The Afterlife

 

Once a year in Mexican tradition, the dead come back to their loved ones on the Days of the Dead. Joanna Michna and Thomas Wartmann set out to study this unique tradition. Their findings are published in the film titled “Days of the Dead: A Living Tradition.” The film focuses on the Purepecha people on the days leading to the Days of the Dead observed on 1^st and 2^nd November. This community is located around Lake Patzcuaro, west of Mexico City. By focusing on one of the families who recently lost a loved one, the film obtains a deep perspective into the preparations that are undertaken towards this tradition. Also, the study reveals the meaning of the tradition that is recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage. Upon studying the film, I found several interesting aspects of the days of the dead.

Remarkably, people who observe this tradition do not fear death. Death is given a female persona known as Santa Muerte or the Saint of Death. Even more intriguing is that death is not considered evil, but rather worshiped because of her good deeds. People regularly visit shrines where they can pray to death and ask for a helping hand during tough times. This is a fresh perspective for me given that I would not wish to cross path with death, although it is ultimately inevitable. However, I think the strong belief in an afterlife contributes to this bold attitude. It is interesting that although Christians around the world have a similar assurance of eternal life beyond death, most are not very welcoming towards it. Another closely related aspect of this tradition is the realm of the dead.

The belief surrounding the Days of the Dead is that the realm of the dead is not separate from the world of the living. This makes it possible to have a gateway between the two worlds once a year. This is interesting due to the debate surrounding the underworld. Many questions have gone unanswered regarding its location and nature. Although the issue of the underworld is not a strange concept, the tradition of the Days of the Dead brings different insights into the matter. As the name ‘underworld’ suggests, the realm of the dead is mainly considered to be in the deepest depths of the earth. Even in Christianity, the Apostles Creed states that Jesus descended into hell after his death before rising and ascending into heaven. The tradition, therefore, presents a discussion forum about the underworld.

Finally, the aspect of appeasing the ghosts of the departed loved ones is also interesting. In this tradition, ghosts are appeased through food and fragrances. This raises the question of the importance of food to beings that do not possess physical bodies. According to the film, the practice of offering food comes from folklore whereby a dead soul came back to the living world to find food prepared for him, hence he was happy. His dead wife who did not find anything prepared for her was, on the other hand, sad. Although this folklore has great meaning to the people, I still find it quite interesting that ghosts would find food appeasing.

The Days of the Dead is an intriguing tradition. There are several aspects of this practice that I found very interesting. These include the aspect of not being afraid of death, the views held regarding the realm of the dead, and the practice of appeasing the dead. Having studied this remarkable tradition, I believe the dead look forward to the Days of the Dead as much as the living does.