The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico PDF
Preview The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico
DAY OF THE DEAD E MEXICO IN J^_4 jrtir Tr As- Elizabeth Carmichael Chloe Sayer Boston Public Library Boston MA 02116 The Skeleton at the.Feast: D The Day*ofthe ead in Mexico f /y.. *' •u # i i x i W \ J» f\ (?. KAfciJfe' S ;/*/ ^-^ m Elizabeth Carmichael Chloe Saver The Skeleton at the Feast The Day of the Dead in Mexico iIme ^7 VM K *.<v* This book is dedicated with affectionand grateful thanks to all ourTotonac friends and colleagues in the town ofPapantla and surrounding communities CH BR GT4995 .A4C37 1992X 7^ % \l*lo InternationalStandard Book Number0-292-77658-6 Frontispiece:Detailofalifesize LibraryofCongressCatalogCard papiermachefigureofaskele- Number91-66304 tonwithfloweringbranches Copyright© 1991bytheTrusteesof madebyFelipeLinares,Mexico theBritishMuseum City. Seeplate 16. Allrightsreserved Fifth UniversityofTexas Pressprinting, 2001 Thecovershows:(front,centre) Offeringsforthesoulsofthe Requestsforpermissiontoreproducematerial dead. Chicontepec,Veracruz. fromthisworkshouldbesenttoPermissions, (Left) Papiermachefigure UniversityofTexasPress,Box7819, ofaskeletonsellingbread. Austin,Texas78713-7819 MexicoCity.H69cms (Back)Womansellingcempa- DesignedbyTonyKitzinger siichilflowersfortheDayofthe SaentdipnriMnotneodtiynpGerePaltanBtriintain Dead.Acaxochitlan,Hidalgo. byTheBathPress Contents Acknowledgements 6 MapofMexico 6 ForewordbyJohn Mack 7 Introduction 9 PART I The Dayofthe Dead 14 The Pre-Hispanic Background 25 The Spanish Conquest 36 Travellers' Tales 45 The Here andNow 58 PART II: INTERVIEWS Introduction 74 FredyMendez, La Congregacion delTajin, State ofVeracruz 75 Juan Simbron, La CongregaciondelTajin, State ofVeracruz 83 FroylanMartinez Cuenca, Huaquechula, State ofPuebla 89 Candido Reyes Castillo, Huaquechula, State ofPuebla 97 LuisVivanco, San SalvadorHuixcolotla, State ofPuebla 101 Consuelo Garcia Urrutia, Toluca, State ofMexico 108 Wenceslao Rivas Contreras, Toluca, State ofMexico 112 Maria Antonieta Sanchez de Escamilla, Puebla City 117 ArsacioVanegasArroyo, Mexico City 124 VictorFosadoVazquez, formerly Mexico City 131 Appendix: The Dayofthe Dead in Mixquic by Elizabeth Baquedano Meza 138 Notes toPartI 145 Notes toPartII 148 Glossary 152 Bibliography 153 Listofillustrations 156 Index 158 themanyotherpeoplewhogenerouslygaveinformation Acknowledgements andunstintinghospitality.Amongthosewhoassistedus were: Roberto Ruiz; LouiMsa Reynoso; Marta Turok; RobertoWilliamsGarcia; adelRefugioCabreraVar- gas;SimonGomezAtzin;JoseBecerraO'Leary;Fabian Oviedo Mendiola; Nestor Aguirrc Espinosa; the late The authors offer their thanks to all those who have Raul Kamffer;EliaGutierrez; Lucilaand RafaelMuz- assistedthemduringtheirworkinthefieldandinthe quiz;David,FelipeandLeonardoLinaresandTiburcio preparationofthispublicationandtheexhibitionthatit Soteno.TheTotonacanthropologistsDomingoGarcia accompanies. GarciaandAureaVasquezOlmosgreatlyfacilitatedour We are indebted to the Trustees of the British workinthecommunitiesnearPapantla;wethankthem, Museum for enabling us to pursue our research in CarlosMarquezHernandezandotherstaffofboththe MexicoaspartoftheEthnographyDepartment'spro- InstitutoNacionalIndigenistaandtheregionalofficeof gramme of Latin American Research and Collection CulturasPopularesfortheirassistance. Ourcollection andtotheDirector,SirDavidWilson,forhissupport. wouldhavebeenthepoorerbutfortheexcellentrecord- Wealsothankall BritishMuseumstaff,inalldepart- ingsofmusicmadeinVeracruzbyEduardo Llerenas ments concerned, for their contributions. The