Analysis: It's an occasion to remember the dead through the actions of the living who cook, eat, drink, make music and decorate their graves
By Brenda Mondragon Toledo, TCD
Around this time of year, you may have seen Halloween decorations that reference Día de Muertos. It's a Mexican tradition celebrated around a similar time of year (November 1st and 2nd), but with little connection to Halloween. This celebration has gained popularity worldwide over the past few years, articularly after Disney's 2017 film Coco, which was their interpretation of the festivity. As a result, Día de Muertos is often conflated with Halloween or interpreted in similar ways, but this celebration speaks about life, death, family bonds, and community in Mexico and it is not meant to be spooky.
The origins of this celebration date back to the ancient civilisations living in the geographical region known as Mesoamerica, including the Mayas, Mexicas (also known as the Aztecs), Toltecs, Totonac and others. These cultures traditionally worshipped life and death: the Mexicas would have held an estimated seven celebrations a year related to the cult of the dead according to archaeological evidence. The end of October in the Northern Hemisphere marks the change of seasons (the end of the rainy season in Mexico). These changes are relevant for agricultural cycles, especially for harvesting grains like corn, which was sacred in Mesoamerican cultures.
From PBS Newshour, what is Día de Muertos?
In contrast, All Souls' Day was established in Catholicism by St Odilo in the Cluny Abby, France, in 998. When Catholicism was imposed in the Americas, it blended with the already existing traditions to give rise to what we now know as Día de Muertos. Catholicism banned the many celebrations around the cult of death, and All Souls’ Day was used to place all these forms of worship. This cultural process of merging different religions is known as religious syncretism. In Mexico, various expressions of syncretism are evident in the practice of Catholicism, which differs from the European tradition.
Death was significant for Mesoamerican cultures, which differed significantly from Catholic beliefs surrounding heaven, purgatory, hell, punishment and paradise, or from Dante's Divine Comedy. For example, death represented a journey to the Underworld for the Mexicas and how people died was key to understanding where they would go in the Underworld.
If they died from natural causes, the deceased would go to Mictlán (the place of the dead) with the god Mictlantecutli and the goddess Mictecacíhuatl. For deaths related to water, such as drowning or lightning, they would go to Tlalocan, the place of Tlaloc (the god of rain). Finally, Tonatiuhichan would be for heroic deaths, such as warriors killed at war, sacrificed people and women who died giving birth. They would go with Tonatiuh, the sun.
From the British Museum, documentary on the Mexican Day of the Dead with insights from artist Betsabee Romero, curator Laura Osorio Sunnucks and paleobiologist Omar Regalado Fernandez
Life, death and time in Mesoamerican cultures are cyclical rather than linear as in Western tradition. An example of these cyclical understandings of life and death is the journey that Tonatiuh (the sun) undertakes every night, travelling to the Underworld and then returning to the earthly world to bring light. His journey is represented in the Aztec sun stone (Aztec calendar) as a cyclical return.
With this understanding of cyclical time, our loved ones return once a year for Día de Muertos. These days represent the coexistence of life and death, marked by the return of the deceased. The first year after a person’s death is the most important one, as their soul needs to be guided by their families to their old home, to find an altar set specially for them. The scent of copal (a tree resin), the vibrant colours of Cempaxochitl (marigold flowers), and the light and warmth of candles serve as a guide for the souls to find their way to their altar.
The 'ofrenda’ or altar is usually dedicated to the beloved ones who are no longer with us and the way a person dies remains relevant for when their altars are set up and lit. It contains the deceased person’s favourite foods in life, such as special dishes, tortillas, mole, seasonal fruit, water and fizzy drinks. However, it may also include cigarettes, alcohol, and various personal items (clothes, toys, medication etc.). One special item on these altars are the sugar skulls (calaveritas de azúcar), which can also be made from chocolate or amaranth. The latter was traditionally used among Mesoamerican cultures.
Día de Muertos varies in length across communities. In some regions, it is celebrated only on November 1st and 2nd. In some communities, the celebration begins on October 28th for those who have had a tragic death. October 29th for those who drowned, and October 30th for lonely souls with no family members left behind. On All Saints' Day (November 1st), the altars are set up for deceased children and altars are dedicated to all the deceased on All Souls' Day (November 2nd),
In some communities, the transition from childhood to adulthood is marked exclusively by the rite of passage of marriage. For such reasons, some communities would include unmarried people, regardless of their age, on November 1st. In other places, this distinction is not made; dates and categories depend on each community.
There are many different ways to celebrate Día de Muertos, between the 68 Indigenous groups, non-indigenous communities and rural and urban areas
The families also prepare festive foods, such as mole or pozole, to welcome visitors to the altar. Visitors are expected to bring something, often candles, flowers or other forms of offering for the altar. These forms of visits and exchange are essential for strong community bonds and reciprocity.
Mexico is a pluridiverse country, and there are many different ways to celebrate Día de Muertos, between the 68 Indigenous groups, non-indigenous communities and rural and urban areas. But altars are the most representative aspect of it, as well as visits to the graveyards to bring flowers, food and sometimes music. The cooking of festive foods like mole, tamales, and a wide variety of bread known as pan de muerto, whose shape represents the corpse.
The author will be giving a talk on Día de Muertos at the Clondalkin Round Tower Visitor Centre on November 1st
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Dr Brenda Mondragon-Toledo is a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Sociology at TCD
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
