Women bring decorated skulls to cemetery for Dia de los Natitas ceremony

Hundreds of people brought human skulls to a chapel in the Bolivian capital, La Paz on Saturday, to be blessed at the annual Dia de los Natitas (Day of Skulls) ceremony. The faithful pay tribute to their decorated “Natitas“, as the skulls are called, every 8 November, with prayers and celebrations a week after the Catholic holiday of All Saints Day. The celebration is a mix of ancient local tradition and Catholic beliefs. The skulls adorned with wreaths and placed in cushions or fancy boxes are taken to the chapel at the city’s central cemetery for blessings of health and good fortune, as a final event to end the Day of the Dead festivities. “They’re laid back when you give them attention and surround them with flowers,“ said local resident Joselin Mandujano. “You have to chat to them. They’re like a real people, but they just don’t talk, they only listen.“ The skulls that the believers worship can be those of relatives but it is equally