Celebrating the Aymara New Year

Sunrise at the Kalasasaya temple in Tiwanaku

I run along the Main Street, out of breath and sweating, despite the near-zero temperatures.

"Are you okay? Can you keep running?" Eddie asks, urging me to move faster past the stalls displaying coca bread and dozens of potato varieties. I nod, although I suspect my lungs have collapsed.

Eddie sees the growing glow on the horizon. He knows that soon, the sun will rise and mark the beginning of the Aymara New Year. I can see his anxiousness as he dodges vehicles and people, leading our group to the outskirts of Tiwanaku where the ruined temples lie. As our guide, it's Eddie's job to get us to the temple on time.

During Willkakuti on June 21, 20,000 people amass in the Kalasasaya temple to partake in the Aymara New Year. Aymara gather at the Tiwanaku ruins because their ancestors established this site around 200 BC.

Climbing the Tiwanaku Ruins

Tiwanaku lies nearly 4 kilometers above sea level where the air is thin, cold and dry. Even walking can be a challenge at these high-altitudes.

I've been awake for 2 hours of the chilly pre-down and my camera battery is already frozen. But the simplicity and beauty of Aymaran culture keeps me present.

I slowly move towards the ruins with the crowd while groups of military police run past us. Then, I hear the drone of a helicopter -- the reason they are in such a hurry.

"It's Evo," says Eddie.

Evo Morales is the land-locked country's first Aymaran president. Considering that Aymara and Quechua indigenous people represent at least two-thirds of the Bolivian population, Evo leads an important break-through for indigenous groups.

But Evo has many supporters in reviving Aymara culture.

My guide Eddie regularly tours groups through the Tiwanaku ruins and to the newly completed museum. He explains that the Tiwanaku population may have exceeded one million and the masons fitted the stones of the temples together with exacting precision and without mortar. Although many Bolivians are traditionally dressed -- men in ponchos with pom-pomed coca bags swinging from their hip; women in large skirts and bowler hats -- Eddie wears running sneakers and track pants.

I climb the steep wooden steps to the Kalasasaya temple. It's looks like a football pitch with thousands congregating mid-field. The temple is built to match the sun's movement and the huge stone Gateway of the Sun faces east.

I turn to the horizon. A ceremony is performed somewhere deep the crowd. I know when it finishes because those around me begin to reach their hands into the air.

I raise my numbed hands above my toque-covered head, but I am soon trying to massage blood back into the flesh. Certainly the sun has never taken so long to rise.

Sunrise at Aymara New Year

Just after 7 a.m. the sun slips above the horizon. No one stirs; they tilt their faces up towards the sky, blossoming with the warmth and energy.

Then, as it has done for more than two millennia, the sun breaks the spell of winter in Tiwanaku.

"Suma Machax Mara...Feliz Nuevo," my neighbours cheer, wishing me Happy New Year.

Immediately bands of drummers and pipers begin thumping tradition rhythms as circles of dancers grow around them. Everywhere Wiphala flags flash.

The Wiphala is the symbol of Bolivia's indigenous people and the party of President Evo Morales, Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), has adopted the flag as an emblem.

I stamp my feet in a cloddish rhythm, eager for a source of warmth.

Now that the crowds have dispersed, we can see the platform where sacrificial offerings to Pachamama smoulder in the ashes. There is barely enough oxygen in the morning air to sustain a fire.

The day is suddenly too hot.