MERCADO DE LAS BRUJAS

The famous Witches' Market is located in one of the oldest indigenous neighborhoods of La Paz. It sells a little bit of everything: medicinal plants, talismans, amulets, beneficial creams, coca alcohol, llama fetuses and other joyful things. The amateurs will discuss good luck and prospects of the end of the world with the local shamans (called here kallawayas, amautas, chifleras and yatiris). Of course, the more traditional tourist can find handicrafts, textiles and jewelry. About 70% of the consumers are residents of La Paz and yatiris who buy products in bulk, while the remaining 30% are foreign visitors. In August, during the month of the Pachamama celebrations, you can watch the endless lines of paceños waiting to talk to a witch doctor and buy a Q'uwa Misa, a ritual offering.

History

During the 1960s, it was forbidden for Bolivians to practice traditional medicine. The kallawayas (ethnic group from the north of La Paz, considered the masters of traditional medicine), the amautas (philosophers and astrologers from Tiwanaku, readers of the future in coca leaves), the chifleras (women of Aymara origin who dedicate themselves to the sale of natural remedies) and the yatiris (shamans who prepare offerings and ceremonies for the Pachamama) then converted themselves into merchants. Can you guess where they settled? Indeed, these new vendors set up shop in the vicinity of the San Francisco church! Then, in 2009, the Political Constitution of the Plurinational State of Bolivia finally recognized the rights to cultural, linguistic, political, territorial and religious self-determination of indigenous peoples. Under the protection of this recognition, Law 459 on Bolivian Traditional Ancestral Medicine was therefore enacted in 2013. This law guarantees the free and legal exercise of indigenous therapeutic practices by incorporating them into the national health system. From then on, the "witch doctors" could promote their divinatory virtues throughout the country.

Origin of the name

The name originated from a tourism marketing strategy in the 1960s to provide an exotic image of women selling amulets, herbs and witchcraft products. It is said that Darius Morgan Ora-Mayo, founder of the first tourist agency in Bolivia, in 1958, gave it this name.