By Natalie Taylor
Like many Mexican holidays, the Day of the Dead is an example of syncretism—the melding of rites and traditions of the indigenous people and of the Spanish conquerors. However, the syncretic blending of Catholic and Aztec beliefs is built upon earlier mixing of cultures and traditions. The celebration of the Day of the Dead combines the rituals and beliefs of three diverse cultures. Think of an Irish stew with Spanish chorizo, jalapeno peppers, and a generous sprinkling of Catholic blessings.
One part of the story begins in the British Isles, with a 2500-year old Celtic celebration named Samhain (pronounced Sow-an). It was celebrated on the eve of October 31 and into November 1. It was a pagan, agricultural festival, defining the separation between summer’s lightness and winter’s darkness, and a time “when the normal order of the universe is suspended.” For the Celts the veil separating the living and the dead was especially thin on this day, and allowed spirits to visit the living. People prepared the favorite food of a beloved dead, or set a place at the table for them. It was a time of building large bonfires in the hope it would please the gods, and regenerate plants. In ancient times celebrants would circle the bonfire with the skulls of their ancestors, representing communion with the dead.
For early Christians, there existed a feast day to commemorate all Christian martyrs. Then by the early 7th century the Sunday after Pentecost became a commemoration of all saints, martyred or not. In 609, May 13 was chosen because it coincided with the date of the Roman pagan festival of Lemuria, in which malevolent and restless spirits of the dead were propitiated.
By the year 800, churches in the British Isles held a feast commemorating all saints on 1 November; most likely to absorb the pagan feast of Samhain into Catholic doctrine. The November 1, All Saints Day was made a day of obligation by papal decree. Later, in the 10th century, November 2 was added, becoming All Souls Day. It is the official time to visit cemeteries to pay respect to those who need to be purged of their minor sins.
The Spanish arrived in central Mexico in 1519, armed with the doctrines and rituals of the Catholic Church, and began the evangelizing process immediately. This meant instituting all the religious holidays that they would celebrate in the New World. Five hundred years ago, when the Spanish conquerors arrived, the region was populated by millions of indigenous inhabitants whom the conquistadores characterized as Aztecs, because they were all united under the expansive Aztec empire.
During the evangelizing process, the Spanish invaders demolished religious temples, burned Aztec idols and destroyed books. The indigenous people resisted efforts to eradicate their culture and instead, often blended their own religious and cultural practices with those imposed on them by the Spanish.
The native people worshipped the goddess Mictecacihuatl who presided over the underworld (Mictlán) with her husband, and was celebrated during what would correspond to our July and early August. According to one myth, Mictecacihuatl and her husband collected bones so they might be returned to the land of the living and be restored by the gods. The Aztec commoners buried their dead family members under their houses to keep them close, and laid food and precious objects with the departed to appease these fearsome underworld gods. They celebrated Mictecacihuatl, the formidable death goddess, with breads, flowers and a dynamic, raucous month-long party.
Realizing that they could not make the indigenous people abandon their millennial worship and celebration of the goddess Mictecacihuatl, the Spanish Catholic Church decided to compromise. They melded the indigenous festivities into a three-day Christian observance from October 31 through November 2. All Saints’ Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day became Day of the Dead, incorporating many of the indigenous practices with Catholic celebrations.
The latest addition to the Day of the Dead celebrations is the transformation of the primordial Mictecacihuatl into a new “lady of death.” The skeleton woman who wears fancy clothes and a European hat with flowers and feathers, appeared in 1913 as a cartoon character created by Mexican printmaker and lithographer Jose Guadalupe Posada.
He poked fun at the wealthy social types who tried to be European in their dress, denying their indigenous heritage. He believed death was democratic and in the end, we all end up as skeletons no matter what our status in life. But it was Diego Rivera who gave her a name: Catrina.
Today, Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead with offerings to the departed, flowers, sugar treats, and special sweet bread. All of these part of a long history of the melding of many cultures.
I loved this article. I thought I knew all about the Day of the Dead, but I hadn't realized that the idea of the whole celebration originated in the British Isles. 😍