Dia de los Muertos: An Overview

Pomuch Campeche MX

Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is celebrated throughout Mexico.  The holiday, which combines elements of Christian belief and practice with indigenous elements, runs from October 31-November 2, although in practice Dia de los Muertos events and preparations begin well before the designated dates.

Celebrations in all areas of Mexico involve the belief that during the days of the Dead, the boundary between the living and the dead becomes  permeable and the dead return to the sphere of the living with the invitation of the smells of special foods, flowers   and incense that are arrayed on altars built for them.  What is most interesting is how the customs vary from place to place. 

The linked article below has several links that will take you to articles and videos about the  unique celebrations of Dia de los Muertos in different areas of Mexico. Please take alook.

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-dia-de-los-muertos-odyssey.html

Dia de los Muertos: Hospitality for the Dead

Dia de los Muertos Altar;  San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, MX
(click to enlarge photos)

Mexican altars for Dia de los Muertos range from the very simple to to the elaborate. Yet, they all share a single purpose: offering hospitality to the dead and including them, for a brief period of time in the world of the living as not just memories but really present.  This unique outlook on death forms a sharp contrast to attitudes to the dead outside of the Latin American world where the dead are remembered with respect and their memories treasured, but where the prospect of the dead actually being present makes people uncomfortable. 

For the Days of the Dead, November 1 (children) and 2 (adults) in Mexico everything is done to entice the dead back to their former homes on earth and a big part of the effort is food.The living strive to throw a great party for the dead with the things that they used to enjoy eating and drinking in life.

Altar at Los Arcos Restaurant, Izamal, MX

The altars, altares in Spanish, regardless of how elaborate they may be are all just tables as can be seen in the photos below; we tend to lose sight of the fact that all altars in all religions are  tables meant to serve sacrifices to the gods.  The altars for Dia de los Muertos serve food that the living sacrifice for the comfort of the dead, who although they are not gods, are the honorees of these days. In fact, in the language of the Yucatec Maya, the name for Dia de los Muertos, is Hanal Pixam which translates in Spanish as Comida de las Animas, or food for the souls.

Small Table Altar, Izamal, MX

Decorative for Dia de los Muertos in form of a table altar, Playa del Carmen, MX

The observance of Dia de los Muertos varies throughout Mexico from the very traditional as documented in my video shot in Chamula Chiapas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg_1bTFIi1g  to more typical observations of the holiday as seen in this video from San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np9YteLYljE.  Over the years, the Oct. 31st celebration of Halloween has come to be included in the holiday.

    

In each area of Mexico, the holiday takes on characteristics of the specific locale. These palm-leaf covered palapa altars are typical in the Yucatan, where the palapa is a basic unit of architecture.  The altars are placed within the palapa rather than being out in the open air.  The one below is from the cemetery in Playa del Carmen in the state of Quintana Roo, which is located in the eastern part of the Yucatan peninsula.

Playa del Carmen, MX

Each year a traditional altar like the one in the photo above is built in Playa's cemetery and is the only one there.  

Dia de los Muertos altar inside the above palapa

Palapa altar for Dia de los Muertos, Cozumel, MX

Yet, among all of the different twists on observing the Days of the Dead, usually Oct. 31-Nov. 2,  and in some places such as the traditional Mayan communities of Quintana Roo for the week following Nov.1, there is one thing they share in common: food. Dead souls are believed to enjoy food and drink as much as the living, although they partake of it in a different way, through inhaling its essence.  In fact, Hanal Pixam, the Yucatec Maya name for Dias de los Muertos, translates as Comida de las Animas or food of the souls.

In mid-October throughout Mexico begin offering the special foods associated with the holiday. One is  pan de muertos, bread of the dead, and these are sold throughout Mexico.

Pan de Muertos

If you look closely you can see the cut-out pieces of dough that resemble bones.
Along these lines, other foods typically seen during this holiday are skull-shaped
candies made of sugar. Sugar skulls, inscribed with the names of the deceased on the forehead, are often eaten by a relative or friend.

Sugar Skull, Playa del Carmen, MX

Sugar Skulls, Playa del Carmen, MX

Various sorts of other sweets are put on the altars for the enjoyment of the deceased, such as the preserved pumpkins seen in the photo below.

Preserved pumpkins in Playa del Carmen store

The dead have to be properly enticed back to the world of the living or they may not show up.  Engaging the dead person's  sense of smell is critical in guiding them back to the world of the living and in assuring that they will come to the altars to partake of the feasts offered.  Copal incense is burned in containers and sweet-smelling wood is put out as well to help them find their way.

