30 Oct Day of the Dead ( Día de Muertos )

The Day of the Dead -Día de Muertos-, one of Mexico’s most important celebrations, is fast approaching. During the month of October, the whole country comes together to celebrate a festival with over 500 years of history, which has its origins in the union of pre-Hispanic and Catholic traditions. These dates celebrate the transitory return to Earth of deceased relatives and loved ones, who cross the Mictlan to join the mortals.

The Day of the Dead in Mexico is a mixture of concepts, beliefs and traditions with Catholic and pre-Hispanic roots, all of which view the dead from different but intertwined angles and all of which have the same starting point: the belief in a life beyond death.

Pre-Hispanic cultures shared the belief in the existence of an immortal soul that gives consciousness to human beings and, after death, continues its journey in the world of the dead, where it continues to need utensils, tools and food.

Mictlan, also known as Chiconauhmictlan, is a way of referring to the world of the dead, the underworld, which in mythology and religion refers to a place beyond this life, where the souls of the dead rest after ceasing to exist on this plane of reality. The nine regions of Mictlán or Chiconauhmictlán refer to the subterranean world of Mexican mythology. It is a cosmovision of the Nahua beliefs that refers to space and time, structuring a universe into regions determined by living forces. It was created by the so-called “creator” gods: Xipetótec, Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcóatl and Huitzilopochtli.

Only those who died a natural death, whether lords or macehuals, went to Mictlán, regardless of rank or wealth, or illnesses that were not of a sacred nature. The dead had to pass through nine regions, from where they symbolically descended, as the sun god Tonatiuh does every night, into the jaws of the lord and lady of the earth, Tlaltecuhtli and Tlalcíhuatl.

According to this legend, after a 4-year journey (death is not sudden, but gradually transforms until it disappears) through obstacles that measure the strength of our spirit, we arrive at the gates of Mictlan, where we are welcomed by the lord of death Mictlantecuhtli and the goddess Mictlantecihuatl.

And why four years?

This is the time needed for a body to decompose, because in pre-Hispanic cultures, the bodies of the deceased were kept nearby until they turned to bone, a sign that they had arrived at their destination. In pre-Hispanic times, the cult of death was one of the fundamental elements of the culture: when a person died, they were buried wrapped in a mat and their relatives organised a feast to guide them along the path to Mictlan. In the same way, they would place food that they had loved when they were alive, thinking that they might go hungry.

La Catrina

Mictlancihuatl, the Aztec goddess of death, is, according to legend, the originator of the Catrina, a popular symbol of death and an icon of Mexican culture. However, its main purpose was not originally to serve the purposes of these dates.

La Catrina is a metal engraving published in 1873, based on an original illustration by the Mexican engraver and caricaturist José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913), depicting a skull and crossbones wearing a feathered hat in the European fashion of the time. Its original name was “La Calavera Garbancera” (“The Garbancera Skull”), as it was the name given to people who sold garbanza (a larger, whiter, better quality chickpea) and who, despite having indigenous blood, passed themselves off as Europeans, thus denying their race and cultural heritage. Posada said of these people:

“They’re all skin and bones, but with ostrich-feathered French hats”.

 

That’s why, at the time, the illustration was a critique and satire of certain characters in Mexican society at the time, who liked to pretend they were living a lifestyle that wasn’t their own.

But what is a catrina? A catrina, in Mexican dialect, is an elegant, well-dressed person, typical of the 19th-century aristocracy. The famous muralist Diego Rivera would later take the figure of the Calabera garbancera and transform it into a catrina. One of the Mexican painter and muralist’s most important works is Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central (Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central). This work, currently on display at the Diego Rivera Mural Museum, is a self-portrait of the artist in which he is accompanied by various emblematic figures from Mexican history.

So the Mexican legend that gives rise to the Day of the Dead and the Mexican way of looking at death is the story of the Mictlán, the underworld of pre-Hispanic cultures. Long before the conquistadors arrived on Mexican soil, the indigenous peoples had their own way of interpreting the world, life and death. The cult of death was widespread in pre-Hispanic cultures, as we have said. When a person died, they were buried wrapped in a petate (palm euille) and their relatives organised a feast to guide them on their journey to Mictlán. The pre-Hispanic peoples also made offerings (foods they liked, cempasúchil flowers that illuminated their way, among others) during their rituals.

With the arrival of the Spanish, other elements and practices were incorporated that reflect the syncretism between two cultures: the worldview of the indigenous peoples and the religious beliefs of Catholicism. Crosses, representations of Catholicism, and distilled beverages, which did not previously exist in these latitudes, are just two examples. Or the bread of the dead (now made from wheat flour, sugar, egg and yeast and decorated with a figure of crossed bones sprinkled with sugar), such a traditional part of this celebration, which appeared with the arrival of flour. In addition, it was the Spaniards who made the two-month-long celebration of the indigenous dead coincide with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints’ Day (1 and 2 November).

To remember and welcome loved ones back “into this world”, many Mexican households set aside a table or small piece of furniture to hold an altar of the dead, with photos of those who have crossed the threshold of death, showing them that they are still remembered in their homes and hearts. The traditional pan de muerto (bread of the dead), sweets, shredded paper in different colours, fruit, sugar skulls, water – because it is thought to have travelled a long way – cempasúchil (cempoalxúchitl) flowers and violet flowers known as moco de pavo or manta de candela (turkey snot) are placed there. If possible, they add what the person loved most in life and, of course, candles to light the way; there’s also the finishing touch: ‘papel china’, which normally varies between oranges, purples and blacks. Copal, an aromatic resin whose smoke is considered food for the celestial deities, is also present on the altars.

The festivities also include decorating the graves with flowers and often building altars on the headstones, which in pre-Columbian times was of great importance as it was thought that this would help guide souls on a good path after death.

Tradition also says that, to facilitate the return of souls to earth, cempasúchil flower petals should be scattered and candles placed to mark the path they will take, so that the souls do not get lost and reach their destination. In ancient times, this path ran from the family home to the cemetery where loved ones were laid to rest. It is also common for families to leave offerings along the path that leads from their home to the cemetery.

Día de muertos
Diego Rivera, Mexico City, 1944
Museum of Modern Art of Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico)
Oil painting (73.5 x 91 cm.)

The Day of the Dead is celebrated throughout Mexico, with some variations depending on the region or state. And, as Octavio Paz said :

This sentence perfectly sums up the way Mexicans feel about death, which they brag about with their Fiesta of the Dead, which was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008 because of its importance and significance as a traditional expression – both contemporary and alive – that is inclusive, representative and communal.

Before we go any further, it’s worth mentioning Pixar’s tribute film to the Day of the Dead: Coco. Directed by Lee Unkrich, editor and director of films such as “Toy Story”, “Monsters. Inc”, “Ratatouille”, “Cars” and “Finding Nemo”, and based on a screenplay by Adrián Molina, this film celebrates the Day of the Dead and the liturgy typical of such an important date.

Coco, which takes its name from the affectionate diminutive of Socorro, Miguel’s grandmother, is a sincere tribute to Mexican culture, traditions and folklore, represented by colour and respect for death and those who are no longer with us.