After burial, the deceased's clothing is washed in the river behind the cemetery. This is part of the pichqa ritual, a divination and purification rite that also includes cutting and burning the hair of the participants in the funeral.
Bibliography:
Isbell, Billie Jean. To Defend Ourselves: Ecology and Ritual in an Andean Village. Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/1813/2135 Introduction To Defend Ourselves, Ecology and Ritual in an Andean Village, by Billie Jean Isbell. Waveland Press, 1985, introduction, chapter 5: http://hdl.handle.net/1813/2135 Billie Jean Isbell Andean Collection, Images from the Andes: Collection Highlights: Rituals: http://resolver.library.cornell.edu/collection/Isbell/rituals
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