The Day Of The Dead In Mexico Religion Essay

“ Every Mexican is closely acquainted with decease, gags about it, caresses for it, sleeps with it, celebrates it, ” – said the Mexican poet Octavio Paz ( Kuhn. 2006 ) .

Day of the Dead ( Spanish: Dia de los Muertos ) is a vacation, festival which is dedicated to the memory of the dead people, and is held on the 1st -2nd of November in Mexico. There is a belief that the psyches of dead people come to their relatives` places these yearss ( Williams, 1998 ) .

The beginning of the vacation goes back to the folks of Maya, Purepech, Naun and Totonac. These people had been praising the dead during more than 3 thousand of old ages.

The Aztecs considered that the decease was more of import than the life. The life was deserving of nil, and they believed that go forthing, a adult male was traveling through the nine lower universes in Miktlan, which is the shelter of the dead people. No affair how people lived, it is of import how they were deceasing ; it influenced their destiny in the Hell. It is besides said that the Day of the Dead was brought to Mexico by Spanish people. But the Catholic Church is non able to eliminate heathen vacations till the terminal. Day of the Dead is a unsafe mix of Christian traditions of the vanquishers and the ancient Aztec imposts.

Talking about the history of this vacation, it is necessary to advert that the life for the dwellers of ancient Mexico was merely a minute. Death was waking dreams in the present, in order to come in the universe of the dead and appear in forepart of the other Gods, depending on the type of instance, which took away their lives. Those who have been sacrificed or died in a consequence of the war, went to the Sun after decease, the same destiny awaited the adult females who died, giving life to the kid. Those who have drowned found themselves in Eden ( Smith, 2005 ) .

The psyche of the dead kids were regarded as cherished, that ‘s why they stayed in the house ; the psyche that was non chosen by God was left in the underworld. In order to assist souls to go from this universe into the universe of the dead, without hold, people who died were buried or burned, along with things, nutrient, a Canis familiaris as a comrade and H2O for the route.

In the 16th century, when the conquering and colonisation began, the widespread airing of the Catholic faith besides started. Peoples were afraid of decease and snake pit that clip.

But in the 18th century, two types of attitude toward decease were intertwined in a individual cult. Skeletons and castanetss appeared once more, but with a gay and the amusing temper, in add-on, the Catholic symbols appeared in the local trades and nutrients. Now it is a popular vacation, which involves all sections of society.

It is believed, the psyche of the dead people return to the universe of alive in order one time once more to see their households for two yearss. Houses in these yearss look like the crypts, but the Gravess are decorated with flowers and threads, and all the relations and friends come to honour the memory of dead people. And in order their psyches which are returning to earth in the signifier of butterflies or hummingbirds do n’t acquire lost, tapers are lit everyplace, indicating them the manner place ( Verti, 1993 ) .

The vacation gathers the friends and household together in order to retrieve and pray for those have already died. The cult of the dead was really of import for Indian folks, which are why nowadays ceremonials, rites and traditions come from that clip. One of the enigmas of the vacation is the communion table, which is traditionally built on October 31. The Aztecs believed that the dead are returning place in order to take the necessary things for the journey to the universe of the dead: EL Mictlon. Now to construct the communion table is an unusual manner to demo the asleep relations, friends, that they are remembered and loved.

Each constituent of the communion table has a particular significance. The communion table stands on a tabular array covered with an embroidered fabric. The most of import constituent is the staff of life which has the form of the human organic structure and has the name of the deceased. The staff of life is surrounded by orange flowers of calendula, typifying the unhappiness. Candles should be firing around the communion table ( each of them gets the name of the deceased ) . In some places the route from the entryway door to the communion table is sprinkled with petals of calendula, in order the deceased non to acquire lost. On the 1st of November Mexicans go out, run into friends, and so hold dinner at place, stating amusing narratives.

Usual communion table, which Mexicans have on The Day of Dead has such things as: calaveras, fruit, nuts, tapers, staff of life of dead, intoxicant, coffin nails, papel picada ( pierced paper ) and a batch of petals of flowers ( Conklin, 2001 ) .

