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(In Ecuador and Peru, indigenous people dress to the nines in their tribal best to be photographed for a small fee, with adult as well as baby llamas and alpacas in tow.) But Bolivian folks are surprisingly superstitious. It’s risky to take pics though, especially in the markets. The complete apparel consists of bowler hat, shawl and sweater plus the pollera – (although some wore the much simpler “falda”) – along with the braided hair decorated with beads, fur, etc. I can’t help but ogle at the “cholas” all the time – the indigenous women donning voluminous “polleras” – tiered skirts with lots of petticoats underneath – both functional (to warm their legs) and symbols of status (the more petticoats you don, the more affluent you are!). The grandma even burned gunpowder, swishing it around the yard while crying out: “Begone Devil!” And his boys were never sick thereafter. One local I befriended confided his firstborn son was so sickly, his mom-in-law (who hails from Lake Titicaca) did the ritual on the boy’s first day on earth, on the first month and every month thereafter until he was one year old, at which time old folks believe he is strong enough to withstand evil spirits. It means the devil is unexorcised and they have to do the ritual again. In the morning, they check the color of the ash. Then off they go to bed and sleep before the fire goes out. Next, they lay the table offering in the middle and douse wine around it clockwise before burning. They hear mass in the Catholic churches built over the Inca temples all over the city, at the same time, they continue to revere the mountains around them, the skies, the earth.Īnd they faithfully observe the ritual offerings to Pachamama every August of each year.įirst, they line up the firewood in their backyard, forming a square to encompass all corners to cleanse their homes and banish the Devil. And they have plenty of buyers, especially for this month of August.Ĭonveniently, the Bolivians I’ve met have merged their reverence for the ancient Incas’ Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the Spanish Virgen Maria.

Also on sale are dried llama babies and aborted llama fetuses.

Here, they sell bunches of chopped up firewood (for the ritual burning), with giant aloe vera plants, wine and table offerings – round compositions stacked with protective amulets, wads of paper money – dollars, houses, figures (about 70-80 bolivianos each). Most intriguing for me was the “Witches’ Market” – “Meracado de la Brujo” – which occupies both sides of a street in the city center. The food is fantastic too – empanadas and cheeses of all sorts, veggies and potatoes – they have over 500 “patata” species, of which only about 20 are known! Locals love flowers and merchants bring in colorful blooms from hundreds of miles away – as far as Lake Titicaca. You can find the soul of the beautiful city of La Paz in its bustling markets.

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