Bolivians carry adorned human skulls asking for favors in the Ñatitas festival in La Paz

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Hundreds of Bolivian devotees arrived Friday at the municipal cemetery of La Paz carrying human skulls adorned with flowers for the Ñatitas festival, a custom rooted in the Andean region, but not recognized by the Catholic church.

According to Bolivian belief, devotees ask Ñatitas for health, money, love and other favors.

Mama Azapa is one of the Ñatitas, and unlike many others, her skull has braided hair. “She is my protector,” Elena Martínez, who identified herself as an “amauta,” or Quechua priestess, said.

During the festival, people throw coca leaves and flowers at them and put cigarettes in their mouths. Some skulls are even wearing sunglasses and hats. Some are kept in golden, glass urns and others in shoe boxes decorated with flowers.

The festival is a mix of Andean ancestral worship and Catholic beliefs. Experts say it was common in pre-Columbian times to keep skulls as trophies and display them to symbolize death and rebirth.

Anthropologist Milton Eyzaguirre, a researcher at the National Museum of Ethnography and Folklore, explained that in Andean culture death is linked to life.

“The deceased are underground, in the earth, that is why they are related to plants that are about to be born," he said.

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A decorated human skull sits at the General Cemetery as part of the annual “Ñatitas” festival, a tradition marking the end of the Catholic holiday of All Saints, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Decorated human skulls sit at the General Cemetery as part of the annual "Ñatitas" festival, a tradition marking the end of the Catholic holiday of All Saints, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A woman sits next to her decorated human skulls at the General Cemetery as part of the annual “Ñatitas” festival, a tradition marking the end of the Catholic holiday of All Saints, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Decorated human skulls lay on the ground at the General Cemetery as part of the annual “Ñatitas” festival, a tradition marking the end of the Catholic holiday of All Saints, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Women stand next to decorated human skulls at the General Cemetery as part of the annual "Ñatitas" festival, a tradition marking the end of the Catholic holiday of All Saints in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Decorated human skulls with names are displayed at the General Cemetery as part of the annual “Ñatitas” festival, a tradition marking the end of the Catholic holiday of All Saints, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has dusted off his golf clubs in an attempt to forge a bond with President-elect Donald Trump, an avid golf lover.

The presidential office said Tuesday that Yoon began practicing the game for the first time in eight years in preparation for a possible round of golf with Trump.

Since his election, Trump’s “America first” approach has raised concerns it could negatively affect the U.S. defense commitment to South Korea and hurt the trade interests of the Northeast Asian country in various ways, including increased tariffs.

Some experts say it’s important to build a close personal friendship with Trump during the transition period before he formally takes office in January.

“Much could depend on whether Yoon is able to strike up positive chemistry with Trump immediately during the transition and foster a close personal friendship to convince him to want to support and advance Seoul’s interests,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

Yoon and Trump discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation and agreed to hold an in-person meeting soon during a phone call on Thursday. The South Korean president told reporters later that while things couldn't remain the same as under the Biden administration, "we have been preparing to hedge these risks for a long time.”

And apparently, a game of golf may be what's needed.

Local media said Yoon went to a Seoul golf course on Saturday, but the presidential office said it couldn't confirm the reports.

A senior presidential official, speaking on condition of anonymity in a background briefing, said that while he didn’t know how hard Yoon practiced golf, training was necessary as “our president also has to hit a ball properly to get conversations going on” with Trump, who has “outstanding” golf skills.

Yoon isn’t the first world leader to try to use golf to develop relations with Trump.

When he was in office, Japan’s assassinated prime minister, Shinzo Abe, struck up a personal friendship with then-President Trump, on the greens of golf clubs both in Japan and the U.S. In 2017, Abe said that a round of golf with Trump was a good chance to relax and discuss difficult issues.

FILE - Former President Donald Trump plays during the pro-am round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament in Bedminster, NJ., on July 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol answers a reporters' question during a news conference at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP, File)