Mercado de las Brujas
Monday, March 18
A very special place in La Paz is the "Mercado de las Brujas" — the Witches' Market. As mentioned in my previous posts about La Paz, the city simply feels magical and enchanted. This feeling is especially noticeable when strolling through the Witches' Market.
Unlike a farmer’s market in Germany, for example, the Witches' Market does not consist of individually set up outdoor stalls, but rather refers to three streets in La Paz lined with ordinary, fortified shops. What's special about it, however, is that each of these shops specializes in witchcraft supplies.
In the shops on the Witches' Market streets, you can find all sorts of surprising things: all kinds of magic potions supposed to ward off evil spirits; medicinal herbs; dried (real) toads dusted with glitter; amulets supposed to bring good luck; Oils in vibrant colors that, when applied to your wrist, apparently make you rich; pink love potions that supposedly make you irresistible; and, most shocking of all: dried, real llama fetuses and baby llamas. You could literally spend hours at the witches' market in La Paz, simply because there's so much to discover in every single shop. We couldn't stop marveling and ended up buying a handful of miniature bottles of magic potions for our family as a little souvenirs.
While we enthusiastically visited the witches' market but didn't really believe in the power of the items sold there, we observed many Bolivians getting advice from the market vendors about which herbal mixture to buy for which problem. We also learned that in some rural areas in the Andes, it is quite common to wall up one of the dried llama fetuses when building a new house, as it is supposed to protect the structure and bring good luck. Many of the objects sold at the witch market are intended as offerings to Mother Earth, "Pachamama." At certain important events in life, or when asking Mother Earth for a favor, an offering is made to her in return. These offerings usually consist of an arrangement of various medicinal plants, coca leaves, candy, ribbons of various colors, etc. These offerings are often presented to Pachamama by lighting them and allowing them to burn completely. The witches’ market, which may seem rather funny and absurd to us at first glance, is, however, of great importance to many local people. The market and the items sold there are part of the local culture and religion. If you visit the witches’ market in La Paz, you should take this seriously and treat the vendors there with respect.
