Day of the Skull celebrations see Bolivians venerate the heads of dead strangers

Spiritual Bolivians have upset church ministers by taking human skulls of dead strangers from cemeteries to celebrate an annual pagan tradition.

Residents in the country's capital, La Paz, use the human remains for the macabre Day of the Skull celebration, a bizarre mix of Andean pre-Hispanic beliefs and Roman Catholicism.

Those who take part in the morbid ritual even dress the skulls up in military hats, put cigarettes in their mouths and adorn them with flowers as part of the ghoulish display.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2059230/Day-Skulls-2011-celebrations-Bolivians-venerate-heads-dead-strangers.html