Día de Muertos/Day of the Dead
Birth and death, two of the most transcendental moments of life are celebrated by all cultures according to their particular belief system, historical development, environment, and evolution within their culturally specific context. Every world culture has coping mechanisms to deal with the loss of life. In México, the belief among its native ethnic groups and within the great majority of its' Mestizo (mixed European, Indigenous, African ancestry) population, is that the dead have divine permission to return to the family home for forty-eight hours (November 1st & 2nd) each year to enjoy the pleasures they knew in life, and it is the duty and responsibility of the surviving family members to welcome their deceased loved ones and ancestors for a brief reunion on their yearly visit. Day of the Dead celebrates a communion between the living and the dead in a colorful festival of ritual and life.

Pre-Columbian México
Within the cycle of Mexican festivals, Día de Muertos festivites are among the most important. Anthropologists believe the Day of the Dead to be the oldest surviving celebration in the Americas, with roots deep in Pre-Columbian world of Mesoamérica and intertwined with European beliefs and traditions brought over by the Spanish conquerors in 1519.

Death is not regarded as a termination, but a culmination of the life cycle and as an entrance into another realm in which earthly aspects are recreated. Life and death, or paired oppositions - duality, is one of the basic structural religious principles of Mesoamérican religious thought. * Photo, right: Giant statue of Coatlicue, She of the Serpent Skirt, Post-Classic Mexika-Aztec

Dating back to the Pre-Classic period (1,500 BC) through the post-classic period (1521 AD), Mesoamérican cultures held similar cosmogenic beliefs as well as similar beliefs towards death and the afterlife. They also practiced similar funerary and commemorative rituals towards their dead. Foremost, they conceived death as an integral part of life. The duality of creation and the universe was the central axis of their belief system. Everything was inexorably tied to its opposite, thus, life was seen as death and death as life. As a matter of fact, life was viewed mostly as a dream and it was believed that death brought the awakening from that dream. In a flowery poem written by Mexika (me-SHEE-ka) -Aztec, Texcoco Speaker or Ruler, Netzhualcoyotl, he explores this metaphor:

"We come only to sleep, only to dream
It is not true, it is not true that we come to live on this earth
We become as Spring weeds, we grow green and open the petals of our hearts
Our body is a plant in flower, it gives flower and dies away . . ."

As one awoke from the dream of life, the dwelling place of one's afterlife was not determined by one's conduct on earth, with all of its transgressions, but, rather, by the manner in which one died. Their world view was not based on a doctrine of salvation or redemption, but on one with an ethical concept dissimilar to the Christian one. Ethical principles which guided their life and the approval of the gods, thus led to the attainable happiness on earth. Through particular forms of religious observance, the peoples of Mesoamérica have sought to ensure harmony and balance both with themselves and with the greater cosmos.

One's destiny after death was a matter for the gods to determine, not the individual. Therefore, one's final destiny in the afterlife was determined by the manner of the individuals' death. For example, Eagle and Jaguar Warriors who died in battle, as sacrificial victims to Tonatiuh (toh-nah-tu), the Sun God, or women who died in childbirth were destined to join Tonatiuh on his daily trajectory across the zenith. Tlaloc (tlah'-lohk), the Rain God, called those whose death involved water (drowning, pneumonia, etc.) to dwell in Tlalocan (tlah'loh-kahn), the paradise of Tlaloc. Children under the age of three went to the tree of the nursemaid, or Chichihuacuaucho (chee-chee-wah-kwah-ooh'-ko) the wet-nurse tree, located in Omeyocan or "place of duality." Along with other minor exceptions, the great majority of the dead traveled the road of the nine underworlds to Mictlan (meek'tlan), the land of the dead, to be greeted by Mictlantecuhtli (meek-tlan'-teh-kook'tlee) and his consort.

As each level was reached, the dead had met up with a dangerous challenge which they had to negotiate and overcome in order to reach the end of their difficult journey. The present day practice of placing ofrendas, or offerings of food, water and salt on the leveled altars which are installed during Día de Muertos celebrations is a reflection of this ancient belief.

All in all, the honoring of the dead as well as a cult of death played a prominent role throughout Mesoamérica and the rituals and ceremonies associated with death can be divided into three general categories:
1) The worship of the gods of death and all of those associated with the underworld.
2) Ancestor worship with specific rituals.
3) Elaborate funerary rituals and yearly ceremonies honoring the dead, July 24 - August 12, Miccaihuitontli (meek-ky-wee-tohn-tlee) was for the children and August 13 - September 1, Hueymiccailhuitl (way-meek-ky-eel-weetl).


* Images from 2007 Microsoft "Live Search"

Muertos | History| Vocabulary & Bibliography | Hands-on Projects

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