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EveryJaadu

Next: 8 Nov 2026

Dia de las Natitas

In La Paz, families bring human skulls, kept as protectors, to the cemetery to be decorated, blessed and given flowers and coca.

Altar de Día de Muertos en Actopan, Hidalgo, México (2016)
Photo: RubeHM, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

About Dia de las Natitas

On 8 November, a week after All Saints, people in La Paz, Bolivia, take their natitas, the skulls of the dead which they keep at home, to the General Cemetery to be blessed. The skulls are dressed in hats and flowers, given coca leaves, cigarettes and music, and are believed to protect the household and to answer petitions for health, work and luck. The practice has Andean roots and is held by its keepers as a form of respect for the dead, not a curiosity. The Catholic Church has been uneasy with it. It is a family and community occasion, and visitors who attend should take care not to treat it as a show.

Entries tied to it

Day of the DeadThe wider family of customs honouring the dead.

Also part of it, and being written: All Saints' Day (The feast it follows.).

More entries linked to Dia de las Natitas

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreKardecist SpiritismSpiritisme A French spiritualist doctrine based on communication with spirits and reincarnation.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Protection Living 🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreSanta MuerteNuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte A female skeletal folk saint in Mexico and the Americas, worshipped for protection, healing, and safe passage.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreZombie walk A public gathering where people dress as zombies to walk through city streets for entertainment or charityIllusion · Wonder and entertainment · Luck and prosperity Living
About this page

Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Day of the Dead" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family, and are described as belief and practice. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.