Indigenous healer and teacher Maria Teresa Valenzuela led the workshop on making an ofrenda during the 2005 St. Paul's Day of the Dead tour. Valenzuela's heritage stems from three Meso-American cultures: Mexican, Raramuri (Tarahumara Indian), and Peruvian. Born in the U.S. to the family of a migrant worker, she trained as a nurse, and after retiring returned to her artistic roots as a sculptor, which she had pursued as a young child in the Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon) of northern México.
She moved back to México in 2002 and currently lives in San Miguel de Allende. Training with indigenous elders in México, Peru and Ecuador and the Mayan cultures of Guatemala and México has provided her with a wealth of knowledge on Meso-american wisdom, myths and traditional forms of medicine. She travels to the US and within México to lecture, drawing on her training as a practitioner in traditional modes of healing.
"According to the Aztecs or Mexica people, 'we are born to die, we are not born to live'," said Valenzuela. "To us, death is an everyday part of life. We believe that our ancestors are very present with us."
While the current Day of the Dead festival has incorporated Spanish and Roman Catholic traditions, it has also remained very true to its indigenous origins. A festival honoring the dead was originally celebrated during the month of Miccailhuitontli in the Mexica calendar, roughly from July 24 through August 12. Separate rituals honored lost children and the adult deceased. The Spanish effectively transferred the Aztec celebration to the first days of November.
Depending on the area of México where the celebration occurs, there are separate days commemorating the souls of those with no living family; those who caused great harm or murder -- the unforgiven; los niños limbos, children who die before baptism; and los angelitos, the souls of baptized children, who are thought to visit until noon on All Saints' Day, when bells are rung to summon the souls of adults through evening on All Souls' Day.
According to Valenzuela, construction of the traditional ofrenda begins with laying a path of cempazuchitl, a type of orange marigold, to the site and sprinkling them copiously on the altar. There are four elements that are important to the altar: wind, earth, water and fire. Wind is represented by the papel picado, paper cut-outs that serve to protect the traveling soul from a set of clashing mountains in Mictlan, the Aztec underworld. Earth is symbolized by food, water by a glass of liquid, and fire by candles and copal incense.
The ofrenda also displays photos and statues of recently departed family members, the honoree of the altar (such as a national hero), and of patron saints, especially the Virgin of Guadalupe. Favorite foods and drinks of the deceased, including fruits, tamales and sweets (calaveritas de azúcar, candy calacas and dulce de calabaza), chocolate, atole and even soft drinks for children, and spicier foods -- mole, tamales, enchiladas, sweet potatoes, jicama and drinks such as beer, mescal, pulque and tequila -- for adults, along with traditional pan de muertos or "dead bread," are included. Although the spirits cannot physically consume the offerings, they are thought to absorb their essence. The living are expected to take some of the food themselves, lest they suffer illness in the coming year.
Candles of many designs and burning copal incense also help spirits find their way to the world of their living relatives and friends, while new clothing, cigarettes, toys for children, and other items help make their stay in the land of the living and return to the world of the dead more comfortable.
Glossary of terms
alfenique—sugar paste used to fashion skulls, fruits and other figures.
angelitos—"little angels," souls of children remembered on All Saints' Day.
atole—drink made from corn meal and water and flavored with fruits or chocolate.
calaca—a dancing skeleton figure who represents Death.
calavera—skull.
calaveras—songs, poems or satirical obituaries about the dead or Day of the Dead.
calaveritas de azúcar—sugar skulls, a Spanish tradition.
careta—mask worn by dancers to scare the dead away at the end of the festivities.
catrina—calaca satirizing upper-class society, first created by the artist José Guadalupe Posada
cempazuchitl—A brightly colored orange or yellow marigold, traditional flower of the dead.
copal—from copalli, the Nahuatl word for resin, used to make incense.
Dia de Todos los Santos—November 1, All Saints' Day.
Dia de los Difuntos—another name for Dia de los Muertos.
dulce de calabaza—candied pumpkin
fieles difuntos—"the faithful dead"
mole—sauce made from chiles, sesame seeds, herbs, spices, chocolate and fruit.
niños limbos—"children in limbo," who died before baptism.
ofrenda—offerings or gifts set out for the dead, or the actual altar.
pan de los muertos—sweet "Bread of the Dead" in many shapes and sizes
papel picado—colorful and intricate paper cut-outs used as decoration in celebrations.
pulque—fermented alcoholic drink made from the mezcal plant.
tequila—distilled alcoholic drink made from the mezcal plant.
Sources:
San Miguel Designs: http://www.sanmigueldesigns.com/index.asp
Las Culturas: http://www.lasculturas.com/aa/dod1.php
