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3 tengkorak manusia yang dihias. Hari Tengkorak adalah ritual Inka kuno untuk kematian
Di bolivia, Hari Tengkorak adalah perpaduan penuh warna antara ritual kuno dan kepercayaan Katolik.
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Oscar Morales
Oscar Morales says he makes offerings to his skulls, seeking "protection"
Oscar Morales berlutut menghadap 2 box kristal, masing2 berisi tengkorak memakai beret.
"Saya berdoa kepada Saddam Husein dan Che Guevara, katanya. "Saya memilikinya, di kuil saya. Saya memberi mereka sesajen dan mereka melindungi saya.Mereka tidak pernah mengecewakan saya"
Disekelilingnya, ribuan orang bernyanyi dan bermain musik untuk tengkorak2 mereka dan membawa bunga serta sesajen..
This is Dia de los Natitas - a local religious rite that reaches its high point each year in early November - just a week after the Catholic All Saints Day.
'Ancient death rituals'
The "natitas" - or "flat noses" in the local Aymara indigenous language - are human skulls that are revered by thousands of Catholic indigenous Bolivians who believe they protect them from evil, help them attain goals and even work miracles.
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Skull known as "Victor"
Captain Victor is one of La Paz's most popular skulls
The skulls - which are not necessarily from relatives or loved-ones - are sometimes exhumed and sometimes passed from hand to hand. They spend most of their time indoors but are paraded in the city's main public cemetery every year at this time.
"The rite is now a blend of Catholic and indigenous beliefs, but has its roots in ancient rituals for the death practised by the country's Indian groups such as the pre-Inca Aymara and Quechua," says Dr Josef Estermann, an Andean theology expert.
"These practices remain very much embedded in the everyday life of Bolivia's indigenous majority."
All of the "natitas" have names - but they do not necessarily correspond to those of the people they originally belonged to.
Captain Victor is one of La Paz's most popular objects of devotion. This cigarette-stained skull, supposedly of a former policeman, is revered as a deity by a faithful group of followers who believe he is an "integral part of their faith".
Tradesmen, poor indigenous women, students, police officers and even members of parliament visit him year round to ask favours and shower him with flower petals, coca leaves and cigarettes.
"Somebody gave me Victor 22 years ago with the condition not to let him go. How could I let him go if he is one the most precious parts of my life?" says Victor's owner, Virginia Laura, a diabetic mother of three, with tears in her eyes.
"He helped me overcome the most difficult times of my disease, he protects my home, my family, everything that I value. I don't think I can live without him by my side," she says while kneeling down before a human skull sporting sunglasses and wearing an olive-green police officer's hat.
mav ya ga semua ditranslate, capek euy. makasih yang udah nyimak
[URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8350092.stm"]
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