A celebrational holiday honoring children and the dead
This map of Mexico shows the major cities of the country, as well as the surrounding bodies of water and neighboring countries, the United States and Central America. This image was retrieved from http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/Mexico/mexico-map.jpg.
Abstract
Día de los Muertos is a holiday that has been practiced by Mexicans since circa 500 B.C. It is a celebration in which the living members of a family come together and welcome back the souls of all the departed for a few hours each year, so that the family can once again be reunited. The holiday spans from October 31 st -November 2 nd . During this time, families use the offertory items they have spent months gathering to prepare an exquisite ofrenda (an offering made to the dead of various significant objects). The ofrenda is placed on an altar and is full of foods that the deceased soul enjoyed during his or her lifetime. Also offered in the ofrenda are pottery, colorful flowers, toys, candles, and any other offerings symbolic to each individual family. The utensils and toys in the ofrendas vary according to objects used or favored by the honorary guest during his/her life on earth.
Edible skulls
is a treat given to Mexican children. By preparing treats such as
these, famiies honor their children on this special holiday.
This image was taken from the website http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/graphics/tnail/mexico/delosMuertos26.jpg.
This
image shows vendors selling flowers for Dia de los Muertos. Family
members of the deceased bring flowers and decorate the graves.
This image was taken from the website http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/graphics/mexico/delosMuertos13.jpg
Introduction
In many countries around the world, the death of a loved one is considered a tragic event to be mourned. Recovering from the loss of someone beloved can be a difficult and painful process. In Mexico , people look at death from a much different point of view. Death is celebrated . Upon dying, the fortunate soul is freed from his/her earthly body and cast into the heavens rejoicing. Día de los Muertos is a famous Mexican holiday to honor those who have already ascended to heaven. This holiday is a time for family and friends to come together and invite the souls of the dead back into their company for a few hours, so that they can once again experience the pleasures they had enjoyed while living (Carmichael and Sayer 1991c:9). Día de los Muertos is centered on the tradition which Mexican families have upheld for centuries. The action of welcoming the dead back into their homes demonstrates each family's belief that the deceased are not separate from the living, rather they still belong to the same unbroken family (Garcíagodoy 1998c:2).
Context of [Mexico
The country of Mexico is located south of the United States and north of Central America . It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. Most of Mexico 's native population was assimilated in a mestizo culture. Roughly ninety percent of Mexicans are of mixed European and indigenous ancestry. A large amount of Mexicans are descended from both conquerors and conquered- a nearly exclusive situation in the Americas . It is estimated that around 10.6 million people make up Mexico 's indigenous population today. That number is on the rise and it is expected to surmount the pre-Conquest population levels by the early 21 st century (Ross 2003:c20).
The legacies and traditions of ancient Indian tribes are still remembered and carried out in the present day. For instance, Maya motifs are omnipresent. The Maya style is evident in the luxurious hotels of the tourist region of Cancun , built in the form of pyramids. Cancun, located in the south of Mexico , is characterized by hot climates that attract tourists. Southern Mexico as a whole is defined by mountainous lands that are inhabited by a handful of Indian tribes even today. Further north, in central Mexico , industrialization is steadily increasing, forcing many farmers to abandon their farms. Northern Mexico is characterized by vast deserts, grazing lands and grain fields. The north is very industrialized, especially near the border (Ross 2003c:13).
Origins of Día de los Muertos
The story of the origin of the Día de los Muertos has vanished, but traces of the longstanding tradition have lasted into the 20 th century. The name itself, Día de los Muertos, is translated to mean Day of the Dead. Not coincidentally, this celebration which spans the days of October 31 st through November 2 nd, takes place around the same time as the celebration of Halloween in the United States . In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV assigned November 1 st to be All Saint's Day. This holiday would be a time to honor spirits of those deceased as well as martyrs. Today, the Pope's designation of this holiday is believed to have been an attempt to replace the ancient Celtic festival of the dead with a “related, but church-sanctioned holiday.” The Celts were the first to deem October 31 as a day when ghosts returned. The Celts viewed the return of the ghosts as a curse; the ghosts ruined their crops and made for a troublesome year. The pope's replacement of this holiday eradicated many bad thoughts on ghosts, and changed the overall atmosphere of the holiday to one based on religion and respect to the dead (History Channel Exhibits: The History of Halloween- Electronic Document).
The holiday's title “Day of the Dead” is self-explanatory; this holiday is a special day to honor the deceased. The earliest recorded observers of this holiday, circa 1500 and 500 B.C.E., dusted the deceased in a red color and buried them in or near the home, offering tools and utensils to be utilized in the deceased's afterlife (Garcíagodoy 1998c:110). Also offered was food in vessels, and clay figurines. Though ofrendas (offerings made to the dead of various significant objects) were offered by the early observers of the holiday, the offerings were minimal. Through time, observers of Día de los Muertos began increasing their ofrendas, including jewelry, mirrors, and a sacrificed dog. Various scholars reasoned that these objects were believed by the early observers to accompany the deceased on his/her four year journey to Mictlan, the place of the dead (Garcíagodoy 1998c:110).
Performance
To prepare for Día de los Muertos, families begin replacing cooking pots and clothing with new ones that they will use and wear during the celebration. This can be related to the ancient Aztec New Fire Ceremony. At the beginning of each solar year the Gods in Teotuhuacan gathered around a hearth fire at midnight . They decided who would throw himself into the fire in order to be burnt and renewed as the sun. The name New Fire came from the tradition of kindling a new fire at the start of each solar year. From this fire came the birth of a new sun, a sun that would serve as the sun of the world until the next solar year (Sister Stories - New Fire- Electronic Document). Just like the ancient Aztecs, Mexican families renew their ceremonial items each year in order to be ready for the forthcoming event.
