Día de Los Muertos
Día de Los Muertos, dating back more than 3,000 years, is an important and symbolic holiday in México that is meant to honor the souls of deceased loved ones and the souls of all saints. The colorful holiday is not one of sadness, but visually piercing celebration with costumes, art, flowers, food and entertainment that evoke enjoyment, laughter, and remembrance. In this project, we discuss different facets of this major holiday, including las cavaleras, ofrendas, and the way Mexican culture approaches death with comfort and humor.
"To the inhabitant of New York, Paris, or London, death is a word that is never used because it burns the lips. The Mexican, on the other hand, frequents it, mocks it, caresses it, sleeps with it, entertains it; it is one of his favourite play things and his most enduring love."
- Octavio Paz
We are all a part of a folk group automatically when we are born into our family. Aside from unique folklore (traditions, values, beliefs, practices, et al.) that your family creates themselves, there are others more widely shared folklore within that family's religious, regional, or social aspect of their life.
Día de Los Muertos is a holiday shared among everyone throughout México and Mexican culture. This holiday is celebrated both on November 1 and November 2.
On November 1, it is required by the Roman Catholic Church that special mass is given for all souls and saints, both children and adults alike. November 2 is a day to honor all souls that remain in purgatory.
As defined by the Oxford Dictionary, purgatory is a "a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven."
This form of folklore allows the people of México to express their values, beliefs, and identities in several ways. Folklore in itself serves nationalistic goals and solidifies unique identities created within the country of origin by illustrating the essence of particular groups of people. Día de Los Muertos reflects México's defining norms and values. It represents their religious values through Roman Catholicism, with the holiday being extremely important to the church. This celebration is also considered a unique phenomenon to the rest of the world because through other parts of the world also celebrate an "All Souls Day," México is the only country to celebrate a "Day of the Dead" in the way they do (i.e., humor). As we'll see later, humor on this celebration is used to equalize the elite with the poor, delineating death as inescapable by none.
OFRENDAS
Ofrendas ("offerings") are the consumable part of the tradition of Día de Los Muertos. People put up decorated altars for their departed loved ones, and this includes rosaries, small statues, pictures of saints, photographs of the departed and their favorite foods or meals. This is also a place for the vivid floral arrangements that sometimes spread from the street to the altar so as to welcome the almas ("souls") into the homes that the altars are located.
The ofrendas that are placed on the altar are all things that are meant to entice or lure the spirits of the deceased to the homes or location the altar is in.
Sometimes these altars and/or ofrendas are placed at the grave sites of deceased family members, where an all-night vigil can be held. These vigils often include alcohol to toast to the dead, and to encourage story-telling of family members.
It's often said that "strange happenings" can occur while serving these ofrendas and telling stories of the deceased. This might include the sudden snuffing out of a candle, or the mere feeling of their presence.
LAS CAVALERAS
Las cavaleras translates to "skulls" but it is used also to reference whole skeletons. In this context, cavaleras play an immense part of Día de Los Muertos, and are often what people think of when they think of this celebration (including people who are not of Mexican descent). These skeletons are depicted to be smiling and dressed in fancy clothes. As we have already established, Día de Los Muertos is a festive and cheerful holiday, so it comes as no surprise that humor plays an integral role, as it is the catalyst for many rituals and traditions on this day.
First and foremost, las cavaleras are a way to give comfort to both children and adults when thinking about the idea of death. It is taught that death is always within us because of our skeletons. We all have them and that is taught to mean that we never really die and the dead do not go away forever. Now, cavaleras representing this in a humorous manner makes death an easier topic to approach.
Cavaleras are shown to have permanent smiles while they represent something deeper. There is a major disparity between the poor and the elite throughout México. Death is commonly seen as the great equalizer, because regardless of class, social status or wealth, none are able to escape it. By using cavaleras, the general public is able to minimize the importance of status, possessions, and grand lifestyles. It's a way of speaking to these people of the ruling class in an obvious and humorous way.
The very idea of this is pertinent to folklore because when we learn about history, much of it is dominated by the ruling class and the elite. Folklore is a place to learn about the traditions of the working class and the poor, and the unofficial knowledge and experiences they have to share with each other and each generation.
"Why should I fear death when life has cured me of frights?
-Mexican Proverb
Bonus!
