Khipus to keep away the living dead : Andean funerary khipus resurge during the COVID-19 pandemic
Date
22/10/2021Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In the peaks of the Central Andes, people had a custom of funerary khipus -- cords with knots that embodied prayers that allowed the deceased to successfully negotiate the many obstacles in the afterlife. The centuries-old custom of burying the dead with a khipu had been dying out in the Andes. However, our research has revealed that during the COVID pandemic, which has been devastating in rural areas, funerary khipus are undergoing a resurgence. Elderly khipu experts who had given up the art have been called out of retirement to create khipus for the dead. This article examines how khipus help to alleviate the anxiety and trauma caused by so much death.
Citation
Hyland , S , Lee , C & Aldave Palacios , R 2021 , ' Khipus to keep away the living dead : Andean funerary khipus resurge during the COVID-19 pandemic ' , Anthropology News , vol. 64 , no. 5 . < https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/khipus-to-keep-away-the-living-dead/# >
Publication
Anthropology News
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1541-6151Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2021 American Anthropological Association. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/khipus-to-keep-away-the-living-dead/#
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