Bolivians pay homage to skulls in annual festival
Published : Nov 14, 2017, 12:01 pm IST
Updated : Jul 6, 2019, 3:32 pm IST
Experts say it was common in pre-Columbian times to keep skulls as trophies and display them to symbolize death and rebirth. (Photo: AP)
Humans skulls are displayed outside the General Cemetery chapel during the Natitas Festival in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. Every year, hundreds of Bolivians carry human skulls adorned with flowers to a cemetery in La Paz, asking for fortune, health, and other favors as part of the celebration. (Photo: AP)
A human skull wearing sun glasses and flowers is displayed outside the General Cemetery chapel during the Natitas Festival in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. Celebrated a week after the Day of the Dead, Bolivians carry human skulls adorned with flowers to cemeteries asking for money, health, and other favors as part of a festival. (Photo: AP)
A woman carries decorated human skulls inside the General Cemetery chapel during the Natitas Festival in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. The ritual also includes music, dance and the lighting of candles. (Photo: AP)
A woman carries a decorated human skull to the Natitas Festival in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. Experts say it was common in pre-Columbian times to keep skulls as trophies and display them to symbolize death and rebirth.(Photo: AP)
Humans skulls holding cigarettes in their mouths sit on display outside the General Cemetery chapel during the Natitas Festival in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. The skulls are cared for and decorated by faithful who use them as amulets believing they serve as protection. (Photo: AP)
Cakes for guests sit during the Natitas Festival at a banquet hall in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. The festival is a mix of Andean ancestral worship and Catholic beliefs.(Photo: AP)
Women carry a decorated human skull after praying inside the General Cemetery chapel during the Natitas Festival in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. (Photo: AP)