Takanakuy

On This Day in History: December 24, 16th century?

It’s unclear exactly when members of a remote Andean village started celebrating Christmas by beating the shit out of each other. Likely the 16th century is when Takanakuy began, the annual fighting festival that takes place on December 25 each year. Putting the Christ back in Christmas with “Jesus Christ that fucking hurts!”

--On This Day in History Shit Went Down: December 25, Sixteenth Century?

Takanakuy translates from Quechua as “to hit each other,” but as an annual festival it means “When the blood is boiling.” It takes place in the small town of Santo Tomás in the province of Chumbivilcas, Peru, where inhabitants and visitors from neighboring towns get dressed up and engage in brawls as a way of resolving conflicts and keeping an overall peaceful society. Kind of like The Purge without all the guns.

Want to participate? Better start altitude training, because it’s in the Andes at 12,000 feet elevation. Also, you’d probably be hungover as fuck, plus drunk. There are a few days of drinking prior to the event, plus drinking on the day of to dull the pain of the fisticuffs. And while Christmas is largely thought of as a day of peace, so is Takanakuy. It’s about resolving conflicts with people, including friends and family, that have sprung up over the previous year. It’s like, cathartic and shit.

Spain colonized Peru in the 16th century, sowing the seeds of Takanakuy. Today, Chumbivilcas is primarily indigenous Quechua; over 90% speak Quechua as their first language, although children are required to learn Spanish in school because fucking colonialism. Speaking of colonialism, the origins of Takanakuy may come from when Spanish conquistadors enslaved the Quechua and made them fight each other for entertainment. Another thing Spaniards brought to the region was cockfighting, which you can see in the modern festival in the rituals such as the rooster strutting behavior, dancing, and the colorful form of dress and masks. Ancient Quechua customs such as initiation rites of teens entering adulthood also influenced Takanakuy.

The festival is violent, but not that violent. Sometimes friends with no grievance will fight each other for fun or to show off, but others are pissed at someone for a slight or legal matter, and the public scrap is how it’s settled. You call out a person by name, and they can decline, but saying no thanks is frowned upon. There is no biting or hairpulling, and no kicking someone when they’re down. There are referees who can stop the fight and will use whips to do so if necessary. Rarely is anyone seriously hurt. The fight usually ends with a handshake or even a hug. It’s not just the men who fight, but women as well, even children will sometimes fight if they have their parents’ permission.

The festival does seem to limit spontaneous violence the rest of the year. Someone pissed you off? Just you wait until Takanakuy, motherfucker. You’ll get yours. It’s turned into such an event that it is spreading to the nearby city of Cuzco and even the capital, Lima.

Those who cannot remember the past need a history teacher who says “fuck” a lot. Get both volumes of On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down. They make great gifts, and ‘tis the fuckin’ season!

And don’t forget to