These striking statues are chemamulls, created by the Mapuche, one of the indigenous peoples of Chile.
They were placed over tombs to assist the dead in their journey to the afterlife. Which in Mapuche culture meant a trip to the Blue Land in the east for chiefs and warriors, while everyone else went to the west to eat bitter potatoes beyond the sea.
I love the faces, but they do look as though they've already had all the bitter potatoes a chemamull could stand.
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