October is known as “the purple month” in Peru, due to Catholic tradition in which thousands of devotees follow an altar bearing an image of Christ in a long procession. Men help carry the image and women burn incense as they walk along. The history of the ceremony dates back to a time before Catholics arrived in Peru, when indigenous people venerated their God Pachacamac. This and African traditions were mixed with Catholicism in an attempt by the Church to integrate non-Spaniards and by indigenous and African people to maintain their traditions. Rael Mora reports from Lima for teleSUR