ABSTRACT
During the Day of the Dead ceremonies in November, Salasacas attend Mass to hear a priest read off lists with names of each family's deceased relatives. This chapter explores the way these lists appropriate church and state power. During final phase of both rituals: public and private ritual, dead souls are sent off to the other world, and Salasacas appropriate church symbols to realize this effect. Archival writing appears in diverse Salasaca beliefs, always with life-and-death powers, whether to kill and save people, determine dates of death, or cool and remember the dead. Salasaca beliefs are rooted in experiences with church writing, especially baptism books that construct personal and Christian identities. Patterns of appropriation of church symbols fit a pattern prevalent in Salasaca and other parts of the Andes. Vigorous appropriation of Christianity is consistent with a view that ritual knowledge is something to be exchanged and shared. The chapter ends by putting all the magical lists in comparative perspective.
