Beginnings of dia de los muertos

AZTECS BELIEF OF
DEATH
THE UNDERWORLD: THE BEGINNINGS OF DIA DE LOS
MUERTOS

XOLOTL
• Quetzalcoatl's twin brother
• In charger of guiding the sun through the under world so
it could raise the next day
• God of Fire and Lighting

XOLOTL AND QUETZALCOATL
• Xolotl and Quetzalcoatl were also believed to have
constituted the twin phases of the planet Venus, as the
Aztecs believed that the former was the evening star, and
the latter the morning star. As the evening star, Xolotl
had the important task of guiding and guarding the Sun
on its perilous night journey through the realm of the
dead.

XOLOTL: ROLE IN CREATION
• when the gods created the Fifth Sun, they realized that it did not move.
Therefore, they decided to sacrifice themselves in order to get the Sun to
move. Xolotl acted as the executioner and killed the gods one by one. In
some versions of the myth, Xolotl commits suicide at the end, as he was
supposed to do. In other versions, however, Xolotl takes on the role of a
trickster, and escapes from the sacrifice by first transforming into a young
maize plant (xolotl), then an agave (mexolotl), and finally a salamander
(axolotl). In the end, however, Xolotl failed to escape, and was killed by the
god Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl.

THE BEGINNING: QUETZALCOATL’S AND XOLOTL'S
DESCENT INTO MICTLÁN
• Aztec myth tells how the deity Quetzalcoatl and
Xolotl, journeyed to Mictlán at the dawning of the
Fifth Sun (the present world era), in order to restore
humankind to life from the bones of those who had
lived in previous eras. For bones are like seeds:
everything that dies goes into the Earth, and from it
new life is born in the sacred cycle of existence.

REBIRTH OF HUMANITY
• Quetzalcoatl and his twin travel to Mictlán, the Aztec
underworld, to retrieve the bones of the dead so that
humans can be created. It may be added that it was
also Xolotl who brought fire from the underworld for
human beings

XOLOTL’S ROLE WITH THE UNDERWORLD
• Seen as the companion of the Sun, following its path
through both the sky and the underworld.
• Guided the dead through the underworld
• Dogs were associated with Xolotl. This deity and a dog
were believed to lead the soul on its journey to the
underworld

REALMS TO THE AFTER LIFE
The Aztecs believed that how a person died determined what that person’s
afterlife was like.

REALMS OF THE AFTERLIFE
• Warriors who died in battle or
by sacrifice either went to a
paradise in the east and
joined the sun’s rising in the
morning, or joined the war
god Huitzilopochtli in battle.
• Women who died in childbirth
were considered just as
courageous and honorable as
warriors who died, and thusly
went to a paradise in the west
and joined the sun’s descent in
the evening.

REALMS OF THE AFTERLIFE
• People who died from
lightning, drowning, certain
diseases, or particularly violent
deaths went to Tlalocan, a
paradise presided over by the
god Tlaloc located within the
Aztec’s thirteen heavens.
• Those who died of most
illnesses, old age, or an
unremarkable death went to
Mictlán, the Aztec underworld.

OPPOSING VIEWS
• The Christian perspective
imagines Mictlán in the
ground like some form of
hell.
• The Aztec perspective
imagines Mictlán more like
heaven.
• The Aztecs had no concept of
hell
• The journey through Mictlán
was seen as the road to their
final resting place

THE UNDERWORLD: MICTLÁN
The Journey of the Dead

THE LORDS OF THE UNDER WORLD
• Mictlancihuatl is the queen of Mictlán, the underworld of Aztec
cosmology. She watches over the bones of the dead and is depicted
as a body without flesh with an open jaw who swallows the stars
during the day.
• Today modern representation of Mictlancihuatl is Skull Catrina.
• Mictlancihuatl is the wife of Mictlantecuhtli. Together they rule over
the afterlife.
• Mictlancihuatl swallows the stars during the day and releases them at night. She
manages the heavens.

