An old tradition in the andes of Jauja, Perú, happens every year in the small district of Marco. They honor the cattle to ask god for a good production during the year.
Marco's elder people says that this tradition begins when shepherdess used to celebrate the 'herranza' marking the cattle near to the pre-inka ruins close to Hatun Malca, Umpa Malca y Uchunjuy. The first musical instruments used to be only the 'waqla' (horn) and the 'tinya', played near to an old chapell where used to be books dated on the XVII and XIX century.
This celebration is celebrated in order of ensure cattle's fertility. During the 'herranza' they cut the tail of the sheep so it would be easier for them to get pregnant. Tha same its done with the ears so they can difference who's the cattle are from. The people used to use the blood to paint their faces while drinking and singing old songs in quechua.
Nowadays the nature of this celebrations is rancher-religious. The town is divided in neigbourhoods (they call it 'institutions'), each of them has a small chapell where they pray for cattle's fertility and they added new instruments for the music, like violin, clarinet and harp. The first 'institution' was Limayllapacaq. With time they got divided and nowadays there are 15 'institutions' with different traditional clothes color and celebrating the same festival.
This tradition is performed by young people with the variations that implies the pass of time and modern culture, but always looking to keep it alive and respecting the traditions that ancestors left and remarking their belonging to their homeland Marco.
