamarca, a boy doll is used to mock public figures, while in Cuzco, rag dolls hang from light posts as representations of friends or godparents. In Cajamarca’s celebrations that involve the boy doll, the doll is paraded through the streets before being given a "funeral" and then cremated in a mock burial. This "burial" traditionally marks the ceremonial end of Carnival on Ash Wednesday. An effigy doll of King Momo features in Carnival celebrations.

*Article Site: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/traditions-carnivals-peru-105082.html

BEAUTIFUL COSTUMES & OLD TRADITIONS 

BEING CELEBRATED IN THE 

STREETS OF CURAHUASI

Playing Music As They Parade Through The Plaza

The Women Full of Color As They Wear The Traditional Carnival Dress

EARLY SUNDAY MORNING 

WALK TO CHURCH

Autumn Enjoying The Piggy Back Ride

Special Time of Worship With Some of the Locals
In The First Baptist Church (Curahuasi) 

Loving Our Back Row Baptist Guests

Autumn Helping To Pass Out The Homemade Valentine Cookies
That The Wright Family (Missionaries In Peru) Helped Her Make

Amazing Time of Praise & Worship 

Please Pray For The Believers In This Village
& For Others To Come To Know Jesus Christ As Their Lord and Savior

SUNDAY STROLL WITH THE
TEAM AFTER CHURCH

Beautiful Sunflower Field
(With A View of Some of the Locals Squatting
For Land in the Blue & White Tents)

Clouds Rolling Over The Mountains

Local Farm Selling Milk & Cheese

The Bridge View Entering Into Curahuasi

After Our Scenic Walk...
The Team Prepares To Pass Out Gospel Tracts  
To Many of the Locals In The Market

Many Reading About the
GOOD NEWS of JESUS CHRIST

JESUS IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD

 "Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to
send out laborers into his harvest.'"
~Matthew 9:37-38

The NC Team Is Full of LOVE & Joy

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE IN PERU

"But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
~John 20:31

Running Into Our Good Friend, Nolan Wright, At The Market

SUNDAY AFTERNOON...

TAKING THE TEAM OFF 

THE BEATEN PATH

(ready to use four wheel drive as we 

head up to Capitan Rumi)

All Loaded Up & Ready To Go

The Thrill of The Ride

Traveling High Above The Village To See Amazing View of the Mountains

Running Into A Road Block

The View of Curahuasi Below

CAPITAN RUMI
The viewpoint of San Cristobal offers you a magnificent
view into the Apurimac canyon, the deepest canyon in the world.

Ben Soaking Up The View

Bill Stands Amazed At The Beauty of God's Creation

Glenda & Ken

High In The Clouds

“You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens,
with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all
that is in them; and you preserve all of them;
and the host of heaven worships you."
~Nehemiah 9:6

ICARD, NORTH CAROLINA TEAM 2015
(Ken, Allen, Glenda, Bill & Ben)

Looking Below Into The Canyon

The Heath Kids Enjoying The Wide Open Playground

ONE OF OUR NEW FAVORITE PASTIMES
Having Homemade Blueberry
& Strawberry Cobblers On The Mountain

While The Cobblers Are Baking...The Team Finds More Trails

DUTCH OVEN STYLE COOKING

AUTUMN ENJOYING
Complete Rest & Relaxation By The Campfire

So Thankful For Our Time With Friends & Family

 "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his."
~Hebrews 4:9-10

MARSHMALLOWS PARTY
so thankful for the team as they brought us some delicious marshmallows from the states

EARLY MONDAY MORNING

STARTING THE CONSTRUCTION 

WORK IN THE VOLUNTEER BUNKHOUSE

Thankful for the New Addition (Work Vehicle) For ALMA
Many Thanks To The Morigeau Family

LORD PLEASE BLESS ALL THE VOLUNTEERS THAT WILL
BE STAYING IN THIS BUNKHOUSE & SERVING IN THIS VILLAGE

Building New Walls

One Wall Almost Finished

The NC Team Helping To Make Additional Rooms
& Space For The ALMA Volunteers

Allen Hard At Work

OVERCOMING THE OBSTACLES
With All The Mission Construction Experience That This Team Brings...
They Know How To Make Adjustments For Everything

Finally The Dry Thick Plywood Has Arrived

Getting Ready To Build The New Bunk Beds To Be Used By The Volunteers
& For The Children In The New Children's Home

Thank You To So Many Individulas & Churches
Who Are Helping To Supply The Materials Needed For The New Home

Street View From The Bunk House

Our New Home & Volunteer Quarters

We Were Blessed With A Little Garden
With Fresh Tomatoes & Strawberries

Glenda Preparing To Make New Towels For The New Children's Home

...and new potholders! 

VISITING WITH THE 

KIDS EE (EVANGELISM) 

& OUTREACH MINISTRY

Children In The Area Coming Together
Two Times A Week To Study God's Word

PLAYING LOTS OF GAMES

Claudia Nickel
ALMA TEAM MEMBER
Teaching the Children About JESUS

...teaching them to share their faith with others...
 "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort,
with complete patience and teaching."
~2 Timothy 4:2