Todos Santos
11.02.2004My friend K8 sent me some pictures of Todos Santos in La Paz, Bolivia. It's similar to the more well-known Mexican Día de Los Muertos (both simultaneous to Holloween). In the mainly-indigenous tradition, families gather in cemeteries & leave little food gifts for their ancestor's spirits (note picture at right).
If you think the Andean tradition is quaint, it is. A not-so-quaint traditions is the still-ongoing (*see note below) offering of human (yes, human) sacrifices to Pacha Mama before large construction projects. I was told to avoid being a "guest of honor" at ground-breaking ceremonies.
Paceños living in the upper/middle class suburbs prefer to celebrate a very "American" Holloween, complete w/ plastic jack-o-lanterns & trick-or-treat. The differences between the Tembladeras & the Zona Sur.
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UPDATE: After double-checking w/ an anthropologist friend, I'm pretty sure the human sacrifice thing is an urban myth. However. Many people do go on record (when talking to anthropologists in recorded interviews) as saying: A) that they believe these things happen and B) that they are eye witnesses. So. Do they happen? Maybe. But certainly not as a widespread practice. However. I was also informed that when accidents do happen during constructions, workers are relieved, since the worker's death has "appeased" the ever-hungry Pacha Mama. But. Yeah. I'm pretty sure it's an urban myth. Sorry.
The belief, btw, is similar to the widespread Andean belief in the Kari Kari (a sort of "chupacabra"). At least one person has, in conversation w/ one of my anthropologist friends, claimed to be a Kari Kari.
Posted by Miguel at 08:38 PM
Comments
"I was told to avoid being a "guest of honor" at ground-breaking ceremonies."
That's so funny.. :P
Can you explain the rationale (if there is) of human sacrifices?
Posted by: Stephanie at November 3, 2004 04:59 AM
Basically the rationale behind any sacrifices or offerings is that the human being is giving up something very valuable or meaningful: a cow, precious stones, the coca leaf. In the time of the Incas, there was nothing more valuable than a human life and thus, they sacrificed young girls (who were thought to be the most beautiful and most valuable members of the community).
Although, I have never heard of this practice still occurring in Bolivia, at least not in the cities.
Posted by: eduardo at November 3, 2004 02:47 PM
I have it on really good authority that this practice still goes on in Andean Bolivia. Which is really scary.
Posted by: Miguel ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.centellas.org/miguel/nav-commenters.gif)
at November 3, 2004 04:05 PM
No offense intended, but please, you are really letting yourself being fooled around with, if you believe that now a day some guy is throwing his daughter into the ground before they start construction.
Some of your readers, might just believe you. What will they think about Bolivia? ;-)
Posted by: MB at November 3, 2004 04:56 PM
MB, you were right. Correction just above. Sorry, sometimes it's hard to pick up subtle nuances of meaning in IM conversations. Apologies all around.
Posted by: Miguel at November 3, 2004 06:28 PM
Construction site sacrifices. The little bit a know about something similar is the following: that in the building of a new house, part of the umbilical chord of a newborn baby (the family's child) is placed under the foundation of the house for good luck. Also someplace I think I heard of putting a dried llama fetus also under the foundation of a new house for the same purpose.
Posted by: Bev Centellas at November 11, 2004 02:56 PM