What do you call this doll?

Is calles "ekeko" which is a peruvian doll that represents luck in business and money relates affairs.

 

Ekeko, literally translated as "Abundance god".

 

The ekeko is a simbol or some might say a god of the andean people - it represents Prosperity and good luck.

The main idea is that it will bring good will good luck and prosperity.
It is also popular in bolivia.

The is an actual story of the ekeko - which was told to me in Bolivia.

this was the story as narrated by antonio diaz

The story of the origin of the Ekeko starts with Paulita Tintaya, an indian girl who worked for Doña Josefa Ursula de Rojas Foronda, in La Paz.
The girl was in love with Isidoro Choquewanca. Years ago, she had left the hacienda where both grew up. Before her departure, Isidoro gave her a small statue to protect her. This small statue was the Ekeko, which was known to Andean people to be a god of fortune and luck.
At the time of the siege, people was starving to death. Isidoro was enrolled in the indigenous army, and he manage to reach Paulina's house. Every week, he left her food near the statue, which was placed outside the house, but nobody knew he was doing it. Both Paulina and her boss, Doña Josefa, were able to survive the siege because of the food left near the statue by Isidoro. That is the origen of the beliefs on the Ekeko powers.

taken from wikipedia

 

Do not forget to put a cigarette on his mouth, you might have noticed he has his mouth opened, that's not he is singing or laughing, he is just waiting for the cigarette.

According to the popular belief, the prosperity or abundance comes from the ekeko as long as you keep him happy, and a way to do that is giving him the fucking cigarette, haha.

Jim Raynor

 

The Ekeko is the Tiwanakan god of abundance and prosperity in the mythology and folklore of the people from the Andean Altiplano.[1] The current representation corresponds to a reinterpretation made by the artisan Isidro Choquehuanca as a gift for an employee of the Governor and Commanding Officer of the city of La Paz, Sebastián Segurola, during the revolt of Tupac Catari, in 1781

The name Ekeko comes from the alteration of the original term Ekhako or Eqaqo, popularized as Ekhekho which was the ancient god of fortune and prosperity in the Qullasuyu. The Ekhako was often invoked when a disgrace disturbed their homes.


he legend of the Ekeko, as narrated by Antonio Díaz Villamil, dates around 1781 in La Paz, Bolivia.[6] At this time, the city of La Paz was under siege by indigenous people, who were still in war with Spanish forces.

The story of the origin of the Ekeko starts with Paulita Tintaya, an Indian girl who worked for Doña Josefa Ursula de Rojas Foronda, in La Paz.

The girl was in love with Isidoro Choquewanca. Years ago, she had left the hacienda where both grew up. Before her departure, Isidoro gave her a small statue to protect her. This small statue was the Ekeko, which was known to Andean people to be a god of fortune and luck.

At the time of the siege, people was starving to death. Isidoro was enrolled in the indigenous army, and he manage to reach Paulina's house. Every week, he left her food near the statue, which was placed outside the house, but nobody knew he was doing it. Both Paulina and her boss, Doña Josefa, were able to survive the siege because of the food left near the statue by Isidoro. That is the origen of the beliefs on the Ekeko powers.

Both Peru and Bolivia claim the ownership of ekeko. That's a vacuous dispute since the Peruvian region of Puno and the Bolivian department of La Paz share the same cultural heritage since pre-hispanic times.

 

In Puno, South of our country, this doll, the Ekeko, is part of a huge group of beliefs. In a variable date in May or before there are days where the people climb the main hill (it's called Apu). This hill is sacred and the main character is this Ekeko.
The meaning of this popular party (even far more popular than the catholic celebrations) is about desires...
The people climb this hill, this Apu, and drink a lot of beer, which first glass has to be spill (just a bit) to the Mother Earth (Pachamama) and the people sell and built every desire that someone can imagine: for example little houses of glass (5 inches tall), little trucks cars or motorbikes, small papers that duplicate the form of the money, universitary degrees, little bags (2 inchesx1inch) of food as rice, etcetera. With the prosperity today there are also big things as buildings of 10 stores (20 inch of height); the most rustic desires are small homes of rock, built by the own hand.
The Ekeko is at the center, it means the main desire, the first desaire, the ultimate desire that includes every and all desires: prosperity, love, wealth, food, etcetera.
In Lima I suppose that it is sold in Larcomar. In Arequipa the Patio del Ekeko, besides the restaurant and textiles has artistic Ekekos, in Puno and East of Bolivia they are in markets of handicrafts.