Today I set up the traditional ofrenda (altar) for Dia de los Muertos for my son's 5th grade Spanish class. Yes, I know it is a week late, but this was when it could be scheduled. Besides, I consider all of November to be dedicated to the dead and our remembrance of them.
My purpose here is not to explain what is Dia de los Muertos. Google it, or jump back about a year or so on this blog, to discover its traditions and meanings. I would rather focus on the lesson I imparted to the young'uns: death is not a tragedy; the tragedy occurs when someone is forgotten after death.
The word "tragedy" is used most popularly, it seems, to mean a very, very sad occasion. However, its original meaning was to describe a play whereby the protagonist, or hero, is brought to ruin by the presence of some flaw in his character or nature. Thus, Achilles is immortal, having been dipped into the river Styx by his nymph mother, except for the tip of his heel by which she held him to do so . . . and in the battle of Troy, an arrow finds its way to that very spot.
I am reminded of this sense of tragedy by Dia de los Muertos, as the celebration is so antithetical to tragedy. We are all flawed, but we strive to overcome those flaws and bring meaning to our lives and those we love, in the hopes of something after death. When I saw the faces of the youngsters this morning, I asked them, "Who can imagine their grandchildren building an ofrenda for them?" They all raised their hands, and I hope it all comes true for them.
But when a person dies and is forgotten - where lies the tragic flaw? Is it with the person who lives for a time on this Earth but cannot overcome faults to his character, such that after the burial, maybe after the lunch, his name is never more raised? Or is the person left behind, that they took from the dead and now cannot be bothered to say a prayer, much less build an ofrenda?
Just as I have said that celebrating birthdays is evidence of the Divine Spark in our makeup, so too is celebrating something like Dia de los Muertos. It reminds us of the "big picture" - eternity - and thereby give us the means to avoid classic tragedy. It not only allows us to remember and pray for our loved ones who are gone (and building an ofrenda is prayer itself), but also provides us with the opportunity to take stock in ourselves and let us consider what happens when we become una calaca (a skeleton). The figurines for Dia de los Muertos are purposely skeletons in scenes of everyday life, to remind us of our mortality. What are we doing now to prevent our deaths from being tragic? Will we have a place at the party on the ofrenda, or will we live lives of quiet desperation that transition to deaths of nothingness?
2 comments:
"The Digital Hairshirt was born a poor white child in the Bronx, NY, to an Irish father and a Polish mother..." Where does the Dia de los Muertos tradition come in for you??? (this should be interesting)
Susan,
From 1982 until last June - with a couple of years off in Switzerland - I lived in Southern California. When I moved in 1995 to Santa Ana and became involved with my parish there, St. Joseph Church, I got to know many Hispanics and their culture. In my Santa Ana home, it would not be uncommon to have, literally, hundreds of kids ring the doorbell on Halloween. Most of those kids were Mexican and so rather than decorate the house with "ghoulish" things, I opted for Day of the Dead. It grew and grew, until I was hosting an annual party. So over time I learned how to make the sugar skulls, molded some of my own calacas and whatnot. I think it is a great holiday!
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