The Janal Pixan celebration is an emblematic Yucatecan tradition with deep cultural and emotional value. Homes and even some streets are filled with altars, pibes (a type of baked tamal), and seasonal flowers and fruits. The weather and atmosphere shift, evenings grow darker earlier, and people finish their daily activities a bit earlier than usual. Everyone is preparing for the visit from their faithful departed.
This festivity isn't just about setting up an altar at home. Yucatecans undertake a thorough cleaning of their houses, making sure everything is perfectly tidy and clean to welcome their loved ones in the manner they deserve. Both children and adults try to go to sleep before 10 p.m. so that when the souls arrive, they won't run into the living and can fully enjoy the feast prepared for them. Once everything is ready, the true procession of the souls, or pixanes (the Anglicized plural of the Maya word pixan, meaning "soul"), begins.
Encountering the Soul Procession
The Finados period, as it’s commonly called, is when the portals between worlds open and the dead return to the world of the living. It’s believed that the pixanes emerge from the cemetery in a procession and take to the city streets, heading to their homes to receive and enjoy the offerings lovingly prepared by their families. However, it's not just our family and friends who return; all souls come back, including those known as "lonely souls" (almas solas), who have no one to remember them or place an offering for them.
I remember hearing my grandmother tell the same story every year, passed down from generation to generation: during this time, if you walk through the dark streets late at night, you might encounter the procession of the souls. This encounter should not be confused with the official Festival de las Ánimas (Festival of Souls) that the Mérida city council organizes each year. That is a unique and beautiful event—a theatrical reenactment with people in costumes, with children and adults with painted faces and wearing traditional regional outfits. Unlike that festive walk, an encounter with the true procession of souls can have fatal consequences.
A Spooky Maya Legend: the Candle and the Bone
Legend has it that anyone who leaves their house late or is found wandering the streets at night will run into the pixanes, who will approach them and offer them a small candle. The next day, the candle will have transformed into a human bone, sealing a fatal destiny for the person who accepted the gift. As the days pass, the person will develop an unexplained fever, which is interpreted as a warning that the souls will return for them in their next procession.
It is said that this encounter is more common for those who are skeptical and for those who choose to challenge or ignore the warnings of the wise people who continue to share this Yucatecan legend, which is a powerful reminder of the traditions of the Finados season.
Photography by H. Ayuntamiento de Mérida, Bruce Edmiston, Alejandro Molina Poot and Cassie Pearse for use in Yucatán Today.
First published in Yucatán Today print and digital magazine no. 430, in October 2023.
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