MICTLANTECUHTLI, LORD OF MICTLÁN
• most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and
the underworld.
• depicted as a blood-spattered skeleton or a person wearing a
toothy skull. His headdress was shown decorated with owl
feathers and paper banners, and he wore a necklace of human
eyeballs.

MICTLANTECUHTLI AND MICTLANCIHUATL

GODS THAT RESIDE IN THE UNDERWORLD
• Techlotl, god who resided in one of nine layers of the underworld (associated with owls)
• Nextepeua, god who resided in one of nine layers of the underworld
• Micapetlacalli goddess who resided in one of the layers of the underworld (wife of Nextepeua)
• Iixpuzteque, god who resided in one of nine layers of the underworld
• Nesoxochi, goddess who resided in one of the nine layers of the underworld (wife of
Iixpuzteque)
• Tzontemoc, god who resided in one of nine layers of the underworld
• Chalmeccacihuatl, god who resided in one of the nine layers of the underworld (wife of
Tzontemoc)
• Xolotl, god of death, associated with Venus as the Evening Star (Double of Quetzalcoatl

ILLUMINATION OF THE UNDERWORLD
• At sunset, Mictlantecuhtli, along with Tonatiuh, take their place upon the sky, to
illuminate the world of the dead.
• Tonatiuh, the Star God, becomes Tzontemoc at dusk to light the world of
Mictlantecuhtli at night.
• The legend says that, after Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca created the world, the
day and night, they placed Mictlantecuhtli and his wife Mictlancihuatl as Lord
and Lady of the underworld.

FOUR HOUSES OF THE DEAD:
• Chichihuacuauhco
• Mictlán
• Ilhuuicatl-Tonatiuh
• Tlalocán.

FIRST HOUSE: CHICHIHUACUAUHCO
• The place of the dead children. In its middle there was a large tree, whose
branches dripped milk, so the children could feed and gain strength.
• These children would return to the world when the race that is inhabiting the
Earth, our world of the Fifth Sun, will be destroyed. That is why their death was
necessary, because they were chosen to populate the Earth in the future, when
no one will be left alive.
• It was believed that these children reincarnated after their death in this mansion,
where they lived physically until they were called by the gods.

SECOND HOUSE: MICTLÁN
• People who eventually succumbed to illness and old age went to Mictlán. In order
to reach it, the soul has to make a four year journey, passing through nine layers
of the Underworld and various daunting tests.
• First, the dead would come to a place where a great river called Apanohuaya
(where one crosses the river) roared along, wide and gushing, intimidating and
impossible to swim across.
• To cross it one needed the help of an Itzcuintli (Xoloitzcuintle), a special dog each
family raised and cremated alongside the mourned deceased.

• Upon recognizing his dead master, the dog would bark, then rush to help the
deceased to cross the river, carrying its master upon his back while swimming.
• After the crossing, the deceased was stripped of all his clothes, beginning the second
part of the journey between two mountains that conflicted with each other. This pass
was called Tepetl Monamiclia, and the deceased would make their way warily, haunted
by the fear that the two mountains would clash, crushing the passing traveler.
• At the end of the pass, the deceased would be forced to walk down the hill strewn
with flints and sharp obsidian, made of the same material as our knives, called
Ilztepetl. The stones would cut the dead as they passed, merciless and relentless

• The next stage was the walk through Celhuecayan, eight mountains, covered with
perpetual snow that would fall on and on, whipped by strong winds. It was said
that the winds in these moors were so cold and strong it would cut the body as
obsidian blades.
• After this the dead would arrive at the foot of the hill, the last stop in the first part
of the journey called Paniecatacoyan. These moors were cold and large, where the
dead would have to walk endlessly, crossing the desolated land.
• Done with the first test, the dead would take a long path, where they would be
struck with arrows. This place was called Temiminaloyan and the arrows were
fired by unseen hands, trying to harm the passersby.

