Dia De Los Muertos - Flesh Art

A sacrilegious pagan ritual that made a mockery of death while uplifting skulls and foods to the dead was the first account from outsiders of the celebration that came to be known as Dia De Los Muertos. The Spaniards documented those accounts when they first came to the new land. But what they had just witnessed was an ancient Aztec celebration dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl ("The Lady of the Dead"). What the Aztecs were doing was not mocking death, but embracing what we will all find after death. For the Aztecs, it was not the end of life, but a transition to the next world.

The celebration marked a time of the year in which you honored and shared fellowship with departed loved ones, and it lasted not days but weeks. Though the Spaniards unsuccessfully tried to eradicate this ritual that had been in existence for more than 3,000 years, they could not let it stand in defiance to their faith, so they simply aligned it with All Souls Day and allowed it to find a place in what is now Mexico, giving it its Spanish name, Dia De Los Muertos.

For those of you unfamiliar with the current celebration, it is the first two days of November and is a Mexican celebration for those who have passed on; an honoring of the dead, if you will. Its rituals consist of offering food, drink and flowers to the dead. The making of sugar skulls with the departed one's name, cooking grand meals and building altars in a loved one's home or grave site are some of the more consistent traditions, though depending on where you are in Mexico or the United States, other practices may include dressing like the dead.

You see, those who created this practice were not just celebrating death like the Spaniards thought. They used the skull, which signifies death for most of the world, but those who understand the roots of Dia De Los Muertos know that it signifies rebirth-a thought and idea that the Spaniards and most everyone else holds deep in their faith.

In recent years, many have begun to abuse Dia De Los Muertos by producing tote bags, wallets and anything else that they can stamp or slap its unique style on. This did not go unnoticed by majorclothing designers, and your general advertising/marketing scum suckers have all latched on and begun to suck the life and authenticity out of this celebration of our culture.

By Benjamin Perea

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