The History Of Dia De Los Muertos and Why You Shouldn`t Appropriate It

The spiritual ritual dates back 3,000 years, and it has outlasted more than 500 years of colonization.

During the old days, Dia de los Muertos was practiced during the ninth month of he Aztec solar calendar, and it went on for a full month. However, in an attempt to convert the natives to Catholicism, the Spanish colonizers moved the celebration to November 1 and 2 (All Saints Day), which is when we celebrate it currently. While the rituals involved in the celebrations have retained some Catholic elements, the indigenous roots of the celebration are extremely prevalent.

While most people see death as an ending, we view death as a continuation of life. Instead of simply mourning loved ones, we celebrate the lives that they had. On November 1 Dia de los Inocentes we celebrate the babies and children that have passed. On the next day, we celebrate the adults.

During rituals, we go to the gravesites of our loved ones and eat a meal with them, often times a meal they enjoyed. We also build altars.

Altars usually include photos of the deceased and marigold flowers, which symbolize death. We leave offerings like pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread) and water to give our loved ones nourishment and strength on their journey. Clay calaveras sit on altars. They include beautiful flowers and designs to show that death shouldn’t be feared or shown in a morbid light.

Altars also hold candles, which are used to guide souls to our altars, along with burning incense, resin or herbs like copal oro and sage. They can also have statues of deities like Virgen de Guadalupe or Santa Muerte, the personification of death, who was modeled after the Aztec goddess of the underworld, Mictecacuhuatl.

We paint our faces with ornate skulls that have flowers and filigree. Most Americans would call this “sugar skull makeup,” however it’s not. It’s called Calavera or Catrina makeup. Catrina is a reference to a zinc etching from 1910 to 1913. As Latin Times writes: “She is offered as a satirical portrait of those Mexican natives who, [the artist] felt, were aspiring to adopt European aristocratic traditions in the pre-revolutionary era.”

Some folks also wear masks of calaveras or calacas (skulls). These were traditionally carved from wood. Both of these practices are done as a means of mocking death. In this way, we’re telling death that we aren’t afraid of it.

The actual sugar skulls are small calaveras made of candy, piped with icing for decoration. During celebrations, these are eaten as a symbol of consuming death and the negative emotions that come with it and not letting death or those emotions consume us.

If you go into any Halloween or party store, chances are you won’t have much difficulty finding Day of the Dead costumes, masks, makeup, etc. as well as an array of decorations. People also hold Dia de los Muertos parties on Halloween.

Again: Day of the Dead and Halloween are not the same thing. Not in the slightest.

But appropriation of this traditional holiday is everywhere. It’s rough knowing that your ancestors died and were called savages for their practices and rituals, only to become a token.

In fact, most Day of the Dead festivals in the United States are organized by white people and feature white artists that copy the style and crafts of Chicano artists. This is one of the biggest examples of contemporary colonization.

White people and other non-Indigenous people of color need to take this appropriation seriously and recognize the privileges they hold over indigenous folks. We are a culture, not a costume.

While this holiday may include beautiful colors and sights, it’s quite sacred and holds a great deal of meaning. It’s not something to exotify or tokenize.

This holiday means so much to our people. It brings healing and insight in the face of grief, and keeps parts of the old ways alive. Dia de los Muertos and its rituals are proof that we’re still here, and a true testament of our resiliency and strength through centuries of colonialism and genocide.

Source: wearyourvoicemag