• At the end of the path, they would arrive at the place inhabited by thousands of fierce
beasts. When any of the beasts reached them, the passersby would have to throw
open their chests and let the beasts eat their hearts, Tecoylenaloyan.
• Afterwards, they would be force to dive into the Apanuiayo, where the water was
black, and where the lizard called Xochilonal had lived. The dead would have to swim
in this lake, dodging the animals, including the terrifying lizard to get to the next test.
• Next, they would have to wade through nine rivers, on a path of mist and dark, called
Izmictlan Apochcalolca. The sun never rose in this place.
•

• Finally, tired, injured and exhausted with suffering, they would reach their final
destination on Chicunamictlan, where they would meet Mictlantecuhtli, the fierce
God of the Death, who would receive them with vengeance.
• Here the cycle would end forever and here they would live until their bodies and
their lives would extinguish.
• The long journey lasted for four years, in which the deceased came to his eternal
rest.
• This was the mansion to which came most of the dead, people who would die of
natural causes.

THIRD HOUSE: KINGDOM OF THE SUN.
• Here the warriors, slaughtered at the hands of their enemies, would rest. Also
included were the souls of those women who died in childbirth. Among the
Aztecs, the pregnant woman was like a warrior who symbolically captured her
child for the Aztec state in the painful and bloody battle of birth. Considered as
female aspects of defeated heroic warriors, women dying in childbirth became
fierce goddesses who carried the setting sun into the netherworld realm of
Mictlán.
• This place was outside of time, a wonderful infinite place, a beautiful plain, and
every time the sun would come up, they would hear the sound of the warriors
beating their shields

THE THIRD HOUSE: KINGDOM OF THE SUN
• After four years, these warriors would turn into rich bird-feathers, small, living
creatures eating the flowers.
• Upon the Earth, in our world of the Fifth Sun, these birds were treated with honor,
because they knew they were the souls of the warriors who had died in a battle.
These birds are hummingbirds. Some would also become butterflies.

THE FOURTH HOUSE:
• The fourth house was what Catholics took for a paradise.
• Those who had died by drowning, lightning, and other deaths related to water
and rain would arrive at Tlalocán, the Mansion of the Moon, a place of unending
springtime and a paradise of green plants. This place belonged to Tlaloc (Nahuatl:
“He Who Makes Things Sprout”)
• The dead arriving here would live happy, fresh and unconcerned. These dead
were not cremated, but buried, interred with a piece of wood which was believed
to sprout leaves and flowers once the person had entered Tlalocán. Here people
enjoyed food and fruits in abundance, a luxury deserving the realm of the
supreme god of rain and agriculture.

LOCATION OF THE FOUR HOUSE
• Mictlán was located below our world.
• The Ilhuuicatl-Tonatiuh was upon the sun itself.
• Tlalocán on the moon.
• The Chichihuacuauhco location was unknown, but it
said it was out of this world

SYMBOLS OF DIA DE LOS
MUERTOS
What is identified

FLOR DE CEMPASUCHIL
• The earliest written record of the use of Marigold flowers was mentioned in
the Florentine Codex, a 2400-page manuscript written by Fr. Bernardino de
Sagahun. The codex was an account of the different customs and traditions
of the Aztecs.
• According to this document, marigolds played an important role for
medicines and celebrations of the Aztecs. And one of their important
celebrations is the “Cempohualxochitl” or a 2-day holiday for the
commemoration of the deceased.

FLOR DE CEMPASUCHIL
• The use of Cempasuchil during the Day of the Dead is believed to be based on
the romantic Aztec origin myth of Huitzilin and Xochitl. As the story goes, the couple
had the habit of leaving flowers as offerings to Tonatiuh (Aztec sun-god) as they
swear their undying love to one another. And when Huitzilin was killed in battle, his
partner prayed deeply to Tonatiuh to reunite them again.
• Moved by Xochitl’s prayers and lamentations, the sun-god granted her request and
sent a ray of sun on her way so she can be transformed into a flower as bright and
beautiful as the sun and reincarnated Huitzilin as a hummingbird so they can be
together again. And every time Huitzilin comes over to Xochitl, her 20 petals bloom
and release a distinctive scent in the air.

