The Fiesta del Diablos & Pacha Mama, Quito, Ecuador

There was an Amazing Parade right outside my hostel last night in Quito, The Fiesta Del Diablos-

The significance of this parade and the types of devils originate from the northern indigenous cultures of Ecuador with strong influence of the Cayambis culture ( north of Quito) and they also appear during the celebrations of the Feast of the Sun also known as Inti Raimi (term in Quechua and in the once spoken language of the Cayambis) blended with the Spanish Catholic influence of the celebration of Corpus Christi, these festival dances also appear around the festivities of St. John, St. Paul and St. Peter.

This festival is connected to the celebration and gratitude to Pacha mama for her crops and to the Sun for helping them grow in the fields.

The devil Huma, is represented by a rainbow coloured mask made of wool, also known as 'diabluma', it was not initially recognized as a devil but only as 'Hay' or 'Aya' by the indigenous. It was the Catholic religion that recognized Huma as the name of the devil.

Particularly in the indigenous communities of the province of Imbabura and Pichincha, the Beech tree is connected to Huma, which embodies the spirit, strength and power both positive and negative of the nature, the sun and of the shadow world. Huma means "head", in Quechua or 'devil's head', and is connected to the direction of society by ​​government. The devil Huma can also be considered as a guide or counsellor of the community, and represent the leader and the powerful warrior, holder of vital energy of nature but also of the surviving spirit and culture of the indigenous after the Conquistadors and their effect on the indigenous people, ''we will not dance on the graves of our ancestors''. You will notice that the long blond haired, white gloved devils with red and white masks resemble Conquistadors.

For this representation or incarnation of the force of nature takes place within the traditional ritual of the dance of these devils, it is customary for the dancers to gather at a waterfall (Paccha) and bathe in its cold waters, days before they dance. The waterfalls, according to the Quechua world view are a door that "leads to the interior of the land where the deities live" that not only protect but also watch and punish, and are linked to the "souls of the ancestors."

This is fascinating to me as I have often thought that the waterfalls here in Ecuador are so pure and uncontaminated by human energy that they are like portals to the multidimensional realms, as when I have visited some of them and given gratitude to Pacha Mama, strange anomalies appear in photos like glowing orbs, or the most unusual is this Water spirit captured in a photo my partner took of me looking up at the waterfall.

An illuminated creature with three pairs of wings, a glowing faerie sprite, that wasn't invisible to the naked eye, as it was hovering above me, but it could be seen by my camera, perhaps one of their deities. A true reminder we live in a multidimensional universe that we are mostly blind to because we have tuned out of nature and are slaves to the material reality, we live in boxes, travel in boxes, stare at boxes, then when we die, our remains are placed in boxes.

This is also interesting since the black box cube is a representation of Saturn and Satan Worship and Material reality, our reliance on which is destroying nature and this way has made us forget how magical nature is for our souls, she truly is the gateway to the multidimensions but our abilities to tune into this and feel her and learn from her have been severed, we have lost our prior skills to feel and see beyond our five senses when we tune in to Pacha Mama. This is very apparent to me when I have spent time with indigenous people that solely survive in the rain forest, for example my friend Istack would guide us through the Amazon jungle and as he walked barefoot in front of us, he would stop, then he would say there was a special type of frog sitting under a rock about 30 ft away, he would creep up to it and lift the rock then reveal a beautiful blue and green frog, he would continue to do this with all kinds of creatures like large tarantulas, monkeys that didn't make a sound and lizards, he was so in tune with the forest, that this ability seemed supernatural to us westerners.

This connects with the Fiesta del Diablos when the dancers previously cleanse themselves in the pure waterfalls, a developed ritual practice to acquire the power to fight other dark forces. Additionally, it is important to note that pilgrimage and bathing in the cold waters is already a test of value. According to Andean beliefs, those who are not able to endure the cold bath and flee will have short lives, but if they bravely endure it, they will have the protection of the spirits and they will then have fulfilling lives and win adverse challenges. Only in this way does a warrior become strong and powerful.

The Arucuchicos that stop in each corner to dance in small circles represent the Aru which means wheel, like the wheel of life. While the devils also represent supernatural events, the Aricuchicos represent the natural order of things, at the end of the dance everyone celebrates with loud victorious cheers.

by Carlita Shaw

Author of

The Silent Ecocide- A crisis of human consciousness
Available in Paperback
http://amzn.com/1512365718
https://thesilentecocide.wordpress.com
Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XK9AB2A

Video and Photos Authors own