hile children in the United States are dressed in masks and paper costumes, lugging their plastic pumpkins door to door asking friends, family and strangers for treats. Latin
American children will be preparing for visits from the dead.
Los Dias de los Muertos, the Days of the Dead, is a Mexican tradition celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2.
Beginning at midnight on Oct. 31, the souls of dead children visit friends and family. They leave by early afternoon on Nov. 1, which is when the adult souls begin to arrive, said Maria Martin, public relations coordinator for the Kansas Museum of Anthropology in Spooner Hall.
The tradition's roots are in both pre-Columbian religious rituals and Roman Catholicism. It celebrates death and the spirits of loved ones as they return to be with their relatives for a few hours each year.
As a part of an exhibit exploring the Mexican tradition, the museum will display replicas of an offenda, a home altar; the pan de muerto, the bread of the dead; sand paintings; cut-paper banners; and photographs. These are all items to help the living prepare for a visit from the dead.
The exhibit begins Saturday and ends Nov. 13. It will be open to the public at no charge from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, which is Halloween.
The people of Mexico use trails of marigolds mixed with tree-sap incense that, when combined, is thought to smell like the bones of the dead. This mixture is to lead the spirits from the front door to the altar, which is inside the house, Martin said. The altar is decorated with the favorite foods and clothes of the deceased. Candles are then dedicated to patron saints, such as Our Lady of Guatemala, as part
of the religious ritual
The calaveras are given to children as gifts, Martin said.
The tradition also includes calaveras, which are skeletons, that are dressed to mock present-day social and political situations.
"They are given to children to provide an early awareness of death as a natural thing and not a scary thing." she said.
Los Dias de los Muertos are seen as a renewal of relationships and a time to focus on the community, Martin said.
"It is a reunion between the living and the dead," said Robert Smith, retired professor of anthropology and curator of ethnology at the museum of anthropology. "Some people celebrate those that have died in their family and their return by having a drink or a picnic at the graveyard while they visit their loved ones or clean up the graves."
Halloween also has religious themes behind it, said Tim Miller, associate professor of religion.
Los Dias de los Muertos are similar to the U.S. version of Halloween in a few aspects, such as the date and the images of spirits, but Smith said it was closer to Memorial Dav.
"Halloween is taken from All Hallow Even, or the night before All Saint's Day," Miller said. "Every Catholic saint has a day when they are honored, and Halloween is the eve of the day when all saints are honored."
Miller, like most people, doesn't know why the traditions of costumes or trick-or-treating had become popular. It is a tradition that evolved independently, like presents at Christmas.
"Traditions start over time, and it really is a cultural phenomenon that has become predominant," Miller said.
In modern Mexican culture, death remains as important an aspect in people's lives as it was in ancient culture. Martin said.
The fear of death as reflected in Halloween is a part of U.S. culture it that hasn't changed.
It is not feared nor is it final, Martin said. In Mexico, the people believe the spirits of the dead continued to live, even after their physical selves have ceased to exist.
Enrique Rodriguez, Durango, Mexico, senior, said that when he was growing up in Mexico, he had celebrated Halloween at the American school he attended.
But Rodriguez and his friends still participated in "Los Dias de los Muertos."
"We would buy sugar skulls and carve our friends' names and a poem about how they were going to die," Rodriguez said. "We would make fun of death, but it was all in fun."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Cultural Calendar
EXHIBITIONS AND LECTURES
Exhibition-Land and Its Uses: Photographs from the Collection, Sept. 3-Dec. 31 at Spencer Museum of Art.
Lecture-Judith Korosick, associate dean, College of the Arts at Ohio State University, on how individuals understand and misunderstand works of art, 7 p.m. Thursday at Spencer Museum Auditorium.
Lecture-Fred Wilson, New York Installation artist, on his work, 7 p.m. Tuesday at Spencer Museum Auditorium.
Concert- Lawrence Chamber Players presents "Meet the New Maestro," 3 p.m. Sunday at Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St.
PERFORMANCES
Renegade Theatre presents "East Side Comedy Shop," 8 p.m. Friday, 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday at the Renegade Theatre, 518 E. 8th St. Tickets $5.
Concert- Topeka Symphony Orchestra presents "Ghost, Goblins and Blockenpiels," 8 p.m. Saturday at the Topeka Performing Arts Center. Tickets $17, $14 and $12 with discounts available for students and senior citizens.
Film Festival- Halloween Horror Film Festival, "Phantom of the Opera," with live original music performed by The Bjou Players, 8 p.m. Saturday at Crafton-Preyer Theatre. Tickets $5.
Fall Concert-KU Men's and Women's Glee Clubs, 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Swarthout Recital Hall.
Film Festival- Halloween Horror Film Festival, "Nosferatu" (the original "Dracula") with live original music performed by The Bjou Players, 4:30 p.m. Sunday in Swarthout Recital Hall. Tickets $5.
Film Festival-Halloween Horror Film Festival, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" with live original music performed by The Bjou Players, 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Crafton-Preyer Theatre Tickets $5.
Faculty Recital-William M. Campbell, trumpet and Lucia Campbell, soprano, 7:30 p.m. Monday at Swarthout Recital Hall.
Concert-KU Opera presents "The Medium" and "The Telephone," 7:90 p.m. Wednesday at the Inge Theatre. Tickets $6 public, $3 students and senior citizens.
Student Recital-KU Tuba-Euphonium Consort, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Swarthout Recital Hall.
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