Rituals Around Life and Death in Mexico; The Day of the Dead

Abstract

The Indigenous rituals commemorating the dead in Mexico have been reconstructed through generations and cultural syncretism. They can be traced from their pre-Columbian origins to present day festivities of Día de Muertos or Day of the Dead. This chapter aims to show the way that death is seen and commemorated for the Mexican cultures, the multiple origins of the festivities which are held today in Mexico and how they have survived, blended and overlapped. It explains that some particular approaches to the ways the celebrations and rituals for the dead have to be considered in order to understand the diversity that generated what people live in Mexico nowadays. Our work highlights the cultural importance of these rituals and the multiple effects that began as the cultural syncretism process with the European culture, especially the religious aspects started. We discuss the way these festivities have been institutionalized by the cultural official policies and the marketing consequences of such homogenization. Finally we show its cultural and pedagogical value and some advantages of spreading to the world of this UNESCO-appointed Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Our chapter explores the ways Mexicans commemorate death and dead people and the indigenous origins of one of the Mexican dearest celebrations, bringing unique opportunities to learn and approach a nonwestern and rather admirable way of living everyday life and death.