|
|
|
|
Food is considered indispensable for the celebration. The foods offered in the memorial are different according to the wishes and social status of the deceased. Typical foods include: bread, fruits vegetables, and sweets. Other delicacies available for the celebration are: sugar skulls (bought from the bakeries with the names of each on of the members of the family who are alive and of the deceased), candied fruit and pumpkins, tamales (corn meal with meat or raising wrapped in corn husk) and maize dough cakes, as well as enchiladas and chalupas (thicker corn tortillas with topings).
Beverages which are placed on the memorial include: water, coffee, beer, tequila, and atole (corn starch fruit flavored hot drink, a special drink made from corn meal.)
Depending on how elaborate the display is, it will show the status of the deadest to the neighbors. While the tradition as stayed mostly the same throughout time, the foods have changed. Today, for instances they honor the dead with beer, enchiladas and chocolate, in ancient times it would more likely have been dogs and turkeys.
One thing has remained constant, and that is the use of bread. The custom of having a loaf of bread relates to the early custom in Spain of begging for souls. Some believe that the Spanish technology of bread-baking and the identical term used in Spain highly suggests that this tradition was Spanish in introduction. It has been written that the Zapotec Indians (State of Oaxaca) listed, bread for the dead, among their death offerings for the departed souls. It is believed that this ritual dates as early as the colonial period of Mexico. |
|
|
|
|
|
Bread of Dead. Pan de Muerto
In city of Oaxaca, Mexico the local commercial bakery brings in young men from Santo Domingo Comaltepac, \'the village of the master bakers\' for the occasion, solely to bake massive quantities of these loaves. The Indian Bakers of this valley\'s surrounding barrios produce three types of bread, each differing by the amount of egg and type of spice used.
The bread can be formed into different shapes and is commonly decorated with sugar. Bread is ALWAYS placed on the altar and not removed until the visit to the cemetery for the soul. A loaf of bread is also traditionally given to visitors who come home during the time of celebration . The must common shape sold in the Mexico City bakeries is round and decorated with a cross in the shape of bones covered with sugar. |
|
|
|
|
|
Sugar Skulls
The origin of these small figures is still a mystery. Early references have them being sold for the Day of the Dead during the mid 18th century, while some records date them as far back as the pre-Hispanic period. Some people, including Hugo Nuntini, suggest that their origin may date as far back as the merger of the pre-Hispanic Mexicans and the Spanish Catholics.
At first glance, sugar skulls appear to be a survival from pre-Hispanic times, perhaps having to do with the human skulls that were kept as trophies by households, and offered to or displayed in honor of a particular god at certain festivals. The human skull as a symbol of death has a long history, and it could equally well be that the sugar skull in the \'ofrenda\' are of Catholic origin. (Nutini, 1988).
While others like Zolla write that in Naples during the 12th century sugar bones were an affectionate present for the Day of the Dead, which were offered to the family and friends. This very well could have led to the giving of human skulls, which in turn could have brought about the giving of sugar skulls. It could be that as it became obsolete, the less grizzly and more hygienic sugar skulls took on the commemorative function. Whether it was during the pre-Hispanic period, or at the time of convergence of the pre-Hispanic Mexicans and the Spanish Catholics, or during the mid 18th century, exactly when, where, and why sugar skulls came about is still unclear. However, one thing is clear, and that is the fact that they have endured over the centuries, playing an important symbolic role in the Day of the Dead, and they will continue to do so. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
