Image from The Crimson
The traditions of Dia de los Muertos centers around family and community celebrations wherein members believe that the spirits of their loved ones have returned to visit them. It is a time for commemorating the dead, celebrating with family, and appreciating the cycle of life and death.
The welcoming back of the spirits is observed in households with the creation of ofrendas (altars). This temporary altar is a way for families to honor their loved ones and provide them with what they need on their journey from the world of the dead to the world of the living. On the ofrenda, the main objects are symbolic of life’s elements: water, wind, fire, and earth. The standard altar will more or less include table and, if possible, the table will be made up of at least two levels by placing a smaller flat surface on top. The levels are typically covered with bright-colored tablecloth and adorned with papel picado (perforated paper).
On the higher up section of an ofrenda, photographs of the person will be placed along with their belongings (if available) indicating that the offerings are meant for them. The lower portion of the ofrenda is where the offerings are placed, such as food. Normally this will include traditional Mexican cuisine like tamales and mole, but also fruit such as oranges and sugarcane, as well as food or other items, such as cigarettes or mezcal, that represent the honored person’s particular tastes. Finally, the ofrenda will also include a selection of food products particular to the date like calaveritas de azúcar (sugar skulls) and pan de muerto (bread of the dead). Other items placed in the ofrenda include marigolds, candles, water, and copalli incense. Family members will spend some time gathered around the ofrenda, praying for and telling stories about their dead. Take a closer look at the significance of each object below.
Photos placed on an ofrenda are always of someone who is deceased and they are usually positioned in a prime spot on the altar. Photos, along with belongings of the deceased, are meant to draw their souls to the altar.
This flower represents death in the Aztec culture in pre-Columbian Mexico and referred to as the flor de muerto (flowers of the dead). Caléndula's are used to decorate ofrendas and often lead up to the altars as it is believed that their scent attracts souls to the ofrenda.
Candles are placed throughout the ofrenda in order to guide and light the path of the spirits to their ofrendas. This item is also meant to represent the fire element within an ofrenda. Copalli incense is also commonplace within an ofrenda. It comes from the copal tree and symbolizes the transformation from the physcial, the tree, to the supernatural, the perfumed smoke. The rising smoke takes prayers to the heavens and the gods and is also used to clean an ofrenda of evil spirits.
This sweet bread, often flavored with anis and orange peel, is baked in a round skull-like shape. It symbolizes the main state of human life and it is one of a number of food items, such as fruits or rice, placed at altars for hungry souls to partake in. Food in general represents the element of earth within an ofrenda.
Water is placed in the ofrenda to quench the thirst of the souls who have traveled a long way from the world of the dead. Water also represents the element of life.
Papel picado are tissue paper banners with cut out designs that adorn an ofrenda. In addition to symbolizing the wind, one of the elements of life, it is also believed that the delicate nature of the paper is symbolic of the fragility of life.
Skulls, often brightly decorated and/or made of sugar, are left on ofrendas as a whimsical reminder of the cyclicality of life. Sugar skulls in particular represent the sweetness of life.
Anderson, M. (2016, October 30). Five facts about Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). Smithsonian. https://www.si.edu/stories/5-facts-about-dia-de-los-muertos-day-dead
Huerta, D. (2018, October 29). The Mexican ofrenda: The meaning of this tradition. Mexicanos en Polonia. https://www.mexicanosenpolonia.com/2018/10/the-mexican-ofrenda-the-meaning-of-this-tradition.html
Nalewicki, J. (2019, October 31). The meaning behind six objects on Dia de los Muertos Altars. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/meaning-behind-six-objects-dia-de-los-muertos-altars-180973442/
The ofrenda. Day of the Dead. https://dayofthedead.holiday/traditions/the-ofrenda/
Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Latino. The meaning of the altar. Google arts and Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/_QUBc67lRPvBIQ
What is the "ofrenda" all about? (2020, October 31). The Yucatan Times. https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2020/10/116031/
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