And on the 2nd of November people bring rice with milk, Sweets, tequila, coffin nails and java to altar. The underside of the communion table is decorated with Cucurbita pepos and axial rotations of assorted forms and colourss. Sometimes the portion of the communion table, is carried to the grave of the deceasedaˆ¦ adorning paths of graveyard with tapers. In those yearss, people treat each other on behalf of the asleep, in the hope that in the hereafter the deceased will assist in a hard minute.

The first twenty-four hours of the vacation is called “ Dia de los Angelitos ” ( Day of angels ) and is dedicated to the memorialization of small kids. For grownups is meant to be the 2nd twenty-four hours ; which is in fact, the Day of the Dead. All major events and jubilations are on the 2nd twenty-four hours. It is the twenty-four hours when street Marches, particularly in little towns and small towns are arranged. The manner of the jubilation can be really different: in some countries of the state the occupants organize sad solemn torch emanation, the type of funeral, while others prefer the burlesque merriment, bright colourss, dances and vocals. Normally people dress up as skeletons and at dark the whole state under the visible radiation of torches hastes to the Gravess of relations, taking traditional tequila, favourite nutrient of the asleep and sugar skulls with the names of dead people on brow. In the dark, it looks like a fiery river flows in the way of the graveyard. At graveyards people drink, eat, and dance ( Greenleigh, 1998 ) .

On the Day of the Dead it is common to compose humourous epitaphs and draw imitations of the asleep. Therefore, during the vacation people can purchase sugar and cocoa skulls of all sizes, marchpane caskets, skeletons and marmalade in every store.

Womans bake bars and doughnuts with the form of castanetss, the crosses of the dough, and other ornaments for the communion table, for the field day at the graveyard.

The Day of the Dead is the most popular vacation in Mexico. Mexicans` attitude to the decease is non usual ; it is non tragic, but joyous twenty-four hours for run intoing with those who were dear for them. It is non a tragic vacation, but exultant festival, with the colorful costumed emanation and the music. This vacation is so important, unusual, and colorful, that in 2003, “ it was declared the heritage of world by UNESCO ” ( Kuhn, 2006 ) .

It is really beautiful and interesting to walk at Mexican graveyard at the Day of Dead. Every grave is a peace of art, which can organize an thought about the dead individual: whether he was a carpenter, or a watchmakeraˆ¦

There is a little edifice at every graveyard, which looks like a room with a hole in the ceiling. This is a particular topographic point which people use in order to speak to dead people. If person has something of import to state to the dead people, he can travel into this room and whisper his of import information. And if the Teller is sincere, so he will be ever heard by the asleep individual.

There is a demand to state that while jubilation, people cook Sweets in the signifier of skulls, make particular statuettes of appareled female skeletons Katrina ( Spanish: La Calavera de la Catrina ) . In 2004 the pupils of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, built a wall from 5,667 sugar, cocoa and caramel skulls, which is 2,667 skulls more than the former wall. The wall has become one of the records from the Guinness Book of Records ( Brandes, 2006 ) .

Mexicans have really specific attitude to decease, that is why their vacation Day of the Dead is one of the best and popular vacations in their civilization. As celebrated Mexican poet Octavio Paz wrote: “ Unafraid Mexican does n’t experience baffled when decease comes, he is ready to travel forward it, to teas, allure it, squeeze it in his weaponries, lie down with it in bed ; it is his favourite plaything and the last love. ”

Work Cited

Brandes, Stanley. “ Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead. ” Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1405152478. 12.15 ( 2006 ) . pp. 232.

Conklin, Paul. “ Death Takes A Holiday. ” U.S. Catholic 66 ( 2001 ) : 38-41.

Greenleigh, John. , Beimler, Rosalind Rosoff. The yearss of the dead: Mexico ‘s Festival of Communion with the Departed. ( 1998 ) . p. 56.

Kuhn, John. “ Making a dark of Day of the Dead. ” Los Angeles Times 18. 10 ( 2006 ) .

Smith, Fiona. “ Bolivians Honor Skull-Toting Tradition ” . Associated Press. 11.08 ( 2005 ) .

Verti, Sebastian. Mexican traditions. ( 1993 ) . pp. 112-115.

Williams, Rick. “ The Day of the Dead, Halloween, and the Quest for Mexican National Identity. ” Journal of American Folklore 442 ( 1998 ) . pp. 359-80.