Todos los Santos. Tradición y ayllu Andino

Abstract

The rituals dedicated to death have always occupied a privileged place within Andean ethnography. Usually analyzed from the point of view of their functionality or semiotics, they are not usually fit into larger structures, as has been the case with other regional practices. In this article, I propose to analyze the current situation of a Quechua ayllu in Potosí, Bolivia, from a (present and past) ethnographic reading of the festivity of Todos los Santos. This festivity is presented as a true reflection of the intense transformation such a complex structure as the ayllu is undergoing.