Coal incense in Playa del Carmen store

Items for Dia de los Muertos in Playa del Carmen, MX

By far, the most unique food for Dia de los Muertos comes from the Yucatan and is know as  pibes or mucbil pollo.  This is a kind of tamale that is wrapped in banana leaves and roasted underground, the domain of the dead. I was told that the delicious-smelling steam coming from the hot food is what entices the dead.  

Pibes on altar in Restaurante Los Arcos, Izamal, Yucatan, MX

But, the good news is that you don't have to wait until you are dead to enjoy pibes.  Although it is placed on altars as an offering, as on the above altar from Izamal, it is a delicious food for the living and happens to be one of my favorite Yucatan foods. Personally, I look forward to Dia de los Muertos for my annual helping.

Pibes from Restaurante Los Arcos, Izamal, Yucatan

Not only food, but alcohol is included on altars as offerings to the dead (and the living).

In Chiapas, for instance, it is customary that the living drink the very high-proof local alcohol called pox, (pronounced "posh") that is also offered to the dead and it is an insult to refuse a glass of pox.

Beer for Day of the Dead in grocery store, Playa del Carmen, MX

Altar, Chiapas

The result is a party-like atmosphere in the graveyard, a place most of us would see as

a solemn venue.  Not, the case in Mexico, where the dead are welcomed with music, joy, food and drink.

Dia de los Muertos, San Juan Chamula, Chiapas

  The result is a party-like celebration in the grave-yard, a place that most of us would see as a very solemn venue.  Not the case in Mexico, where the dead are welcomed with music, joy and of course, food.  In some places the holiday is observed in a more sedate way, as it was in this lovely celebration in the cemetery of Playa de Carmen, MX this year.  There, I was fortunate enough to be invited into a family plot by the family's gracious matriarch who had a group of musicians serenade the tombs of two of her children.  The peace the celebration gave to her and the rest of her family was evident; everyone in the family, living and dead, was together again. 

Dia de los Muertos Celebration, Playa de Carmen, MX

Dia de los Muertos: Two Videos

Romerillo, Chiapas

If you have not already seen these videos take a look.  Both are of rarely-filmed celebrations of Dia de los Muertos in small Mayan communities in Chiapas.   Here are the links to them:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg_1bTFIi1g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0djWi91TKs

I hope that you enjoy them.  I shortly will be writing about the celebration of Dia de los Muertos in the Yucatan.

Dia de los Muertos: Chiapas

The Day of the Dead, in Spanish Dia de los Muertos, may be the best-known Mexican holiday.  It is characterized by skeletons and death-themed sweets such as those seen 
on the special altars or ofrendas. In contrast to the U.S. and Western Europe, in Mexican culture death is treated openly even to the point of joking about it. 

Typical altar or ofrenda for the Day of the Dead, Cozumel, MX

Ofrenda, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas

The Day of the Day is actually the Days of the Dead (Dias de los Muertos), since the celebration includes October 31, All Hallows' Eve (Halloween), November 1 and November 2.  All three days are a part of triduum (three day celebration) in the Roman Catholic Church calendar and are celebrated in various forms throughout the world.  In Mexico, they have a special twist that comes from the inclusion of many pre-Hispanic elements in the observances.  The original Aztec celebration was dedicated to a goddess known as "The Lady of the Dead", but was not held on the same days as the Christian celebration.  After the Conquest, the Aztec celebration was moved and the two were merged into one celebration. In modern times, this goddess of the dead has been transformed into a figure known as "La Catrina" a woman who is a skeleton. The Halloween costume on the woman in the photo below is that of "La Catrina".

Woman dressed as "La Catrina", San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas

Halloween Night and the next night, November 1, people masquerade in costumes

and in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, where I was for the Day of the Dead this year, the whole city had a party-like atmosphere.  Many costumes were more conventional and typical of those seen in the U.S. 

Children in costume, Halloween Night, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas

However many of the Day of the Dead celebrations in the indigenous towns Chiapas are much more exotic and unlike anything else in Mexico. Chiapas is in southwest Mexico and is the southernmost state of Mexico as well as having one of the largest indigenous populations in the country.   In Chiapas, as all over Mexico, the main idea of the Day of the Dead is that the souls of the deceased return to earth for the day to visit the living: November 1 is the day of return for the souls of children and November 2 is the day for return of adult souls.

Romerillo, Chiapas, MX- Cemetery

In the Mayan community of Romerillo, which is about  fifteen minutes from the center of San Cristobal, the celebration of the Day of the Dead takes on a completely different tone.  The green and blue crosses, which are typical of the Mayan villages in Chiapas, are very tall in this town. (The crosses, themselves, will be the topic of a separate blog post.)  In the photo you can see that they are covered with yellow flowers- marigolds. The Aztecs called this flower cempasuchil and it was used to commemorate the dead and it continues to have this meaning throughout Mexico.  The belief is that the earthy colors of the marigold help guide the dead home.

