Day of the Dead

From early times to the present, Mexican culture has embodied themes of death, sacrifice, and destiny. Once a year, starting at the end of October, Mexicans celebrate death in a national fiesta known as Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). During the festival, the living invite their dead to join with the family and to share a meal and time together before they return to the land of the dead. This Mexican holiday originated with Aztec festivities held in late July and early August.

In the Aztec world, death was extremely important. The destiny of a soul after death was determined by the manner of death, rather than by conduct during life. The journey to the land of the dead differed depending on whether a person died suddenly or in a particular manner, such as by drowning or by lightning. Deaths in combat or in childbirth, as well as deaths in connection with ceremonial sacrifices, were especially significant. Warriors who died in battle went to a region in the sky where they accompanied the sun god on his daily journey from dawn to noon. The sun's warrior companions took the form of hummingbirds or butterflies, symbols associated with rebirth. Individuals who became sacrifices were awarded a glorious destiny in the third heaven, and women who died in childbirth (with a “prisoner” in the womb) were considered to have died just as honorably as warriors and had a place in [Page 262]the heavens, accompanying the sun from midday until sunset.

Among the Aztecs, the creation of the world was made possible by sacrificial rites enacted by the gods, and human beings were obliged to return the favor. Sacrificial victims in Aztec rites were termed teomicqueh, the “divine dead.” Within the divine–human covenant, they were participants in a destiny determined at the origin of the world. Through sacrifice, human beings participated in sustaining life on earth as well as in the heavens and the underworld.

When Spanish priests arrived in Mexico, they attempted, in vain, to suppress Aztec rituals for the dead. As a result, Día de los Muertos is now celebrated during the Catholic feasts of All Saints' and All Souls' Days. The Spanish contributed elements from the medieval tradition of the Feast of Fools (associated with Carnaval; carne vale, “farewell to the flesh”), where everything is open to criticism, ridicule, and mockery. This humorous tradition is part of Día de los Muertos. Thus, the fiesta combines ancient rituals and customs with features of introduced Catholic traditions. In many parts of Mexico and the southwestern United States, it is a popular holiday with observances of cultural and social importance.

Features of the Modern Fiesta

Día de los Muertos is a special occasion for communion between the living and the dead. The rituals, food, and objects, as well as particular practices of remembering the dead, vary throughout Mexico. During late October, the markets of the villages and towns are filled with special handmade items for the fiesta. In fact, some of the most interesting cosas de muertos (things of the dead) are designed to be eaten by the living. Bread in the shape of human bones, sugar-candy skulls, and cardboard coffins poke fun at death. Pulling on a string at the end of a cardboard coffin will open the top and pull up a skull-shaped muerto (dead one) to a sitting position. People from all walks of life are portrayed as calaveras (bones or skeletons.) The professor and the pilot are constructed of papier-mâché in the form of skeletons. In the marketplace, there are 3-foottall candles for lighting the gravesite and cempaszuchitl (marigold-like flowers) whose petals traditionally are strewn to guide the dead on the path to the family home.

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