Unlike many European cultures, the Aztecs of Mesoamerica did not fear the uncertainty of death. Rather, they perceived death as a release from the burdens of life and honored the god of death, Mictlantechuhtli. According to Aztec lore, there were thirteen levels of the heavens and nine layers in the underworld, with how someone died dictating where they went: brave warriors who died honorably in war ascended to the highest level as butterflies and hummingbirds, whereas cowards who faced death with dishonor were relegated to the lowest level of the underworld. Because the journey to the afterlife – Mictlán – was a long and arduous process filled with trials which lasted four years, relatives of the dead held yearly festivals to honor the deceased on their journey, with one occurring in the fall when it was believed the dead returned to visit the living. Food from the harvest was laid out and relatives remained in a squatting position throughout the night to prevent themselves from catching the gaze of returning spirits.[1] The arrival of Spanish colonists during the sixteenth century and the forced assimilation and Christianization of the Aztecs, in turn, blended beliefs and traditions into a unique holiday: the Christian practice of visiting cemeteries and adorning graves with flowers gave birth to arches of marigolds and the Christian feasts of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day merged into the Aztec harvest festival.[2]
Works Referenced
Williams, Kitty, and Stevie Mack. Day of the Dead. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2011.
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[1] Williams and Mack, 20-22.
[2] Williams and Mack, 26-27.
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