Colorful calaveras, altars, parades, music, a thin thread connects the world of the living to that of the dead. This is the Dead’s day, Dia de los muertos, which takes place between October 31st and November 2nd in Mexico. It’s in honor of the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl.
Dia de los muertos in Mexico
The Dead’s day is a day of celebration and happiness because it creates a spiritual channel that reunites the souls of relatives with those still alive. Spirits are therefore not entities to be feared but rather to be loved. Therefore, people prepare an ofrenda to commemorate them, a special altar with candles, fruit, food, and bread.
To guide the souls to home, families form a path with petals of a special flower called cempasuchil or Indian Carnation, a bright orange flower: the “flower of the dead”.
Behind this celebration lies the complex universe of Mexican spirituality, made up of rituals, popular cults, folklore, a blend of indigenous traditions, particularly Aztec and Mayan, and Catholicism.
Zinacantan in San Juan Chamula
In San Juan Chamula, a small town not far from San Cristobal de las Casas, you can find an example of how deeply rooted is the religious syncretism. Here lives the Zinacantan community, speaking the tzotzil language. They are one of the main indigenous groups in Chiapas, known for their distinctive men’s clothing, consisting of waist-cinching woolen tunics, and for their women’s embroidered jackets and long black linen skirts.
This ethnic group has maintained its ancient customs, such as weaving on traditional looms to produce ceremonial “huipil emplumado” robes, costumes decorated with chicken feathers. The Zinacantecos also produce rugs, baskets, mats, and hats from palm leaves.
The local church demonstrates the fusion of the Catholic religion and ancient Mayan culture. Here you can find statues of saints and a floor covered in pine needles, a symbol of their relationship with nature. There are no benches because the faithful sit on the ground. There healing rites take place with fetishes such as bones, eggs and live sacrificed chickens.
Curanderismo in Mexico: the Limpia ritual
Mexican shamanism, also known as “curanderismo”, is a system of indigenous spiritual and medicinal practices that includes, among others, the Limpia ritual. It is an ancient practice of energetic and spiritual purification that identifies the natural elements of water, earth, and fire. They remove negative energies and restore balance between the physical body and its “double”, the spiritual body.
The curandero rubs on the body a branch of a special plant, eucalyptus, rue, laurel: they represent the earth. “Copal”, or incense, is a resin sacred to the gods and symbolizes air. Poured onto fire, it forms a smoke blown on mind and heart. The water is flavored with essential oils carefully chosen based on the person and the “illness” to be cured. Another fundamental element during the ritual is the egg, the perfect symbol of fertility and resurrection, passed over the body to absorb negative energies.
Temazcal: purification and rebirth
Another traditional ritual in Mexican culture is the Temazcal, a purification and rebirth ceremony during which participants sit inside a sweat lodge. It’s built with branches and blankets, mud, or volcanic stone.
The shape of the lodge is not random, but follows a precise geometry that symbolizes plant, animal, human, and mineral kingdoms. The sixteen branches join together to form the dome, an eight-pointed star embodying the planets and the universe. This ritual lasts at least two hours.
The term temazcal derives from temazcalli, that in the Uto-Atzec language means “the house of heat”. During the ritual they light a sacred fire to warm the stones. People calls them the “Abuelas”, literally “grandmothers”, since they are something primordial. Water infused with medicinal herbs is poured over them. Leaving the dome is like emerging from the womb of Mother Earth: the temezcal is a rebirth.
Tensegrity
During shamanic practices, curanderos and temazcleros perform “magical movements”, called Tensegrity, which allow them to gather and channel energy. For the same purpose, they use ritual objects such as rattlesnake rattles and “ojo de venado” seeds, or “deer’s eye”, from South American vines. They serve as amulets against the evil eye. Their name comes from the fact that they are black and brown seeds, oval in shape with a dark spot in the center resembling an eye.
Folkloristic figures in Mexico
Mexican spirituality is also connected to some folkloristic figures, the result of pre-Columbian beliefs influenced by Spanish and African traditions.
Chaneques are spirit-like or elf-like creatures who guard nature and wild species that inhabit forests and caves. “Chaneque” comes from the Nahuatl language and means “those who inhabit dangerous places”. They have the ability to shapeshift and can be white, meaning benevolent, or black, meaning chaos and disorder. According to a local legend, to avoid being robbed by them when venturing into the jungle, you must wear your clothes inside out!
The alebrije is a totem animal, a spirit guide, a kind of guardian angel. Pedro Linares, an artist from Mexico City, reproduced these animals in papier-mâché after they appeared to him in a dream during his illness. In the Oaxaca region, alebrijes are made from copal wood, carved and painted with handmade pigments and acrylics.
Are you ready to reborn through one of these ancient rituals?