“They’re for money and work,” the chubby little witch raises the talismans to eye level. “With these you will have good luck.”
Magic talismans for money and work? Do they work? Of course not, but I need all the luck I can get, so I buy the talismans for five bolivianos. Darn cheap if they will do what they say. I deposit the new toys in my leather bag and continue down the street, while my wife jokes with me to the rhythm of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. She says I have the hat, jacket, and bag similar to Indiana Jones, but I’m missing the whip and gun. I left them in the United States. The cobblestone street of Calle Linares is home to a full line of unusual shops collectively known as El Mercado de las Brujas, The Witches Market, located in downtown La Paz, and pretty much sums up the strangeness of Bolivia. Bolivia is where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and the revolutionary Che Guevara, met their destiny. This is where the British ambassador to Bolivia was strapped naked to a donkey, paraded around the capital and forced to eat a large quantity of chocolate after refusing the local drink ‘chicha’. This is where the original Garden of Eden is located (or so the locals exclaim). This is where the Salt Palace is located, a hotel made entirely of, well, salt. And this is where a young woman in Aymara dress, sitting amidst a variety of curiosities, offers my wife and me a dried llama fetus to protect our home from evil spirits. I nod approvingly, Veronica winces and shakes her head.
“Please come in,” with a slight bow the girl opens her hands towards the entrance of the store. There are many more things inside.
The messy place looks like something out of a horror movie. Mounted animal heads gaze at me with unseeing eyes, feathers and potions adorn the tables, herbs spill from their dirty bags onto the wooden floor while a dog sniffs out the powerful odors. I scan the items in no particular order as the girl offers them. For luck with a new business venture, I can buy a burned llama fetus in a bowl of candy and herbs, too big to pack. The amulet of love is to get married, you don’t need that one. An amulet of a naked couple hugging to improve sex life — hhhmmmmm. Dried frogs are sold for more money, armadillos to prevent thieves from entering the house, love potions, magic amulets, animal skins, medicines and remedies used in Aymara traditions, which one should I choose?
I notice a large collection of different colored candles. Intending to make several sales, the girl provides me with an explanation of her powers. They are made from animal wax and when burned they release their magical properties. Blue candle is for good luck at work, yellow – health, green – money, purple – happiness, black wards off evil spirits, only to be used in a covered graveyard at night, white – protection… With reverence I pull the candle black candle from her shelf. “Look at this Vero! This is what we need.” “Hello, Indiana,” he looks up from the amulet of the naked couple. “I do not think.”
Where did I leave my whip?
If the black candle is going to cause trouble, a few talismans will have to do the trick. I loaded ten more into my bag, making sure to include the toad talisman for good luck with money and the deity talisman for good luck with work.
But do they really work? Well, you are reading this article.
SIDEBAR
Name: Witches’ Market/Mercado de Hechiceria (Witches’ Market)
Street Location: Calle Linares, between Calle Sagarnaga and Santa Cruz
City: La Paz
Country: Bolivia
The Witches Market is just a couple of blocks from Plaza San Francisco, behind the Iglesia San Francisco and near the Museo de la Coca. From the center of La Paz, Plaza Murillo, a taxi ride to the market will cost between 8 and 10 bolivianos for one or two people, and around four bolivianos more for each additional person. A wide variety of unique and highly unusual items are for sale in the Market, many of which are used in Aymara traditions and in honor of the earth goddess Patchamama. Bargain with vendors and shop around to buy merchandise at a lower price.