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Rabbits and Aymara and Catholic prayers at the Bolivian Festival of Abundance
Gina Baldivieso La Paz, 24 January (EFE).- Andean rituals, Chinese amulets and Catholic blessings marked Tuesday the start of Alasita, the Bolivian festival of prosperity and miniature wishes, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2017. Hundreds of artisans opened their kiosks in La Paz that day selling miniature tickets, suitcases, houses, food, school or college degrees and vehicles in the hope that those wishes will come true later in the year. The fair takes place at the Parque Urbano Central (PUC) fairgrounds in La Paz and will last at least three weeks, but just for the day many other artisans and vendors set up markets in some streets, squares and atriums of temples such as the Minor Basilica of San Francisco, in the historic center of the city. People flocked to the gates of San Francisco with bags and aguayos, the multicolored indigenous fabrics, laden with miniatures to bless them. A Catholic priest said a prayer before pouring holy water over the crowd and miniatures. At the same time, several ‘amautas’ or wise men of the Aymara installed in the atrium offered rituals of ‘ch’alla’ or blessings of these goods within Andean belief, with incense and ‘jallallas’ or applause for prayers to be answered . Among the miniatures and lucky charms, rabbits stood out in terms of coinciding with the Lunar New Year. And in recent years it has also become common for Bolivian artisans to offer plaster figures of the animals of the Chinese horoscope according to the corresponding year. However, there are other animals that cannot be missed at the fair, such as roosters and hens, which are usually given away to mate seekers, or toads, which are considered sacred in Andean culture. THE FESTIVAL La Alasita, meaning “buy me” in Aymara, is one of the oldest traditions of Andean culture, when at noon on January 24 the people of La Paz bless the miniatures that represent their aspirations and desires for the year. The festival originally celebrated the southern summer solstice on December 21st with miniatures hung from Andean deities such as the Illas so that the wishes they represent would be granted throughout the year. The festival and its symbols have changed over the years until reaching today’s expression of the ancestors merged with the mestizo and the city, which is also reflected in the figure of Ekeko, the ancient Andean deity of abundance and good fortune, you can see. In pre-Hispanic times, what is now known as Ekeko was represented by an illa or stone effigy of the god Tunupa, while during the colony the figure that survives to this day came into being, namely the stout doll with white skin and blond eyes and rosy ones Cheeks laden with various goods on their backs. A giant stone Ekeko is one of the protagonists of the fair, at the feet of which people come to “return” the miniatures bought in the previous year, to thank those who have been fulfilled and to “ch’allar” those who made for the new one administration were acquired. “People come from different places to ask for what they want, we smoke to make it happen, it can be a home, work, health or money,” the Amauta Saturnino Mamani told EFE. According to Mamani, the place where this statue was erected is a “wak’a” or sacred place and therefore the ekeko is “ch’alla” which is sprayed with alcohol or beer. GOD OF ABUNDANCE Another smaller Ekeko draws attention in the ‘Deans’ sector of the fair, where the oldest craftsmen can be found. This ekeko, christened Juanito, belonged to Doña Cecilia Herrera, a woman who took the effigy to the annual fair to make incense sticks, a tradition now continued by her daughter María Uscamayta. “My mother worked here years ago, she died. We left because of her and people keep coming because Juanito is over 30 years old,” Uscamayta explained to EFE. “People come, I smoke them for health, work, business, for a title that wants to go out or for a trip (…) So that everything goes well for them, that there are no problems, especially for family health, for their studies and that they never lack money or work, that the whole family goes on,” he said. According to Uscamayta, Juanito is jealous and therefore he must be in the care of a person without a partner, “and you must him on Tuesdays and Fridays let smoke so that you are well and never lacking for anything.” “The most important thing is to buy the miniatures and stage them with confidence so that they work,” he added. (c) EFE agency