Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
RELIGIOUS LIFE
Based on animism, indigenous religions revolve around natural gods and spirits that date
back to Inca times and earlier. Pachamama, the ubiquitous Mother Earth, is the most popu-
lar recipient of sacrificial offerings, since she shares herself with human beings, helps bring
forth crops and distributes riches to those she favors. She has quite an appetite for coca, al-
cohol and the blood of animals, particularly white llamas. If you're wondering about all the
llama fetuses in the markets, they are wrapped up and buried under new constructions, es-
pecially homes, as an offering to Pachamama.
Among the Aymará and Quechua mountain gods, the
apus
and
acha- chilas
are import-
ant. The
apus,
mountain spirits who protect travelers, are often associated with a particular
nevado
(snowcapped peak). Illimani, for example, is an
apu
who looks over inhabitants of
La Paz.
Achachilas
are spirits of the high mountains; believed to be ancestors of the people,
they look after their
ayllu
(loosely translated as 'tribe') and provide bounty from the earth.
Ekeko, which means 'dwarf' in Aymará, is the jolly little household god of abundance.
Since he's responsible for matchmaking, finding homes for the homeless and ensuring suc-
cess for businesspeople, he's well looked after, especially during the Alasitas festival in La
Paz.
One of the most bizarre and fascinating Aymará rituals is the Fiesta de las Ñatitas
(Festival of Skulls), which is celebrated one week after Day of the Dead.
Ñatitas
(skulls)
are presented at the cemetery chapel in La Paz to be blessed by a Catholic priest. Parish
priests shy away from associating this rite with Mass, but have begrudgingly recognized
the custom. The skulls are adorned with offerings of flowers, candles and coca leaves, and
many even sport sunglasses and a lit cigarette between their teeth. While some people own
the skulls of deceased loved ones and friends (who they believe are watching over them),
many anonymous craniums are believed to have been purchased from morgues and (so it is
claimed) medical faculties. After the blessings, the decorated
ñatitas
are carted back to the
owners' houses to bring good luck and protection. This ancient Aymará ritual was practiced
in secret but, nowadays, the chapel's head count is growing every year.
Shamans oversee religious festivals, read fortunes and provide home-made traditional
cures throughout Bolivia. Your closest experiences with shamans will be near Copacabana
during religious festivals, or in remote regions in the Amazon jungle where packaged-for-
tourists Ayahuasca healers ply their craft - be aware that Ayahuasca is a powerful hallu-
cinogenic and that there have been tourist deaths related to its effects.
Stone talismans are also used in daily life to encourage prosperity or to protect a person
from evil. A turtle is thought to bring health, a frog or toad carries good fortune, an owl
