Essays

Moseying: Living La Vida Llanero

Dia de los Muertos
November 5, 2003

In November of 2001 Deborah and I went to San Antonio for our wedding anniversary. We loved El Mercado, a collection of 150 shops, restaurants, and galleries housed in restored historical buildings dating to the late 1800s. We admired the vegetables and fruits on Produce Row, and shopped for several hours, making purchases of ceramics, tinworks, papeles picados, and more. In the food court we discovered a public display of Dia de los Muertos ofrendas created by school children and artists. The kids had made ofrendas honoring recently deceased pop and movie stars, as well as ones honoring friends and relatives.

We spent an hour surveying the display -- totally entranced. Having a seasonal display to honor the loved ones that have died strikes a deep emotional cord in both of us. Deborah, having extensively traveled in Mexico in her younger days, was familiar with the tradition. Being of Irish heritage, for years she had lit a candle beside a picture of passed love ones on Samhain, the Celtic "final harvest of the year" festival day on October 31st. (The Irish tradition of the Jack o'lantern - the hollowing out of a turnip and putting a candle inside became part of the American Halloween tradition -- but with a pumpkin. Halloween was created, to a large degree, by upscale ladies magazines in the 1880s describing seasonal decorations for "courting" parties for young adults. )

My parents died in 2000. After my parents' deaths I tried to live up to a subconscious image of what I believed they would want me to do. I drove myself to the detriment of my health, and drove Deborah crazy. I did not know how to deal with my grief. To spend time creating a memorial for my parents each year, I believed, would help me process my emotions. After seeing the ofrendas, we decided we should begin a Dia de los Muertos tradition of our own, so we returned to the shops of El Mercado where we began selecting various items for a future ofrenda. On later travels we have found more items for our ofrenda.

In Mexico, Dia de los muertos the public part of the ritual is the all-night vigil held at the camposanto (cemetery). At midnight on the night of November 1st the people walk to the graveyard, where thousands of candles are lit, as well as copal incense. The candles symbolize the eternal soul, and are for the spirits of the dead to warm their hands. Tales of the deceased are told at the gravesite. Staying awake all night, the people also share with the dead their own successes of the past year. On the day before, the graves were cleaned, and flowers (cempasuchil, the yellow marigold) are arranged on the grave. A trail of marigolds is sometimes laid from the grave to the home, so the deceased can find their way to the offerings of the ofrenda.

The Mexican perspective on death is reflected in the folk art of the holiday. On the holiday of Dia de los Muertos, the belief that death is a part of the cycle of life is exhibited. Death is not something terrifying, but a different dimension of life. The spirit world and the living world interact on Dia de los Muertos, when the almas (the souls of the dead) come back for family reunions. Candied skulls are made and sold and given to children and friends, and placed on ofrendas. Candied skeletons, skulls, banners with skeletons, and papier-mâché skeletons abound. The presence of the skeletons (calaveras) reminds the living that all are mortal. Often the late 19th century etchings of calaveras by Jose Guadalupe Posada are displayed.

For Dia de los Muertos an altar (known as an ofrenda) is erected specifically for the holiday. For several days before, food is prepared -- not only the favorite food of the deceased to be placed on the altar, but food to share. On the evening of November 2nd, extended family members gather for a feast. Sweet calaveras (treats in the shape of a skeleton) are inscribed with names to denote that each is made for a specific person as a gift.

There are nine major elements of an ofrenda. A glass full of water is placed on it, to slake the thirst of the spirits, and it represents purity, and to symbolize that it is the source of life. A small bowl of salt is also placed on the ofrenda, as a symbol of wisdom, as an invitation to eat, and for its purifying qualities that retard the corruption of death. Candles on the ofrenda symbolize eternal love, faith, hope, and the triumph of the deceased for having passed into immortality.

Copal is lit, to transmit prayers to God. Flowers (usually marigolds) signify love, and symbolize the life-giving sun. Sometimes an empty chair sits beside the ofrenda, strewn with marigolds, to give the visiting spirit a place to sit. A facsimile of a petate (or sleeping mat) is laid out, so the spirit can rest and enjoy the ofrenda. Many ofrendas have an image of a chihuahua dog, who in Nahuatl mythology helps the deceased to cross the river of the dead (Chiconauapan) on the road to Mictlan (the land of the Dead.) A favored toy of the deceased (if a child) is also placed on the ofrenda. And last, but foremost, the favorite food of the deceased, known as itacate (traveler's provisions.) Corn, peloncillo, pan de muerto, and sugar calaveras are common items of food on an ofrenda. Photographs of the deceased have become a modern element as well. Items loved by the deceased are also placed on the ofrenda -- tools (either full-size or miniature), clothing, books, or other things that symbolize the deceased for the living. The food on the ofrenda is eaten by the living in the evening of the 2nd , very slowly, meditatively, for it has been blessed by the dead.

To my knowledge, Dia de los muertos is not publicly celebrated on the Llano Estacado. Deborah and I noticed only a few instances of "Halloween" ornamentation that have Dia de los Muertos elements in local business establishments. Friends tell us, however, that many people in the region go to Ojinaga for the holiday, and to participate in this most Mexican of celebrations. Our appreciation of Dia de los Muertos has drawn us closer to our charro son-in-law from Michoacan. He excitedly told us stories of the celebrations in his hometown, and of his family's observances. An added reason for creating an ofrenda is to teach our grandsons to value all parts of their cultural heritages. The older grandson, when angry at his father, has told him, " I wish you were more American." Our ofrenda is a way to tell him, "Americans are of every culture of the world. The United States of America is a place that respects the unique differences of all people."