Location: Santo Tomás, Chumbivilcas Province, Peru (Andes Mountains) 🌎
Story: Every December 25th, the remote Quechua community of Santo Tomás celebrates Takanakuy, not with gifts or carols, but with communal fistfights. In a region with minimal law enforcement, longstanding personal disputes, over land, debts, or insults, are settled not in courts, but in a ring. 🥊
Twist: After a day of traditional dancing and drinking, opponents, including women and elders, face off in bare-knuckle brawls before the entire village. Strict rules prohibit hitting a downed opponent. The climax isn't the violence, but the reconciliation: after the fight, combatants embrace, shake hands, and share a drink, publicly burying the year's grievances. For them, Takanakuy is a ritual of catharsis and social harmony, allowing the community to enter the new year with cleansed hearts and restored peace.🤝