realis- andEnriqueRamirezdeArellano. ationofventuressuchasthisistheworkofmanyhands In London, we thank the Mexican Ambassador, andminds. HE Bernardo Septilveda GCMG, forhis interestinour In Mexico, we thank Jorge Angulo and his wife endeavoursandtheseveralmembersofhismissionwho Chappie, the late HedwigYampolsky, Mariana Yam- haveworkedonourbehalf,especiallyRaulOrtizyOrtiz, polskyandAijenvanderSluis.Thesetwofamiliesper- MinisterforCulturalAffairs. SirJohnandLadyMor- mittedustofilltheirhomeswithourskullsandskeletons ganwhoshareourloveforMexicohavebeenconstantin andenduredthepackingoperationsthatconcludedeach their support. We offer gratitude to John Lonsdale, visit.Forthatandmuchmorebesideswearemostgrate- JennyEvansandotherstaffoftheTechnicalSectionat ful. We also thank Ruth D. Lechuga for generously theRoyalBotanicGardens,Kew;alsotoRobertAllkin. sharing her knowledge of Mexican popular culture. ThanksarealsoduetoSimonTerry,AliciaCazorla, Overtheyearswehavereceivedmuchhelpfromstaffin Coryn Greatorex-Bell, David Phillipson and his staff, theBritishEmbassyandtheBritishCouncilinMexico Seamus Murphy, Kristen Norget and all who have City,particularlyMarcelaRamirez,whohashelpedus sharedourenthusiasmandgivenusaid. aboveandbeyondthecallofduty. Wewouldfinallyliketocallattentiontothegenerosity Our appreciation goes to those artists and craft- ofthephotographerswhohaveallowedustousetheir workerswhosewordsformpartofthepresenttextandto workandwhoarenamedinthelistofillustrations. Mexico beliiuinitattt smioFederal Bstadod,Mexico MexicoCity 14 Toluca, Mixquic Metepee ratrn; Puebla C1hainctoonytuecpaec 15 AStalna,Pablito Papantla, 16 PueblaCity ElTaiin,etc. 17 SanSalvador Zozocolco Huixcolotla lalapa 18 Atlixco Veracruz 19 Huaqucvhula dalgo 20 IzucardeMatamor HuejutladeReyes, 21 SanGabriel<hilac Chililico,etc Guerrero aiiajuato 22 Iguala SanMigueldcAllendc Oaxaca clwacdn 23 OaxacaCity PACIFICOCEAN which they have sought to articulate. The Foreword 'Skeleton' observed at 'the Feast' of the title might initsmost immediate sensebe takento refertothedead themselvescalledbackatthe appropriate season of the year; in a further senseitisalsoperhapsthespectreofpasthistory Inonesensedeathisnotaneventwhichhasto and ofthe complexity ofcultural tradition as dowithlifeforbydefinitionitissomethingbe- seen in the Day of the Dead. It is especially yond the experience of living. Yet how in- timely to stress this linkwhen the whole con- dividualculturestreatthiscircumstanceisvari- spectusofrelationsofEuropetotheAmericas able.Inmany,deathiscertainlynotregardedas arebeginningtobere-examinedinthewakeof a termination but as an elevation to another anotherhistorical co-incidence-the quincen- level of existing. It is an event initially tinged tenial ofColumbus' voyage ofdiscovery. The with uncertain emotion, butultimately one to presentculturalsignificanceofthatvoyagecan becelebratedasthedeadarereaccommodated readilyescapeconsideration;yetitisincarnate as ancestors. Mortuary rites, in the classic intheformoftheDayoftheDeadfestival.One analysis of the French anthropologist Marcel voice,then,isofthepast,boththepre-Hispanic Mauss, separate out these elements. Actual conceptionofthe relationsofthelivingto the burial has one set of characteristics and dead and the Christian-inspired view of such emotional content, subsequent ritual quite essentially Indian forms of celebration. The another. This book is concerned with the second is a contemporary voice literally second set ofcircumstances - the Day ofthe recordedbytheauthorsandofferedhereinthe Dead as it is celebrated in Mexico each year form oftranslated interviews forthe insight it aroundAllSaints'Day(iNovember).Though provides