Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi is the feastday that most US Catholics don't really think about. If you took Latin, you know that Corpus Christi means "the body of Christ." If you didn't take Latin, then you still know what it means because I just told you. It "emphasizes the joy of the institution of the Eucharist."*

In Cusco, Corpus Christi is a whole different matter. Within the city, all the statues of the saints from the various parishes are brought to the Cathedral. Last Thursday (June 4) the saints were carried in procession around the streets ending in a circuit of the plaza and carried back into the Cathedral. There's music, there's costumes, and the plaza is absolutely packed. School is also canceled. As one of the fourth grade teachers said "Corpus is Corpus." You just can't stand in the way of the tidal wave of devotion and celebration.

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Where does this tradition come from? That's always the question when looking at foreign traditions. Do you remember the way the Incas treated their dead rulers? They mumified them and paraded them around the plaza for important events like the inauguration of a new Inca. The Spanish put a stop to that as soon as they could, and saint statues replaced mummified Incas. Urban legend claims that the saint statues were constructed around the mummies, and that they are still to this day parading around the kings of a defeated empire. While this probably isn't true (and should be really easy to prove or disprove using some x-rays), the connection between the devotion and traditions surrounding the dead Incas and the devotion and traditions surrounding images of the saints is clear.

I missed out on the celebration, but the good thing about a 2 year committment means that I have another chance next year.

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The food tradition of Corpus Christi is to eat a plate called Chiri Uchu. The name translates to "cold and spicy." It's comprised of ingredients from each of the 4 regions of the Incan empire. There's chicken, guinea pig, sausage, cheese, Andean popcorn, seaweed, fish eggs, a torreja (a fried pancake-like thing) and rocotos (very spicy peppers often used in ceviche dishes). The sixth grade classes had a party for Corpus Christi on Wednesday, and gave a plate to each teacher, so I got to have a taste of the pinancle of Andean cuisine. Overall I liked it, but the seaweed was hard to chew through.



*From Wikipedia page on Corpus Christi