Photos: Day of Skulls

The World

Bolivians brought human skulls to cemeteries yesterday to celebrate the country's version of the Day of the Dead.

Ancient Andean beliefs hold that people have seven souls, one of which stays with the skull, reports the AP.

Believers keep skulls in their home, naming them and creating makeshift alters.

Once a year, they bring the skulls to the cemetery to be blessed and to bring good luck.

Most of the skulls don't belong to family members but to strangers, and are usually recovered from cemeteries or purchased.

The ritual mixes Andean prehispanic beliefs with Roman Catholicism.

Photos: Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images

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