La Llorona, Un Alma Siempre en El Purgatorio
La Llorona, or "The Weeping Woman," is an urban legend told in many Spanish speaking countries. Her soul is in purgatory forever due to the sins she committed by murdering her own children.
One version of the story says she had three children with a man in a higher social class than her. The children were born out of wedlock. The man didn't want to marry her so she reacted out of rage and drowned her children to get back at her lover. Another version says she killed her children out of desperation and not knowing what to do because they were extremely poor.
In either version, the result is that La Llorona is now doomed to roam the earth, her soul in purgatory forever, wandering around in the night near the lake or river looking for her children. With extreme guilt and regret, she cries out for her children, weeping and wailing.
The legend of La Llorona is told to children as a cautionary tale, convincing them to behave or "Llorona would get them" (think the Boogie Man). However, people remember this legend into adulthood, leading them to be able to empathize in some way with Llorona since they have experienced life and its many trials. They can connect with the feeling of hopelessness and not seeing many options.
Sources
Congdon, Kristin. “MAKING MERRY WITH DEATH: Iconic Humor in Mexico’s Day of the Dead.” In Of Corpse: Death and Humor in Folkore and Popular Culture, edited by PETER NARVÁEZ, 198–220. University Press of Colorado, 2003. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt46nsgh.11.
Brandes, Stanley. “The Day of the Dead, Halloween, and the Quest for Mexican National Identity.” The Journal of American Folklore 111, no. 442 (1998): 359–80. https://doi.org/10.2307/541045.
Brandes, Stanley. “Sugar, Colonialism, and Death: On the Origins of Mexico’s Day of the Dead.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 39, no. 2 (1997): 270–99. http://www.jstor.org/stable/179316.
Sims, M., & Stephens, M. (2011). 1. In Living folklore an introduction to the study of people and their traditions (p. 3). essay, Utah State University Press.
Sims, M., & Stephens, M. (2011). 2. In Living folklore an introduction to the study of people and their traditions (p. 31). essay, Utah State University Press.
WEBSITES
National Geographic Society. “Día De Los Muertos.” National Geographic Society, November 9, 2012. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/dia-de-los-muertos/.
Australia, SBS. “Mexico's Day of the Dead: What Do All the Symbols Mean?” SBS Your Language, November 2, 2018. https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/mexico-s-day-of-the-dead-what-do-all-the-symbols-mean.
PHOTOS
Babbel.com, and Lesson Nine GmbH. “11 Things You Probably Didn't Know about Día De Los Muertos.” Babbel Magazine. Accessed March 11, 2022. https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/11-things-you-didnt-know-dia-de-los-muertos.
“Celebrating Día De Los Muertos with MSC Camac.” Texas A&M Today, November 2, 2020. https://today.tamu.edu/2020/11/02/celebrating-dia-de-los-muertos-with-msc-camac/.
Chavez, Nicole. “Day of the Dead Has Everything to Do with the Afterlife, Love and Those Colorful Skulls You've Seen Around.” CNN. Cable News Network, November 2, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/02/us/day-of-the-dead-dia-de-los-muertos-trnd/index.html.
“Dia De Los Muertos: 5 Things about Its Culture and History ...” Accessed March 11, 2022. https://www.super-loco.com/whats-new/the-loco-way/diadelosmuertos-day-of-the-dead-5-things-about-culture-history/.
Dimova, Maria. “How to Create a Vibrant Day of the Dead Portrait in Adobe Illustrator.” Design & Illustration Envato Tuts+. Envato Tuts, November 2, 2015. https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-create-a-vibrant-day-of-the-dead-portrait-in-adobe-illustrator--cms-25080.
History.com Editors. “Day of the Dead (Día De Los Muertos).” History.com. A&E Television Networks, October 30, 2018. https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/day-of-the-dead.
“How to Celebrate the Day of the Dead with Cultural Sensitivity.” The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, November 2, 2019. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/dia-de-los-muertos-day-of-dead-mexican-culture-tradition-respect-appropriation-halloween-a9179661.html.
“The Importance of Ofrendas on Día De Los Muertos.” Portland Monthly. Portland Monthly, October 5, 2021. https://www.pdxmonthly.com/style-and-shopping/2021/10/ofrendas-dia-de-los-muertos.
“La Llorona the Weeping Woman Mexican Folktale Art 6x8.” Etsy. Accessed March 11, 2022. https://www.etsy.com/listing/646027742/la-llorona-the-weeping-woman-mexican.