How to create your
Personal Altar for the Dead
The Day of the Dead is a happy occasion, a
party for your dead relatives. This is not a time to cry. This is a
celebration. The purpose is to show your dead relatives that they are loved
and remembered. At this time the veil between the dead and the living
becomes thin and you can party with the departed!
Mexican Altar
of the Dead. Photo courtesy of the Morgue.
Copy/paste/print this
page for easy reference.
PREPARATION
Dress a large table
or wooden box, even some wooden
steps work. Use any of these colors or a combination of them: black, red,
orange, flower motifs. You can also clean the table and leave it bare.
Use a profusion of
candles. One for each dead relative sounds great, if you can.
Alternatively, you can get three large candles (velones). One for your
Maternos, you maternal relatives. One for your
Paternos, your paternal relatives. One for the
dead children.
Skull candles.
Photo courtesy of the Morgue.
Track objects to
represent each of your dead relatives. It's more about their
personality and your feelings for them. For example, a guitar for an uncle
who played the guitar, bird figurines for an aunt who loved birds or had pet
birds, a rum pint for a relative that was alcoholic. Remember that all
judgments are suspended by death. So have a sense of humor and lots of love.
Make sure that you have symbols for both Maternos
and Paternos. If you are not familiar
with a side of the family or don't know some muertitos, choose an object to
represent them, so they don't feel left out. You can use a skeleton or
skull-candle to represent them.
You need lots
flowers! There should always be three colors in your flowers:
white (for the spirit), red (for life) and yellow(for joy). Then you can add
whatever other colors you want.
If you have a
protected patio or yard, you can put the altar there.
Then you can place candles in bags or cans filled with sand and
create a path to the altar. That is the traditional location of the altar in
Mexico.
Clean the house and
the altar place. Scent the house and
altar place with something sweet and spicy. The Muertitos are big on scent.
However, chaos, disorder, bad smells and dirtiness attracts the lower souls,
so clean and scent the house. If you don't have time for a big cleaning, do
a small house and place things in order.
The exception is
cigar smoke, which muertitos love. However, you need to buy a
GOOD cigar. Go to a specialty store. Take at least a couple of puffs and
then place it on the ashtray... or smoke it all on their behalf! (Warning.
Pure tobacco is a powerful herb with shamanic powers. If you begin to feel
"strange" or get the "fluids" of some dead relative, stop smoking. This is
not a sciance, but a party, so you don't want to channel any dead relative.)
Prepare a banquet.
In the Caribbean tradition, we make a big pot of food, as if all our
relatives were coming to dinner. Which they are! In the Mexican tradition,
they do Pan de Muerto. (Bread of the Dead.) If you are a good baker and want
to try it,
click here for the recipe.
Otherwise, you can prepare a pie, bread or cookies. Add bouquets
of candies. Don't forget chocolate, in bars, bombons or liquid form.
If you want to get
fancy, you can bread some branches
with leaves on them and bend them in an arch, placing them across the altar.
CEREMONY
As we do in Christmas with
the tree, everyone gets together to place the symbols for each relative and
adorn the altar. Begin by placing the candles and the flowers. You
can add a big bowl of scented water.
Play music and
remember the dead. Each time someone
place sa symbol, they say the name of the dead relative and a few words.
Talk about their
stories, like the time uncle Ben serenaded his girlfriend and a
dog started barking when he song, etc.
For those
unknown dead relatives, place the symbol and let them know that
even though you don't know them, you wish them well and they are present in
this celebration.
You can also put on
a show for them, showcasing your talents. Alternatively, you can
tell them the good news of what is going on and let them know about your
successes and happy occasions this year. Don't forget to tell jokes!
In the Mexican tradition,
the food is placed during the placing of symbols.
In the caribbean
tradition, as more elaborate food is cooked, it is placed at the
feet of the altar once the ceremony is finished. We cook Ajiaco or Mondongo,
arroz con gandules, guineos en escabeche, bacalao guisao con arroz o
ensalada de bacalao (Serenata) and other banquets. Coffe, cigar, rum, wine,
water and desert are served with the foold, all laid on the floor at the
feed of the altar, with lots of flowers.
Under no
circumstances go into grieving, crying or bad memories.
This can create a portal for the dead to come down (enter someone).
Besides, it's really bad manners. Don't be a party pooper.
The party goes on
until after midnight!
The Muertitos Rock!
Blessings,
Maria Mar & Corazón
Tierra
