The Material World of Ñatitas: Personhood in Nonhuman Beings in Urban Bolivia

Abstract

Each November 8, the Fiesta de las Ñatitas is celebrated in homes across La Paz and in the city’s public cemetery. Ñatitas, human skulls that are kept in homes and said to bring good fortune and guidance to their keepers, are recognized by their devotees as persons who play an active part in the world of the living. This thesis explores ñatitas through the lens of materiality, investigating their personhood as the product of an assemblage of objects. I identify the materials that are essential to the production of ñatitas as beings and divide them into three categories: those which imbue the skulls with personhood (accessories and ornaments), those which engage them in relations with humans (gifts and offerings), and those which mediate their agency (objects implying action and intent). This work contributes to anthropological literature on personhood and relations with nonhuman beings from the perspective of material culture.