Yuraquncha

Boyaquira is the site of an annual festival, where young men from the Yuraquncha come to perform a ritual dance, and the stronghold has grown up around the dancing pit. The victorious dancers win for their star the right to dwell in the court of the gods - that is, the privilege of being ritually sacrificed at the end of the festival.

Yuraquncha tradition states that when the gods gave Time to the world, the people of Suiqias went into hiding; they did not want Time, for they did not want to live in regret for things they could not change, nor accept the finality of death. A long epic tells how the gods eventually persuaded them to accept Time, but a suspicion remains that this place is, in some way, apart from the flow of history. It is the home of many fortunetellers and storytellers, who say that here they feel closer to the past and future.

Tayaribe is, according to the Yuraquncha, the place where the world began, and the place where it will end: here the first seed of the world was planted by the gods, and here the last spark of life will fade away. In the centre of the settlement in a broad, empty area, where few dare to tread: this is the start and end point of the world, and few are brave or foolish enough to step here.

Zaqcha is laid out in a circular plan, resembling a giant calendar: the temples stand at the centre; the royal palace is at the point corresponding to the present date; the market - selling things made recently - stands on a plot relating to the recent past; the warriors' halls, safeguarding the future, stand on the other side of the palace; the privileged and wealthy consider it auspicious to live in areas relating to the future, while the poorest dwell in the past, and magicians occupy the area around the start (and end) of time.