(31 Dec 2014) Shamans in the Peruvian capital, Lima, were kept busy on Wednesday as thousands of people flocked to the traditional healers to cleanse themselves in preparation for the new year.
Believers in the rituals lined up to be showered with perfumed water and petals, a way of washing away the bad spirits of the past year and to usher in the new.
The shamans also use bells, feathers and smoke in their rituals.
So many people adhere to the tradition that whole markets now cater to the crowds ahead of the new year.
However, Oswaldo Salaverry, a doctor from Ministry of Health, cautioned that not everyone conducting rituals in these markets are proper shamans.
"They're not traditional healers. Those not experts in the subject take advantage of this as a commercial opportunity," Salaverry said.
This didn't appear to dissuade the hordes of people at the 'market of wishes' in Lima on Wednesday, who queued up to visit a number of different shamans, each with their own ritual methods.
In addition to taking part in cleansing rituals, people bought a variety of amulets to wish for good luck in 2015.
People also wrote their wishes for the new year on plastic money which they then placed on a huge doll called Ekeko, believed to bring good luck in Peru and Bolivia.
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