On the vast plains of the Altiplano plateau in South America live people who believe in magic . Many of the Aymara -- an ancient , indigenous race found in Bolivia , Peru and Chile -- suppose that on Tuesdays and Fridays , ordinary people become vulnerable to harmful spirits and the evil eye . That 's why on those days they stay awake and on their guard until dawn . And that is why they get together and smoke . `` When you exhale the smoke , you send back the evil spells to the sender , '' says Raphaël Verona , a Swiss photographer who has just released a new book of photographs of traditional Aymara communities . `` You must also constantly pay homage to the spirits . There is a great variety of different spirits , such as the earth mother Pachamama , Supay , the god of the underworld , and the Virgin Mary . '' Earth Mother ; God of the Underworld ; and the Virgin Mary . From the point of view of the Aymara , there is n't an odd one out . A blend of animism and Catholicism . Catholicism first arrived in the region with the Spanish colonialists in the 16th Century . The early missionaries tried to encourage indigenous people to accept the Catholic God by reinterpreting their own spirits : Pachamama , they said , was Mary , and Supai was the devil . But the match was largely erroneous . Unlike the Catholic gods , the indigenous spirits were not seen as wholly good nor wholly bad . They were believed to be capricious yet compassionate ; though they could cause calamities when slighted , they could be powerful allies when appeased . Moreover , from the point of view of the Aymara , the terrifying appearance of spirits like Supai , who is depicted with horns and a scarlet face , did not simply signify evil . Rather , it was a reflection of power , which could be used for good or ill. Because of these irreconcilable cultural differences ( which the missionaries had failed to appreciate ) , Catholic gods were simply added into the Aymara pantheon . Christian rituals became blended with traditional beliefs , adding another dimension to this colorful , hybrid faith . Elaborate traditional ceremonies such as Tinku and the Oruo carnival , which involve costumes , dancing and singing , are still practiced as they have been since time immemorial . But Catholic saints are included alongside the local deities . The paradox of the Aymara . `` The Aymara people have an approach to life that seems paradoxical from the outside , '' says Verona . `` In Europe you are either one religion or another , either traditional or modern . `` But in Bolivia people live with both Catholicism and animism , both in modernity and in their ancestral traditions . `` They visit the Yatiri , the priest , to pay homage to deities or give prophesies when they are applying for visas , or for assistance in businesses matters . '' Despite their acceptance of modernity , the Aymara also have little truck with the idea that the spirits might not be literally real . `` Traditional stories are seen to be as true as the people talking to you at this moment , '' Verona explains . `` If you ask someone if Supai , the god of the mines and the underworld , lives , they will say of course because they heard stories about it . So myths come to life very strongly in this society . '' The theater of worship . Verona first encountered the Aymara when he was living in Bolivia four years ago . There he met his wife-to-be , who is from the Aymara community , and began to meet her family and wider circle . `` I found myself entering an alien and beautiful culture , '' he says . `` My parents-in-law would regularly carry out rituals involving offerings of cocoa leaves , alcohol , threads of dyed wool , sugar , and molded figures to the spirits . '' It was the costumes that particularly impressed him . Enchanted by the striking masks and outfits worn by shamans and dancers , he headed back to Switzerland and convinced his friend , the photographer Thomas Rousset , to collaborate in a photography project . Many of the portraits were staged in people 's homes , offering a contrived , theatre-like effect ; others were taken as `` snapshots '' . Together , this collection offers a potent evocation of this unusual and thought-provoking way of life . `` It is extraordinary to see this rich native tradition that challenges Western thinking , '' Verona says . `` I think there is much we can learn from them . '' How some whisky lovers are now making millions . Battersea Power Station : The life , death and rebirth of a London icon . Biodesign : Why the future of our cities is soft and hairy .
A new book explores the extraordinary world of Bolivian religion . Catholic deities are seamlessly incorporated alongside local deities . The indigenous people live simultaneously in modern and traditional societies . Every aspect of life is marked by ancient rituals .