FLOR DE CEMPASUCHIL
• It was used to create a path for the goddess Mictlancihuatl to follow to make
sure the bones were well taken care of
• It is believed that the spirits of the dead visit the living during the
celebration. Marigolds guide the spirits to their altars using their vibrant
colors and pungent scent.

LA MONARCA
• for thousands of years the people living in Mexico’s mountains have believed
these butterflies are the spirits of the dead. Their arrival in winter coincides with
Mexico’s most spectacular festival, Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.

THE BEGINNING: DIA DE LOS MUERTOS
• Día de los Muertos originated in ancient Mesoamerica
(Mexico and northern Central America) where
indigenous groups, including Aztec, Maya and Toltec,
had specific times when they commemorated their loved
ones who had passed away. Certain months were
dedicated to remembering the departed, based on
whether the deceased was an adult or a child.

• It’s believed that Dia de los Muertos stems from an Aztec festival dedicated to
the goddess Mictlancihuatl whose role was to guard the bones of the dead.
• The Aztecs had a month-long celebration . This festival took place in the month
of August and paid homage to the lord and lady of the underworld,
Mictlantecuhtli and his wife Mictlancihuatl.

• This Aztec queen was Mictlancihuatl, “Lady of the Dead,” Queen of
Mictlán. According to Aztec legend, she was sacrificed as an infant and placed in
the underworld to become the wife of Mictlantecuhtli, the king of the underworld.
In the underworld, her role was to watch over the bones of past lives, which
would be used to create new life in the living world.

• However, in order for the bones to be able to create new life, they needed to be
stolen from Mictlancihuatl to be brought to the living world. As their protector,
part of her own life would be carried with the stolen bones. Even after the bones
were stolen, she would continue her duty to protect them by returning to the
living world every year to make sure the bones were being properly taken care
of.
• When the time came for her to return to the living world, the Aztecs celebrated
Mictlancacihuatl’s return with death festivals and traditional dances, to honor her
for her protection of the bones that created life and to seek protection for those
who died.

THE SPANISH CROWN AND CROSS INFLUENCE ON
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS
• Conquistadors first recorded a “Día de Los Muertos” celebration during the 16th
century.
• Spanish combined the Aztec tradition with Catholicism.
• The merging of Catholicism with the Aztec religious beliefs began the evolution
of how Día de Los Muertos, transforming how it is celebrated today.
• The Catholic Church gradually, associated with October 31, November 1, and
November 2 to coincide with the Western Christian triduum of Allhallowtide: All
Saints' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS IN MODERN TIMES
• In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
of Humanity by UNESCO.
• Originally, the Day of the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was
unknown until the 20th century because its indigenous people had different traditions.
• The people and the church rejected it as a day related to syncretizing pagan elements with
Catholic Christianity. They held the traditional 'All Saints' Day' in the same way as other
Christians in the world. There was limited Mesoamerican influence in this region, and relatively
few indigenous inhabitants from the regions of Southern Mexico, where the holiday was
celebrated.
• 19thcentury, La Calavera Catrina is introduce (the Elegant Skull) as a parody of the typical
Mexican upper-class female, and this famous female with skeleton face has become indelibly
associated with the Día de Muertos.

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS IN MODERN TIMES
• In the early 21st century in northern Mexico, Día de Muertos is observed because
the Mexican government made it a national holiday based on educational policies
from the 1960s; it has introduced this holiday as a unifying national tradition
based on indigenous traditions.
• By the late 20th century in most regions of Mexico, practices had developed to
honor dead children and infants on November 1, and to honor deceased adults
on November 2. November 1 is generally referred to as Día de los Inocentes ("Day
of the Innocents") but also as Día de los Angelitos ("Day of the Little Angels");
November 2 is referred to as Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos ("Day of
the Dead").

