Day of the Dead

Centered around All Saints and All Souls Days on Nov. 1 and 2, preparations begin this month. Here on the coast, it is customary for local families to visit the cemeteries on Oct. 15 to clean and leave small offerings of flowers on the graves to remind the spirits of the dead to return in two weeks for their special fiesta.

Towards the end of the month people flock to the markets to buy the necessary goods to build their altars and the many herbs, spices and other ingredients to make the rich mole, chocolate, nuts, sweets, candy skulls, candles, incense and skeleton figures, games and toys. And, most importantly of all, the flowers: bright red coxcombs, white lilies, all manner of wild flowers and especially marigolds, cempasúchitl, the flower of the dead.

The observance of All Saints and All Souls Days was initiated by Pope Gregory in the 9th century and introduced into the New World shortly after the Conquest. It won ready acceptance because it meshed so easily with the beliefs and attitudes towards death of the indigenous people.

The cult of death was present in all of the cultures of Meso-America, nowhere stronger than among the peoples of Oaxaca. Mitla, one of the state's major archeological sites, means "place of the dead" and the pyramids of Monte Alban housed fabulous tombs filled with great treasures to accompany the departed.

In the modern era, the work of the satirist and lithographer José Guadalupe Posada, who used the skeleton motif to lambaste political figures and social injustice, created a resurgence of death imagery in popular art.

These skeleton images are called calaveras or "skulls". And they are seen everywhere, from the political cartoons on the opinion pages of the newspapers to children's toys and games. Calaveras is also the name for the humorous, if macabre, poems that are composed about the untimely demise of political leaders, friends and loved ones, even though they may still be alive.

Far from being solemn or morbid, the Day of the Dead celebrations are highly festive in tone. They celebrate the continuity of life and strengthen the links to the past. Death is the supreme equalizer; no matter how unjust the world might be, we all face the same fate. Rich or poor, ugly or beautiful, the wise and the ignorant, all, at that final hour, are destined to become bones and dust.

On the last days of the month the entire family prepares the household altar. A clean cloth is set out on a platform, arches of cane or reeds are built above it. Flowers are arranged, fruit, nuts, bowls of candy, candles and incense are laid out with photos of dead family members, religious icons and the ubiquitous, whimsical calaveras.

The altars are true works of art and proudly displayed in a place of prominence. On the night of Oct. 30 the women work all night to prepare the special foods for the following days when, first, the angelitos - the souls of the children who went straight to Heaven, since they were free of sin - and then the adult souls arrive to visit their families and once more share with earthly pleasures .

It is a remarkable time to be in the state of Oaxaca, to marvel at the creativity and spiritual strength of its people.

The Altar

En los bordes de la mesa, se amarran una cañas, carrizos o palma a los que se les da forma de un arco triunfal. Este arco simboliza la tierra y el cielo y el ciclo de la vida. Se adorna el arco con flores, sobre todo con cempasúchitl, la flor de muerto.

Otros ingredientes esenciales son:

1. Retrato de la persona recordada.
2. Doce cirios. Aunque pueden ser menos, tienen que ser en pares, y ojalá de color morado con coronas y flores de cera.
3. Dos calaveras grandes de azúcar. Y otra cantidad en pares, medianas.
4. Seis candeleros, con boca suficiente para ubicar los cirios.
5. Tres incensarios. Se pueden utilizar pequeños anafres o braceros.
6. Un lebrillo o aguamanil que tenga o no pedestal.
7. Una pieza de jabón de pan. Una toalla de cualquier calidad.
8. Jarra y vaso, preferiblemente de vidrio transparente para que se pueda apreciar el contenido que será de agua natural.
9. Cazuela o cazuelas con comida y un Chiquihuite tortillero.
10. Botella de licor, vaso 'caballito' (para tequila), un salero y un platito con un limón partido.
11. Cincuenta veladoras medianas (opcional).
12. Pan de muerto (Dos piezas medianas).
13. Papel de china que sea morado o rosa oscuro y tantos pliegos como superficie se pretenda cubrir.
14. Flores de zempoalxochitl, según las necesidades.
15. Copal. Ocote en rajas. Carbón de madera. Ceniza de leña.

Tambien se puede utilizar una gran selección de las frutas de la región: naranjas, plátanos, limas, jícamas, nuez, cacahuates y especialmente las manzanitas llamadas tejocotes que se pueden colgar con hilo como cadenas.