RIHLA #19

---

My article was about a ritual that was practiced 3000 years ago in Mexico called the Day of the Dead. It is also celebrated in certain parts of the United States. The ritual merger with Catholic theology, but it still maintains the basic principles of Aztec ritual which includes the usage of skulls. People carve these skulls out if wood called calacas and dance to honor their ancestors or present day deceased relatives. They also make sugar skulls and put the name of the dead relative then eat it. These skulls were used to symbolize rebirth and honor the dead. This was very different from the Spanish perspective of death because they thought of it as the end of life. The Aztecs also believe that their lives were a dream, but once death truly came it would awaken them. I was surprised how a ritual that was practiced 3000 years ago is still practiced present. However, I think there were many other rituals that the Aztecs, Mayans, or Mesa practiced but it is forgotten because they were mostly slaughtered in history. I would celebrate this ritual in Mexico if I had the chance to go. This relates to class how the Spaniards had try to betray the Aztecs and other tribes of Mexico to receive their gold. Even though, the Spaniards thought the ritual was to be a barbaric thing to do, so they tried to convert them into Catholicism. Yet, the Aztec spirits made sure their cultured survive and refused for it to die off like their people.

---