Spirits return to earth for one day
By Arturo Morales
October 24, 2008 San Miguel de Allende
Lecture
Day of the Dead
Arturo Morales Tirado
Tue, Oct 28, 1:30pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
Donation 50 pesos
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In pre-Hispanic times the dead were buried close to family homes, sometimes in a tomb underneath the house. Ancestors were believed to continue existence on a different plane, so people greatly emphasized maintaining ties with the deceased.
With the arrival of the Spaniards and Catholicism, All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day practices were incorporated into pre-Hispanic customs to create Day of the Dead celebrations. |
Behind Day of the Dead practices is the belief that spirits return to the earth for one day of the year to be with their families. Spirits of babies and children who have died (called angelitos, little angels) arrive on October 31 at midnight, spend an entire day with their families, and then leave. Adults come the following day.
The spirits are greeted with offerings of food and things the person enjoyed in life, laid out on a Day of the Dead altar in the family home. Spirits are believed to consume the essence and aroma of the offered foods. When the spirits depart, the living consume the food and share it with family, friends and neighbors.
Other items placed on the altar include sugar skulls, often with the person’s name inscribed on the top; pan de muertos, special bread baked for the celebration; and cempasúchiles (marigolds), which bloom at this time of year and lend a special fragrance to the altar.
In ancient times, separate grave decorations and home altars were not needed; they were together in one place. Now that the dead are buried away from their homes, graves are decorated with the idea that the dead return there first. In some villages, flower petals are laid in paths from the cemetery to the home so the spirits will be able to find their way. In some places it is customary to spend the whole night in the cemetery and people make a party of it, having a picnic, playing music, talking and drinking throughout the night.
Five Saturdays with the pre-Hispanic Maya
Lecture series
The Pre-Hispanic Maya
Sat, 5:30pm, El Sindicato
Recreo 4
Nov 8, History
Nov 15, Religion
Nov 22, Architecture
Nov 29, Sculpture
Dec 6, Writing
US $250
154-0090
info@homepaymentsmexico.com
The Center for Mayan Studies at UNAM and Home Payments Mexico are sponsoring a series of five lectures on the ancient Maya. There are several Mayan groups still scattered across Mexico (Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo) and Central America (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and parts of El Salvador). The series focuses on five fundamental aspects of this pre-Hispanic civilization. Initially, conference attendees will be taken on a historical journey starting before the arrival of the Spanish to get acquainted with the different stages and characteristics of this culture.
One of the distinctive features of Mayan civilization is religion. The second lecture tackles the fundamental aspects of their religion such as beliefs, the myths surrounding their origins, the structure of the universe and their main gods and rituals.
Mayan archeological sites amaze visitors with their majestic beauty. The third talk concentrates on the different kinds of ceremonial buildings and dwellings, whose conception and design conform to deep religious beliefs along with an esthetic refinement. Special emphasis will be given to two construction elements employed by the Mayan that tell them apart from other ancient civilizations: cornice vaults and roof-combs.
Sculpture played a large part in the decoration of Mayan architecture. Many of the surviving art masterpieces were carved in stone and wood or modeled in stucco and embody a great variety of shapes, designs, techniques and materials. In the fourth session, attendees will acquire the necessary knowledge to appreciate Mayan sculpture and recognize its aesthetic value.
Few ancient civilizations developed a writing system, but the Maya created one of the most complex systems, which we have just begun to decipher over the last few decades. The final session focuses on recognizing its main features and functions as well as some simple elements that will facilitate the identification of dates, names and places.
Researchers from the Centro de Estudios Mayas (Mayan Research Center) of the Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas de la UNAM (Philological Research Institute of UNAM) will be in charge of this series. Centro de Estudios Mayas is the only institution conceived as a multidisciplinary research center oriented toward this Mesoamerican culture.
Which way out of the financial crisis?
Panel Discussion
The financial crisis
Jeff Faux, Betsy Bowman, Bob Stone
Wed, Oct 29, 3pm
Center for Global Justice
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
50 pesos
A conservative government that is, in effect, nationalizing banks? Surely we live in uncertain times! Yet, as the dimensions and character of the present global crisis become clearer, we can sort out possible solutions.
Many options have been put before us, including those we may expect of a McCain or an Obama government. What other options deserve discussion? Which ones are most likely to actually work? These questions require orderly discussion to process what is happening and to act responsibly. A panel invited by the Center for Global Justice and representing various options will introduce the topic as the second in a series devoted specifically to open discussion of the crisis.
Panelists include Jeff Faux, frequent contributor to the Nation and founder of the Economic Policy Institute, a prestigious economics think tank in Washington. Joining Faux will be center co-founders Betsy Bowman and Bob Stone and a recruit from the center’s first discussion “What is the Financial Crisis All About?”
“We hope participants will provide a wide array of viewpoints,” said Cliff DuRand, another center co-founder.
The season of decay
By Lauren Lesko
Lecture
Astrology series: Feast of Samhain
Lauren Lesko
Tue, Oct 28, 2pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
Donation 50 pesos
The season of decay is upon us: daylight decreasing, evenings darkening with a chilled breath. Leaves saturated with vibrancy cling to the last vestiges of life, recycling a bountiful summer harvest. Ancient Celts celebrated November with the Feast of Samhain, accenting the time of year when “portals between worlds” opened and connections freely flowed between humans and spirits of the dead. This ancient tradition remains alive in the present as Halloween, celebrating a night of ghosts, goblins and demons feasting upon candied treats offered by the living.
Mexico is farther south than these seasonal changes of the northern hemisphere but nonetheless has inherited from the Aztecs a ritual feasting with the dead that began thousands of years ago in dedication to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, “The Lady of the Dead.”
Día de Muertos, Day of the Dead, in modern life syncopated with All Saints’ Day, is the time of year when families picnic in graveyards, sharing in the favorite foods of departed beloved ones. Sugar skulls, whether adorning altars or gleefully consumed by children, consecrate the flesh and blood of those departed.
On October 22, when the sun enters Scorpio, we on earth begin our annual descent into the underworld where death abounds. I am, of course, speaking metaphorically of the time of year when our conscious awareness of our external life diminishes in tandem with daylight, allowing us to journey into the hidden darkness of our psyche, where we come face to face with our fears dressed in the costumes of our personal demons. This season of decay stands in high relief as fear permeates the present and each of us walks blindly into the unknown.
My informal talk covers the astrological significance of the sun in Scorpio, as well as the crucial transits in November with special emphasis on what the planets Neptune, Saturn and Uranus have to say about the economic crisis and the US presidential election.
Visit www.LaurenLesko.com for additional information on the significance of astrology in daily life.
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