Hanal Pixan Altars

The Day of the Dead provides a special motive for the Mayan women to display a vast variety of dishes which are presented on an altar where other items such as toys are displayed; adornments of flowers (mainly cempazúchitl), which symbolize the north and south in the world of the living; black wax candles made in Ticul, for the purpose of calling forth the departed, with aroma of rue and basil; and pottery from Maxcnú, Uayma and Mama, such as cups, and plates, which form an integral part of the scenery of this ceremony.

The altar is covered with a white tablecloth; there are also seven jicaras (natural recipients) with different beverages; four represent the boys in the four corners of the fields, and three represent the girls who work around the comal (tortilla griddle); these recipients contain chocolate, corn or flour atole, and water (purifying element); accompanied by breads, fruits and sweets. The banquet consists of a variety of delicious dishes, such as relleno negro, escabeche and the pibes or mucbilpollos. On the eve of the celebration, in the center above the altar, a green wooden cross is placed, which represents the Yaxché (the Ceiba tree, which in Mayan cosmovision symbolizes the universe and its division into three levels), as well as a picture of the Virgin del Carmen, patron of purgatory, as elements which express the fusion of the Mayan and Spanish cultures.

The offerings are withdrawn after the ceremony to be consumed and shared with family and friends. In the days of the dead in Yucatan, the absent are remembered, with ceremonies that reveal the profound Mayan cosmogony, and are a motive for reflection for scholars, but also for the pleasure of the living…and their tummies!

Fuente / Source:
Casa de las Artesanías de Yucatán
Calle 63 between 64 and 66, Centro
(next to Monjas church)
http://www.casartyucatan.mx/

Recommended reading
- Day of the Dead
- Passage of the Souls