El Dia de los Muertos

by Mildred Boyd

 

Primitive man believed that the spirits of the dead were envious of and malevolent toward the living. Complex burial rites evolved from their efforts to appease and/or restrain those spirits. Most mythologies relate many instances of haunting ghosts seeking vengeance with terrible consequences. By Medieval times, All Hallows Evening, or Halloween, was a time to sit trembling with fear behind locked doors and guarded by hex signs and the Holy Cross while the witches and warlocks and ghouls and goblins and vengeful ghosts whooped it up outside.

As knowledge increased and superstition declined, men began to make a game of Halloween; a bit of impish nose thumbing at the supernatural with a little frisson of fear to liven up the occasion.

Primitive Meso-American cultures took an entirely different view of death. To them, it was simply a move from one plane of existence to another, preferably but not always, higher level. The conversion to Christianity modified but did not eradicate those pagan beliefs and even today the Day of the Dead is a true celebration, designed to make returning spirits welcome when they pay a friendly visit. The original celebration can be traced to many Mesoamerican native traditions dedicated to children and the dead. This ritual fell roughly at the end of the Gregorian month of July, but it was moved by Spanish priests to coincide with All Hallows Eve; a vain effort to transform it from a profane to a Christian celebration. The result is that Mexicans now celebrate the day of the dead during the first two days of November, but remember the dead they still do, each area in slightly different ways. In Oaxaca, for instance, there is a frenzy of preparation as families prepare to welcome the departed.

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