Dia de los muertos

El dia de los muertos...Noche de Muertos...Day of the Dead

In Mexico the day of the dead is a widely celebrated holiday beginning on November first through the second. It is reknowned for being celebrated the most diligently in the state of Michoacan by the purepecha indigenous women living around the lake of Pazcuaro. Because the celebrations begin in the late evening and continue until early the next morning, I packed my bags up, checked out of the hostel in Morelia and set out to Pazcuaro with a fellow traveler to spend the entire night watching the festivities. At the last moment we chose the touristy route for celebrating the day of the dead, heading out to Pazcuaro to visit the artesan market that was full with delicious local candies, cookies, and sweets, including a variety of sugary skulls and skeletons used to decorate grave sites, and elaborate Catrinas, painted female skeleton statues. After spending hours reveiwing the local handicrafts we began an hour walk down to the dock in Pazcuaro where we boarded a lancha (long motor boat) to the island of Janitzio. The energy at the dock was very festive, with live Mexican brass bands playing, chattering spanish, and excited children. I noted that as part of the "touristy route" most people visiting the island were Mexican, not foreigners. The boat ride was about 40 minutes, strangely, on a lake to an island that I had never seen by day light. Once on the island the mood differed, it was a bit more subtle, yet not solemn. No brass bands playing, yet music still chimed out amidst the shouts of Purpecha women selling chili rellenos, fried fish, and quesadillas. The island itself is a small hill, born out of the water, covered from top to bottom in small concrete homes. Staircases climb in a circular labyrinth culminating at a large statue of Morelos, the patorn of Michoacan and hero of Mexican independance. Half way up the island hill was the cemetary, the panteon, which we had all come to visit. It is on the evening of the day of the dead when Purepecha women sit vigil at the graves of their loved ones through the entire night. They come to the graves, arms full with marigolds, flor de terciopelo, fresh fruits, breads (pan de muerto), and sweets to pacify the souls of the dead. It is beleived in Mexico, as it is in many cultures around the world, that this day is when the veils between the worlds of the living and dead are thin, so that the dead may travel across into the world of the living. The bright yellow marigolds that harken visions of pumpkins, ripe fruit, and autumn moments in the united states, are used to guide the dead to their grave sites where their families await them, their scent calling the spirits. The goodies, such as their favorite beer and tobacco, and pan de muerto are left as offerings to the espiritus. Beginning at around midnight families begin their procession down to the graveyard, setting up their alters, lighting candles, and bundling themselves up in their rebozos to hold their vigil until the morning. It is a quite ceremony, no singing, little talking, mostly held by the grandmothers (abuelas), mothers, and young women of the community. We held vigil in the cemetery with these women, hiking to the top of the hill and back to the twinkiling white candles of the cemetery, constantly shocked by the richness of color and tradition that met us in the cemetery. As light began to fill the sky and bath the small island, I saw it for the first time through the light of day. I realized that I had never spent a night in a cemetary, and that I had celebrated the day of the dead as these Purepecha women had for generations: watching the morning light dance over the graves of their beloved ones.

A few thoughts of mine on the Day of the Dead in Michoacan:
Their reverance of the dead and the transitions of life are a powerful lesson for a western minded women such as myself and many others who have never been taught to speak of death. An english woman that I met said that she was fascinated by the ritual, yet found it really creepy. When we discussed it more it was due to this fear of death with which we are enculcated from a young age.

I thought of the dedication of the familial unit in Mexico. How family is so important that even the dead are honored and revered. Secondly, that this reverence isnt a passing event, but an annual ritual shared with all of its members. Specifically for women, it is their role to light the candle of rememberance and ensure that it reamins burning through the generations of their families.

The use of plants in ritual is a potent reminder of the tranistions of life and death through the change of the seasons. The marigolds are full with life at this time of the year, equally with many foods such as pumpkins and apples, whereas many other foods begin to ferment and die as the season changes into winter. They are a tangible reminder of the fruitfullness of summer and of what is to come for winter.

Thanks for reading! Sleep well knowing the dead have been pacified with tequila and sugary skulls for yet another year!!