The General Cemetery of La Paz — Día de las Ñatitas

OVERVIEW

A ñatita — "little pug-nosed one" — is a human skull venerated by Aymara people in Bolivia, believed to be a vessel for a spirit (ajayu). Ñatitas are kept in shrines at home, bring good fortune and protect against evil spirits and thieves; some La Paz police departments are reported to keep them to help solve cases.

HISTORY

The practice is believed to derive from pre-Columbian veneration of the dead, and skull-keeping specifically from the Tiwanaku period. Under Spanish rule owners of ñatitas were tried for witchcraft and necromancy, and the practice went on in secret. It came into the open in La Paz after the 1970s, as rural Aymara families moved to the city.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

Día de las Ñatitas is held about eight days after All Saints' Day, usually 8 November. People bring their ñatitas to cemeteries — above all the General Cemetery of La Paz, which draws about 12,000 visitors — with music, sweets, coca leaves, flower petals, alcohol and cigarettes. A stolen ñatita is believed to torment the thief and appear in its owner's dreams to say where it is. In 2008 the Archdiocese of La Paz called the practice un-Christian and banned masses for it; some priests bless the skulls anyway.

VISITING

The General Cemetery is open to visitors. On the festival day it is a family and religious occasion; be a respectful guest.