Bolivia Devil’s Carnival (La Diablada)

When: Feb 2009

Where: Oruro

The tradition of devil dancers derives from a peculiar kind of devil worship. Oruro is a mining town and the locals, spending so much time underground, decided to adopt a god of the underworld. Christian tradition dictates that this must be the devil and the Oruro faithful thus adopted Satan, or Supay, as their god. They would perform sacrifices to the devil on a regular basis to ensure their safety in the mines and the devil dancing in the carnival derives from their belief in Satan as their protector underground.

For three days in spring, Oruro goes into carnival mode. One of the main highlights is the Diablada, or devil dance.

Among the 30 or so carnival groups, there are thousands of people, and a group can consist of up to 300 people. The variety of costumes is phenomenal - including witch doctors, llama herders, Amazonian Indians sporting dazzling feathered head-dresses and morenos (black slaves). The costumes are beyond your wildest imagination: light bulbs replace eyes, mirrors replace teeth. The combination of colour, outlandish masks and costumes, music, dance and fireworks is bound to leave you wide-eyed.

These days, the procession tends to focus more on the patron saint of mining, the Virgen del Sovacón and Pachamama (Mother Earth) than the devil, but devil dances are still an important part of the proceedings. Supay and his wife Supay China are closely followed by a multitude of he-devils and she-devils. Next come a series of animal characters, common to the area during the Middle Ages, including snarling bears, graceful condors and pumas.

The carnival draws to an end on the Monday, known otherwise as the Día del Agua. Revellers gather in the town square for a thunderous exchange of water bombs. Gringos beware!

All things come to an end with the ceremonies of Ch’alla. Liquid, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, is ceremoniously poured onto the ground, back to Mother Nature where it came from. That is, if you don’t mind wasting your drink!

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Come and enjoy Devil’s Carnival (La Diablada)!