La vida Carrilloportense: Día de Muertos in the Zona Maya

Carrillo Puerto, in the middle of the Zona Maya, celebrates Día de Muertos slightly differently from the rest of Mexico. Because of strong Maya traditions and language, the Day of the Dead continues to be a blend of the original, prehispanic U Kili'ich k'áasaj Kili'ich Pixano'ob or modern day U Janalo’ob Pixan (Day of the Dead names in Maya) and Catholic traditions. U Kili'ich k'áasaj Kili'ich Pixano'ob (directly translated to “The Holy Remembrance of the Souls’ Spirits”) existed at least three thousand years before the Spanish conquered Mexico. In the Maya and Aztec traditions, welcoming back the deceased was celebrated for two months. During the Conquista, when the Spanish Catholic church realized they couldn't eliminate this tradition, they incorporated it as a Mexican Catholic religious holiday overlapping with ‘All Saints Day’ and lasting for only two days. Here in the Maya communities, people still prepare for the celebrations during the month of October by completing the harvest, painting and cleaning their homes, and fattening up their animals for food to celebrate their deceased loved ones for the whole month of November. Most of Mexico celebrates Dia de Muertos on November 1 and 2; however, the Maya Day of the Dead, now most commonly called U Janalo’ob Pixan, or the Feast for the Souls, begins the month-long celebration by welcoming back deceased children on October 31, deceased adults on November 1, and all those who’ve been forgotten by their loved ones on November 2. In the Maya communities, the beginning, middle and end of U Janalo’ob Pixan have prayer sessions with Maya priests, in the Maya language, that combine traditional Maya prayers with Catholic prayers.In Carrillo and the Zona Maya, these separate days also require different colored candles and food. For children, on October 31, colorful candles are placed on the altar with non-spicy soup; for adults, black candles and a spicy meal, usually recado negro; and for the forgotten souls, a white candle. In two weeks, there’s another celebration offering tamales en pib (cooked in banana leaves underground) also called chachac waj, again, non-spicy for children and spicy for adults. At the end of November, families have a celebration of despedida (farewell) where they again have food, prayers, colorful candles for children, black for adults and one white for the forgotten souls. Candles are also placed to light up a pathway for the souls to find their way from the home and back to the spiritual world.  In regards to the decoration ofthe altars, the food, drink and flowers are regional. In central Mexico, it is the Aztec tradition to use the orange flowers, Cempasúchitl, but here, the traditional flower comes from the sacred tree, báalche’, which blossoms purple flowers at the end of October and into November.The corn drink, atole, and hot chocolate are served in the gourd jicara bowls, and as tequila isn’t a regional drink, it’s not a traditional part of the altars in the Zona Maya. The cloths that cover the altar tables are hand embroidered in the local, Maya style, too.The Day of the Dead, or U Janalo’ob Pixan, has many traditions that have been evolving and changing over time. Many young people here are not interested in continuing these thousand-year-long traditions, but we encourage our students to cherish, learn, and pass on this incredible celebration of their ancestors.Special thanks to Maestro Aniceto Velazquez Chí for sharing his knowledge with us.

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