into the more personal and intimate associated with the dead, indeed dedicated to aspectsofthecontemporarycelebration.Many their remembrance, it is quite the reverse of oftheinterviewsarewiththeartistswhomake morbid; it is a period full of life, colour and thevarietyofobjectsanddecorationwhichare festival. incorporated into the set-piece displays, the Some aspects of this contemporary annual ofrendas (offerings), that are created in family celebration are presented by Mexicans them- homes. selves as 'traditional', some as unashamedly A third voice that is present is the personal modern. Yet, in practice, there is no real dis- observationofthe authorsthemselves, forthis junction:allisinterwoventogether.Howsucha publicationisatoncetheoutcomeofhistorical rangeofreferencecametobeincorporatedinto research and of direct participation in the a single contemporary event is by no means events described. Elizabeth Carmichael and simple. Suchisalreadyimpliedinthefactthat ChloeSayerbothhavelongexperienceofLatin Mexicans of whatever background celebrate American studies. Elizabeth Carmichael has theevent-indeed, eventhosewhochoosenot had curatorial responsibility for the British to do so must make a definite decision to the Museum holdings from Middle, Central and contrary for its observance is a part of what SouthAmericaformanyyears,aresponsibility constitutes engaging in popular Mexican cul- demanding an expertise that ranges across the ture.Clearlyawholeseriesofaccommodations fields of archaeology and ethnography. Chloe are involved ingivingthe events the character Sayer has undertaken original research on they have today. The authors of this work, aspects of Mexican culture over a period of Elizabeth Carmichael and Chloe Sayer, have nearlytwodecadesandhasbothorganisedex- been especially concerned to give appropriate hibitions of Mexican popular arts and pub- weighttobothhistoricalandpresentperception lishedextensivelyinthefield.Theybegantheir of the significance of the Day of the Dead. collaboration in Mexico in 1985 as part of a Ratherthan suppress, orinterpretin a remote deliberateprogrammeoffieldresearchandcol- theoretical way, their aim has been direct and lectinggenerouslysupportedbytheTrusteesof documentary.Suchanapproachisallthemore the British Museum. In succeeding years this necessaryinafieldwherestudiesinEnglishare work extended over the States of Puebla, few,andnoneseekstoreflectthevarietyofDay MexicoandVeracruzgraduallyfocusinginon oftheDeadcelebrationswhetheracrosstimeor the events surrounding Day ofthe Dead cele- inits contemporaryregional differences. brations. To that end there are at least three voices Yet the book is also designed to provide an evocationofanotherkind.Theoccasionforits publication is an exhibition of the same title opened on the Day of the Dead 1991 at the BritishMuseum'sMuseumofMankind,Lon- don. Many of the objects displayed are also illustrated here and the fieldworkwhich lends theauthorityofpersonal witnesstothispubli- cation also included the study of associated artisticcreationsandacquisitionofappropriate materials forthe permanent collections ofthe Museum. The creation ofsuch varied objects and the manner of their display in Mexican homes provides a further, visual commentary on the context within which the events take place. John Mack Keeper DepartmentofEthnography 1.TheDayoftheDeadinurbanMexicois atimewhensocialcommentisexpressedina wryandhumorousway,oftenbymeansof skeletonfiguresengagedineverydayactivities. Here,acomplaints'clerkoftheMexican telephoneserviceappearsunabletoplacehis owntelephonecall.MexicoCity.H34cms i*
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