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In this July 14, 2013 photo, Eloy Luna, left, and Rony Garate fight during a Takanakuy ritual fight in Lima, Peru. When the brightly hued ski masks come off, the punching and kicking begin. Only once a judge has ruled one of the combatants licked do they stop fighting. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__7_]()
In this July 28, 2013 photo, participants of the Takanakuy ritual fighting, dance in the arena before getting started in Lima, Peru. "When we first started doing this in Lima (in the early 1980s) they called us savages, but this tradition of ours dates back hundreds of years," said Jose Boza, president of Club Qorilazo, which organizes the Lima fist fest. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__1_]()
In this July 28, 2013 photo, Jose Vera, left, puts ice over the eye of his brother Rolando Vera who participated in a Takanakuy ritual fight in Lima, Peru. Often with faces swollen and bloodied, the fighters shake hands or hug and deem their personal dispute settled. Or else they agree to do battle again next year. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__8_]()
In this July 14, 2013 photo, Inelda Flores, right, and Sandra Palermo take part in a Takanakuy ritual fight in Lima, Peru. It's not just adult males who fight. Women and children with scores to settle also battle it out. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__10_]()
In this July 14, 2013 photo, Dionisio Colquemarca prepares to fight in a Takanakuy ritual fight in Lima, Peru. Often with faces swollen and bloodied, the fighters shake hands or hug and deem their personal dispute settled. Or else they agree to do battle again next year. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__12_]()
In this July 14, 2013 photo, masked fighters carry a statue of Santa Ana in a procession before taking part in a Takanakuy fighting ritual in Lima, Peru. The fighting ritual happens twice a year, in July and just after Christmas, to settle scores. In July it falls on the last day of the Feast of Santa Ana and is held in the Lima district of Canto Grande. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat]()
In this July 28, 2013 photo, Clementina Yaguno, center, is comforted by her son Romario Atauquri, left, after he fought in a Takanakuy ritual fight in Lima, Peru. The Andean fight known as Takanakuy is a ritual of unclear providence that predates Spanish colonial rule and happens twice a year, in July and just after Christmas. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__4_]()
In this July 14, 2013 photo, Eber Sabina, right, and Sebastiano Mendoza take punches during a Takanakuy ritual fight in Lima, Peru. It is a relative of a custom that people in the highlands of neighboring Bolivia call Tinku. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__9_]()
In this July 28, 2013 photo, dancer Matilde Campo, center, is helped with her hair by members of her folkloric dance group before the beginning of Takanakuy ritual fighting in Lima, Peru. The Andean fight known as Takanakuy are preceding with traditional dancing and music. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__5_]()
In this July 14, 2013 photo, masked fighter Daniel Flores poses for a portrait before taking part in a Takanakuy ritual fight in Lima, Peru. The fighters dress up in costumes of Andean folklore figures, with the ski masks an integral part of the costume. Among the characters: "El Negro," representative of black slaves; "El Majeno," reminiscent of liquor salesmen from a region called Majes; and "El Gallo," the rooster. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__6_]()
In this July 28, 2013 photo, participants of the Takanakuy fighting ritual dance before the start of the event in Lima, Peru. The Andean fight known as Takanakuy are preceding with traditional dancing and music. During the fights, women sing "huaylia" music with lyrics in Quechua that include such lines as "Child, fear not when rivers of blood flow." (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__2_]()
In this July 14, 2013 photo, masked fighter Eber Sabina, center, is helped by friends with his outfit before entering a Takanakuy ritual fight in Lima, Peru. The fighters dress up in costumes of Andean folklore figures, with the ski masks an integral part of the costume. Among the characters: "El Negro," representative of black slaves; "El Majeno," reminiscent of liquor salesmen from a region called Majes; and "El Gallo," the rooster. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)![Peru_Ritual_Fighting__Grat__3_]()
In this July 14, 2013 photo, fighter Eber Sabina gestures from pain as friends help him with a hand bandage after fighting in Lima, Peru. In Peru, it has long been practiced in the highlands province of Chumbivilcas near Cuzco. More recently, it has spread to outlying neighborhoods of Lima. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)Blood Battles & Booze In Peru
The Andean fight known as Takanakuy is a ritual that predates Spanish colonial rule and happens twice a year, in July and just after Christmas.
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- Blood Battles & Booze In Peru
