BOLIVIA: Bolivians decorate the skulls of their loved ones in unique celebration

Record ID: 402413

  • Title: BOLIVIA: Bolivians decorate the skulls of their loved ones in unique celebration
  • Date: 8th November 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF BOLIVIAN WOMAN WITH SKULLS
  • Embargoed: 23rd November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Bolivia, Plurinational State Of
  • Country: Bolivia
  • Topics: Quirky,Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAEUZ63Y5T1GYYR1IRHDD5VU2VV
  • Story Text: Bolivian skulls deluged with cigarettes, alcohol and flowers as part of unique, pre-Columbian celebration.

    Bolivians on Thursday (November 8) brought out the skulls of their loved ones as part of a unique commemoration which they hope will bring good forture.
    Many Bolivians believe Natitas, which means "small skull" or "flat nose" in the Aymara indigenous language, protect them from evil and help them attain their goals.
    Among the believers are the members of the Taboada family. Nearly 30 strong, the Taboadas live in this La Paz building where they take care of four Natitas, Socrates, Paulino, Laulina and Felipe.
    The sacred skulls are given offerings like flowers, sweets, coca leaves, cigarettes and alcohol in hopes they will bring good fortune.
    Maria Jhaquelin Taboada said Paulino came to the family as a gift, and soon after good fortune arrived.
    "At a party, they gave us this Natita called Paulino. We had only one. Later, when we wanted to celebrate the holiday, we didn't have money. Right then we got a call from the bank and they told us we had won 20,000 dollars, and with that money we threw a very big party," she said.
    The Natitas spend most of the year indoors, but are traditionally decorated and paraded to the cemetery a week after All Saints Day.
    Thousands of followers, mostly indigenous people, line up to watch the procession of skulls.
    In La Paz, the celebration, usually restricted to November 9, is now being extended over a longer period of time and is growing in popularity.
    On Thursday, bands played and shamans performed rituals around the skulls. Rita Rosel de Valle explained that many people revere Natitas
    they were close to in life, but some they did not know at all.
    "The Natitas are human beings that were alive and now we remember them. We evoke them. I have nine natitas and three of them are relatives. The rest of them were brought by devotees. We have that tradition," she said.
    The Natitas tradition is a mix of Catholic and indigenous beliefs and has roots in ancient rituals practised by the country's Indian groups.
    The traditions and cultures of the Aymara, Quechua and other groups remain strong in Bolivia, where indigenous people are a majority in a country set in the heart of South America.
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