Preparation begins months before the holiday itself takes place. The production of ollas (cooking vessels) drastically increases in September or earlier, in order to create enough for every needing family so that they will be able to cook for the dead. Also gathered by families for ofrendas are colorful flowers, candles, vegetables, sweets, toys, baskets, many types of incense, and cooking utensils. The construction of the actual ofrenda (offering) takes place during the last few days in October, when the family sets up a clothed table near the permanent altar in the house for the saints. Always included in the ofrenda is at least one holy cross, symbolizing the family's Catholic faith (Figure 4). The family then places all of the ofrendas on the table in an arranged fashion and awaits the return of the dead (Carmichael and Sayer 1991c:19-20).
When the souls of dead arrive, they are not physically seen by the family, rather they are sensed. The foods are not eaten, they are absorbed. Typically, the spirits of the children come first. They are offered simpler foods than those offered to adults, as well as toys and gifts. When the children leave, the adults enter and are offered the foods and treats they enjoyed during life. When all the souls are finished with the ofrendas, the living family members take their shares of the ofrenda. The remaining ofrendas are offered to relatives and taken to graves of the deceased. The graves receiving the remaining ofrendas are not necessarily related to the family from which it receives gifts (Carmichael and Sayer 1991c:21). This represents the idea of communitas because nearly all Mexican families take part in this tradition; they come together and respectfully recognize the souls of all the departed, not just of their own kin.
Artifact
This image of the Holy Cross was taken from the website http://www.holycrossredmond.org/think/images/jesus_on_cross.JPG . The Cross is symbolic of the Mexican's Catholic religion. Crosses are always included in ofrendas, displaying each family's belief that souls of the deceased will return. When the souls of the deceased enter the family's home, each living family member is once again reunited with their dearly beloved for a few precious hours (Carmichael and Sayer 1991c:14).
Interpretation
Prognosis for Día de los Muertos
Día de los Muertos is a holiday that is actually increasing in popularity, especially in the United States . As cited on November 16, 2004 of the Daily Nebraskan, many more people are utilizing Día de los Muertos as a way to embrace death. Instead of viewing death as a sad and morbid event as North Americans often do, many people are adopting the idea that death happens to everyone and that it is just a fact of life. Many people enjoy the idea that death is the start of a new, unencumbered life in Heaven (OASIS celebrates Hispanic holiday- Electronic Document).
Conclusion
Día de los Muertos is a holiday centered on Mexico 's long standing values. Family is a very important aspect of Mexican culture, so it is both crucial and viable to respect the departed on a designated holiday each year. Part of the celebration includes going to mass at the Roman Catholic Church. By attending mass on this holiday and incorporating their pre-Hispanic customs in preparation for the arrival of the dead, Mexicans are exemplifying syncretism. Death is celebrated on this holiday as the end to the journey of life and the beginning of a new, unburdened existence in the spiritual world. Each year families spend months gathering all the items necessary to make beautiful ofrendas (offerings) to the dead, making sure to include holy crosses on the altar to display their faith. The efforts made by the living family members show respect to the deceased upon arrival, and signify their desire to maintain the same unbroken family. Living or deceased, family bonds cannot be broken.Internet References Cited
- Freed, Alan
2004 Groundhog Day History. In Groundhog.org - the Official Site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. Electronic document,ttp://www.groundhog.org/history/tradition.shtml, accessed November 15, 2004.
This site was created to encourage observers to join in the National Groundhogs Day celebration in Pittsburgh. I used it to access background information on Groundhogs day.
Joyce, Rosemary with Carolyn Guyer and Michael Joyce. 2004 Sister Stories: New Fire. In Sister Stories. Electronic document, http://www.nyupress.org/sisterstories/feathered.fir/newfire.html , accessed November 15, 2004 . Sister Stories is a website created by NYU Press authors to inform those interested on topics of Aztec history, including stories translated to English from the native Aztec language, Nahuatl.
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Mexico Connect is a compilation of various short stories, recipes and non fiction accounts pertaining to Mexican holidays.
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This website gives a brief account on Día de los Muertos and describes the traditions that take place even today in Mexico and many places just north of the border in the United States.
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Weaver, Crystal.
2004 OASIS celebrates Hispanic holiday. In Daily Nebraskan. Electronic document, http://www.dailynebraskan.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/10/30/3fa0a73d247a3, accessed November 16, 2004 .
This website describes many Northern Americans' changing attitudes on death; numerous people are beginning to adapt Mexicans' optimistic mentality about death.
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This site gives an account of the first documentation of Halloween and how it has evolved through the centuries.Peer-Reviewed References Cited
Brandes, Stanley.
1998 The Day of the Dead, Halloween, and the Quest for Mexican National Identity. Journal of American Folklore 111 (442):360.
Carmichael, Elizabeth and Sayer Chloe.
1991 The Skeleton at the Feast. The Day of the Dead in Mexico, pp. 9-21.
University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.
Garcíagodoy, Juaníta.
1998 Digging the Days of the Dead.
University Press of Colorado, Niwot, Colorado.
Ochoa, Zazueta and Jesús Angel.
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Perdomo, Yolanda.
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Ross, John
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