IS DIA DE LOS MUERTOS IN DANGER
• Día de los Muertos — also known as the Day of the Dead — faces the same
commercialism dilemmas as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas and
other mainstream holidays.
• On May 1 2013, the entertainment giant filed an application to the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office to secure the phrase "Día de los Muertos," or
"Day of the Dead," across multiple platforms. Disney subsidiary Pixar is
releasing a film -- for time being called "The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dia
de los Muertos" -- this fall.

IS DIA DE LOS MUERTOS IN DANGER
• the attempt to trademark Día de los Muertos was "cultural appropriation and exploitation at its
worst.
• Children Celebrating Halloween more than Dia de los Muertos
• Day of the Dead Costumes
• In fact, most Day of the Dead festivals in the United States are organized by non indigenous or
Latino people and feature artists that copy the style and crafts of /Mexican/Chicano/Latino
artists. This is one of the biggest examples of contemporary colonization.
• people sexualizing sacred parts of religion and cultural tradition
• Seeing a lot of sexualized Dia de los Muertos themes
• Dia de los Muertos Barbie

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS IS NOT MEXICAN
HALLOWEEN
• It’s commonly believed that Halloween has its roots in Paganism, a religious
movement originating from Christian communities in southern Europe. The Celtic
festival of Samhain in Ireland, also associated with Pagans, is said to have been
the earliest version of modern-day Halloween celebrations. For them, the
beginning of November signified not only the Celtic new year, but a time when
the boundaries between the living and the dead were blurred. This became the
basis for the spooky ghost stories and haunted themes that we associate with
Halloween today.

HALLOWEEN
• Día de los Muertos, on the other hand, is firmly rooted in Mexican indigenous
cultures. There is evidence that about 3,000 years ago, these Mesoamerican
cultures celebrated specific rituals during the ninth month of their calendar to
honor deceased ancestors. They dedicated their rituals to the 'Lady of the Dead,'
known today as the infamous La Calavera Catrina. Today, Día de los Muertos is all
about celebrating friends and family members who have passed away. It is not a
time for sadness or mourning, but rather a time for positive reflection and coming
together.

HALLOWEEN
• Differences in symbolism
• . La Calavera Catrina has become the central icon of the festival — millions of
Mexicans paint their faces to look like her or wear skull masks called calacas.
Small, sugary skulls are also given as gifts to friends and family members.
• While skulls are certainly part of Halloween as well, we wouldn’t go so far as to
call them the primary symbol of the holiday. Popular Halloween symbols also
include pumpkins, ghosts, witches, vampires, and zombies. The majority of these
common Halloween symbols are taken from the horror genre, made popular by
authors such as Edgar Allan Poe

HALLOWEEN
Customs and rituals
• Many of us are pretty familiar with the activities that take place during Halloween:
trick-or-treating, haunted house visits, even lavish costume parties. It’s become much
more of a commercialized holiday in recent decades — in fact, it’s the second most
commercial holiday in the United States after Christmas.
• In contrast, Día de los Muertos has maintained much of its original focus on rituals
meant to celebrate deceased loved ones, and its customs are therefore slightly
different. The Mexican national holiday is celebrated for two days, while we reserve
just one day for Halloween. On November 1, Mexicans typically honor children and
infants who have passed away, while November 2 is specifically for adults.

HALLOWEEN
Customs and rituals
• Family members visit their relatives’ graves armed with handfuls of toys, photos,
and orange Mexican marigolds to honor the memory of the deceased. People
often wear shells and other noisemakers on their clothing in hopes of waking the
dead souls. At home, beautiful altars called ofrendas are decorated with candles,
flowers, and large piles of food and drink meant to revive the tired spirits.
Deceased adults are even offered shots of tequila or mezcal on the final day

HALLOWEEN
• Día de los Muertos and Halloween certainly share many aspects — they are both
spiritual in nature, go back thousands of years, and give people an excuse to wear
colorful costumes. What’s important to recognize is that each holiday has a
distinct cultural significance, and with that comes a variety of fascinating customs
and traditions.

Beginnings of dia de los muertos

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