Día de Muertos is here! In Mexico, the celebration begins on October 28th when the first candle is lit and a white flower is placed on the altar. The festival continues thru November 3rd when we say goodbye to our deceased and remove the offering. You probably already know that this holiday involves lots of calacas y calaveras (skeletons & skulls) Like any good Mexican fiesta, this celebration is filled with colorful decorations, delicious food, music, and even dancing. But did you know Día de los Muertos wasn't always celebrated this way?
Today, this holiday is a blend of catholic traditions brought by the Spanish and Indigenous practices, but its origin is quite sacred for our Indigenous communities.
Prior to colonization, the Mexica held a mid-summer festival to worship Mictēcacihuātl, queen goddess of the Dead and her husband Mictlāntēcuhtli, ruler of Mictlān (the underworld). Ceremonial dances were performed to honor them and ask for protection for those who had passed. The festivities embraced death with rituals, burning of copālli (insense) at the temple of Tlālxicco, and even human sacrifice.
As the Indigenous population was christianized, Spanish priests moved the celebration to coincide with All Souls Day and the holiday became what we know today. Some Indigenous communities still continue celebrating in more traditional ways, such as in Pomuch, Campeche, where locals exhume the bones of the dead to clean them and include them in the festivities. Watch a video about it here
For Mexicans, Día de los Muertos is a cultural celebration that strengthens family ties, keeps traditions alive, and connects us to our ancestry.
To expand on this subject thru a decolonized lens READ the book Feathered Serpent and the Five Suns,
Watch this YouTube video to see how Día de los Muertos is celebrated in present day.
Make your own paper mini ofrenda using my free printable kit.
Bonus: see Mictēcacihuātl, Mictlāntēcuhtli, and their realm depicted in the animated film The Book of Life.
