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The Day of the Dead

• Art work from
• other Cultures

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What is the day of the Dead?

• More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish
  Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they
  saw native Indians practicing a ritual that
  seemed to mock death.

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The Day of the Dead

• A ritual known today as Dia de los Muertos, or
  Day of the Dead, had been practiced by the local
  people at least 3,000 years.
• The Spaniards tried to stamp out the ritual but
  were unsuccessful.
• It is still celebrated in Mexico and certain
  parts of the USA.

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What is The Day of The Dead?

• This ancient festivity has been changed
  throughout the years, but which was originally
  intended to celebrate children and the dead.
• The best way to describe this Mexican holiday is
  to say that it is a time when Mexican families
  remember their dead, and the continuity of life.

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What is The Day of The Dead?

• Celebrations are held each year in Mesa,
  Chandler, Guadalupe and at Arizona State
  University.
• Although the ritual has since been merged with
  Catholic celebrations, it still keeps some of the
  elements of the Aztec ritual, such as the use of
  skulls.

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What is The Day of The Dead?
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What is The Day of The Dead?

• The original celebration can be traced to the
  festivities held during the Aztec month of
  Miccailhuitontli, ritually presided by the
  goddess Mictecacihuatl ("Lady of the Dead"), and
  dedicated to children and the dead.
• The rituals during this month also featured a
  festivity dedicated to the major Aztec war deity,
  Huitzilopochtli ("Sinister Hummingbird").

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When is the Day of the Dead?

• In the Aztec calendar, the Day of the Dead ritual
  fell roughly at the end of July and the beginning
  of August.
• The Spanish priests moved the ritual so that it
  came at the same time as the Christian holiday of
  Halloween (in Spanish "Día de Todos Santos,")
• As a result the Mexicans now celebrate the Day of
  the Dead during the first two days of November
  rather than at the beginning of summer.

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Day of the dead masks
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What happens in the celebrations?

• The days activities consist of visits by
  families to the graves of their close kin.
• At the gravesites family members start by
  sprucing up the gravesite, decorating it with
  flowers, setting out and enjoying a picnic, and
  interacting socially with other family and
  community members who gather at the cemetery.
• Families remember the departed by telling stories
  about them.

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What happens in the celebrations?

• The meals prepared for these picnics are
  sumptuous, usually featuring meat dishes in spicy
  sauces, a special egg-batter bread, cookies,
  chocolate, and sugary confections in a variety of
  animal or skull shapes.
• Gravesites or family altars are decorated with
  large, bright flowers such as marigolds and
  chrysanthemums and adorned with religious
  jewellery and (in smaller villages) with
  offerings of food, cigarettes and alcoholic
  drinks.

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What happens in the celebrations?

• The warm social environment, the colorful
  setting, and the abundance of food, drink and
  good company this commemoration of the dead is
  pleasant in spite of its morbid subject.
• The festive interaction between living and dead
  in an important social ritual and a way of
  recognising the cycle of life and death that is
  human existence.

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Art work of the Day of the Dead
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Art work of the Day of the Dead
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What happens in the celebrations?

• The Day of the Dead is a time for the dead to
  return home and visit loved ones, feast on their
  favorite foods and listen to their favorite
  music.
• In the homes, family members honor their deceased
  with ofrendas or offerings which may consist of
  photographs, bread, other foods, flowers, toys
  and other symbolic offerings.

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Calaveras - songs and poems about the festival
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Examples of work by students
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Examples of work by students
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Examples of work by students
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Examples of work by students
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Examples of work by students
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Examples of work by students
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Examples of work by students
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David Cation - artists work
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David Cation - artists work
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David Cation - artists work
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Glossary

• alfenique - a special confection used to fashion
  skulls, fruits and other figures.
• angelitos - the souls of the children who have
  died, literally "little angels"
• atole - an ancient drink made from corn meal and
  water flavored with various fruits.
• calavera - a skull, also a slang term for
  "daredevil"

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Glossary

• calaveras - songs and poems about the festival
• careta -a face mask
• cempazuchitl - a yellow marigold, the symbol of
  death
• copalli - a scented resin used to make candles

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Glossary

• mole - a thick sauce made from a variety of
  ingredients including chilis, sesame seeds,
  herbs, spices, chocolate/fruit.
• ofrenda - an offering, refers to the goods set
  out on the altars
• pan de los muertos - bread of the dead