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Atlas  /  For your career  /  EkekoNo. 34
Plate ILatin America & Caribbean · Bolivia and PeruEkeko, drawn by Wishlore
Pl. IEkeko. Alasitas miniatures: a house, a sack, a note and a diploma. Drawing: Wishlore.
No. 34  ·  For your career  ·  Latin America & Caribbean

Ekeko

The god of abundance at the Alasitas fair in La Paz, Bolivia. People hang his small plaster figure with miniatures of the things they hope for in the year ahead.

Earliest record
Alasitas fair, La Paz, UNESCO 2017
Source
UNESCO, Alasitas (01182)
Region
Latin America & Caribbean · Bolivia and Peru
Wish
For your career
Layers
Record Folk Modern
Keep this symbol · from £2.99Read the sources
The story · three layers

The story, in three layers.

Record, Folk and Modern are kept apart, and each one carries its source.

I
Record
La Paz, from 1781

The Alasitas fair

Ekeko is the god of abundance honoured at the Alasitas fair in La Paz. After 1781 the fair moved to 24 January. UNESCO listed Alasitas in 2017.

To verify: Why the fair moved after 1781, in the UNESCO text

II
Folk
La Paz, 24 January

Miniatures for the year

People hang the Ekeko figure with miniatures of the things they want. On 24 January, miniatures, even little diplomas, are taken to be prayed over, carrying wishes for the year ahead.

III
Modern
Wishlore, today

How we tell it

Ekeko belongs to a living festival in Bolivia and Peru. We tell the fair and its miniatures, and name the makers whenever we show a figure.

Ekeko
Alasitas fair, La Paz, UNESCO 2017
Story and sources on the reverse
Pl. IIThe story card. Every printed piece carries the story and a code that opens the full source list.
Keep it close

How would you like to keep it?

Add to bag · £8
  • No jewellery for this symbol yet; story card and download only
  • Printed cards are made in our partner workshop in China and shipped worldwide
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Watch the story

The story, in a minute.

It opens with the pencil construction, then follows the record, how people used it, and the piece we make today. Every fact in it comes from the sources on this page.

Length
1:06
Narration
English, with subtitles on screen
Images
Pencil construction and the atlas drawing on this page, animated; no AI images; jewellery shown as a line drawing
Sources
Listed at the end of the film
Story film · 1:06 · Drawn from the atlas plate · no AI images
In one breath
Hung with small copies of what people hope for. Who would you keep it for?
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