On Thursday before Carnival the “Topamiento” or “Tincunacu” (meeting) takes place. During this event, lifelong bonds of solidarity and respect are established between “comadres” (i.e. between a child´s mother and their godmother). In preparation for carnival, women from the region show their counterpointing skills in series of folk couplets, as well as their chicha-making abilities (chicha is a drink made from fermented corn).
The female participants come out from their houses with basil branches in their hands and behind their ears, their typical drums, called “cajas”, jars filled with wine and “chicha”; and they are later followed by their relatives and neighbors who join for the celebration. The village women share hugs and slightly bump their foreheads against each other (“topamiento”) under two reed arches or near a cairn, where the mothers hand in their kids to the godmothers, while the rest of the participants throw confetti and flour until everybody is “whitened”. The celebration continues until dawn, with “coplas”, music, lots of “chicha,” and wine.