BY TYLER BRIDGES

 CUZCO, Peru -- In a day filled with symbolism, President Alejandro Toledo of Peru celebrated his second day in office Sunday at two of the sacred sites of his Indian forebears: the Inca empire's Machu Picchu and Sacsayhuaman.

 With priests offering chewed coca leaves and ceramic jars of fermented corn juice to the ancient Indian gods, Toledo intended the visit to Machu Picchu to be seen as a second inauguration. The ceremony came a day after he took the oath of office in Lima's congressional palace in front of a mostly white crowd, there becoming the country's first democratically elected indigenous leader.

 GOAL OF VISITS

 In visiting the holy sites, Toledo pointed to his goal of bringing the Indian majority into the mainstream in a country where the Europeans still hold the economic power and most prestigious positions.

 Toledo also wanted to promote the remaining attractions of the Inca empire to bring more visitors to Peru and create more jobs in a country where half the population earns per day what an American spends on a Big Mac.

 Political analysts said Toledo is hoping to reinforce his support among Indians who gave him only a narrow margin in the June election, even though he grew up in poverty and he and his followers liken him to the greatest Inca emperor, Pachacutec.

 ``The visit is a symbolic act for the indigenous and campesino people,'' said Manuel Torrado, a leading Peruvian pollster.

 Despite limping noticeably after twisting his knee recently, Toledo appeared exuberant throughout the day.

 At Machu Picchu, he lifted a scepter evoking the Inca gods, and he proclaimed his solidarity with the Indian people.

 ``With this symbol of power,'' he said, ``we will fight to defeat poverty in Peru,'' a goal he had declared the day before as his chief priority.

 Speaking of Machu Picchu, known as the Lost City of the Incas, he said, ``I want to send a message to the world . . . to come visit this magical place.''

 As he hobbled out of the ruins with a cane, Toledo stopped repeatedly to have his picture taken with Indians in folkloric costumes. In the background, in images beamed throughout Peru on television, viewers heard Andean music played on flutes and panpipes.

 These were powerful images in a country where no president even visited Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital, until 1940.

 BOLD BEHAVIOR

 But they were nothing new for Toledo, 55, who during the election campaign openly reveled in being called a cholo, a word used to disparage Peruvians of mixed race who make up the vast majority of the country's poor.

 After visiting Machu Picchu, Toledo flew by helicopter to Cuzco and then traveled to the Inca fortress of Sacsayhuaman. On his trip to the mountains he was accompanied by President Ricardo Lagos of Chile and President Miguel Angel Rodríguez of Costa Rica, as well as the Spanish Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbón, and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres of Israel.

 In an emotional speech at Sacsayhuaman, Toledo again repeated his pledge that attacking poverty will be his primary priority. Afterward, as thousands of people waved flags on the hills, Toledo and his wife Eliane Karp danced on the stage to an Andean band and the joyous president sang along to the music. Excited Indians crowded the stage, with the security forces straining to keep them back. Toledo calls his wife more Peruvian than most Peruvians because she used to work as an aid specialist in the country's highlands, speaks the Inca language of Quechua and says she feels more at home in Cuzco than in Lima.

                                    © 2001