In the Romerillo cemetery, there are planks of wood placed on the graves to make sure the souls stay within.  On the Day of the Dead, the planks are removed so that the souls can leave the graves and visit with family members.  These photos were taken on October 31, so the wooden planks were still in place. They would be removed the next day so the souls of the departed could visit with their families.

Cemetery,  Romerillo Chiapas

Cemetery,  Romerillo Chiapas

Shortly before the Day of the Dead, families gather in the cemeteries to clean and prepare the graves. These photos of Romerillo were taken on Halloween Day 2013 and at that time the cemetery already had a festive feeling.  Traditional dances (Dance of the Jaguar and the Serpent)  by men dressed in ceremonial clothing, were being performed and people were selling various sorts of food there in the cemetery.  

Romerillo, Chiapas Cemetery

Food for the dead is put on the graves and on the ofrendas to provide nourishment for them on their visit home.  Very often you will see bottles of coke or other beverages on the graves as well as tamales and other foods.  It is said that the dead eat the essence of the food and that it does not taste the same to living humans after the departed have "eaten" it.

Food offered to dead, Romerillo Chiapas

On the same day in Tenejapa, a Mayan town, about 35 minutes outside of San Cristóbal known for its weaving, the local school had constructed ofrendas.  All throughout Mexico, it is traditional for schools build ofrendas for the Dia de los Muertos.  

Ofrenda built by school, Tenejapa, Chiapas

Ofrenda built by students, Tenejapa, Chiapas

Normally indigenous people in Chiapas are reluctant to have photos taken and in many places, photos are forbidden.  But here, in Tenejapa, the principal of the school, whom we encountered, invited us to take as many photos as we wanted.  Some of the students were in the traditional dress of the area.

Students in traditional clothing , Tenejapa Chiapas

Students in traditional clothing, Tenejapa Chiapas

The next group of photos were taken on November 2 in San Juan Chamula, a very traditional Mayan community about 20 minutes outside of San Cristóba and they clearly show what is central to Dia de los Muertos: festivity and family.  Dia de los Muertos, is the time when families "visit" with their deceased members through remembering them- putting out their favorite foods, telling stories about them, mourning them and in other ways.

On November 2, the cemetery in San Juan Chamula, which is located next to the old church ruin of St. Sebastian (it was destroyed in a fire), was a lively place. Family groups gathered round laughing, singing and in some cases, mourning profoundly.  The overall atmosphere, though, was one of joy and not sadness; Dia de los Muertos is a time for joyful reunion with lost loved ones.

Cemetery, San Juan Chamula Chiapas

As can be seen in this photo, the people in Chamula were all wearing traditional dress.

The wool shirt the man wears is for special occasions and is woven by the women, as are the black skirts that they themselves wear,  from the wool of sheep that are raised in the community.

San Juan Chamula, Cemetery

Here the graves are decorated with a combination of pine boughs and marigolds.  In the church in Chamula during the Dia de los Muertos, the entire floor was covered with pine needles, which are said to represent eternal life.

Cemetery, San Juan Chamula, Chiapas

Grave covered with pine needles and marigolds, San Juan Chamula, Chiapas

In the next photo cans of beer can be seen on the grave and it is not unusual to see various forms of alcoholic beverages on graves, along with Coca Cola and foods. In Chamula the celebrators were drinking pox, the traditional alcohol of Chiapas that is made from sugar cane and is something like rum.  Drinking pox is a part of the traditional religious culture and is a part of all celebrations.  Our guide was a friend of the local people and he was obliged to drink a graveside toast with them.  Let's say that everyone was very happily feeling the effects of the pox.  

Cemetery, San Juan Chamula Chiapas

Some of the graves had small fires burning next to them, so that the smoke could guide the souls of the dead to the place.  Another way that souls are guided back to visit is through the loud ringing of church bells in the center of the town.  In the photo below, people are lined up to ring the bells to call the souls of their deceased family members back to earth.  Each ring of the bell calls one soul back, so each person would ring the bells as many times as he had souls that needed to return.

Ringing the Church bells to call the dead- San Juan Chamula, Chiapas

In the Dia de los Muertos, all the senses-sight, smell, hearing, taste- are used to bring the dead back to earth for a day.  It is a day when the dead are invited back into the company of the living and being there for this celebration is a unique experience for people from cultures in which the dead live only in the realm of memory. At its heart, the celebration is a family reunion for the entire family- alive or not- and to see death celebrated and find this kind of joy beside a grave or tomb is an eye-opening experience.
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You can watch my video about Dia de los Muertos in Romerillo Chiapas at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0djWi91TKs  (clickable link)