Fernando Castro Pacheco, The Offering – Hanal Pixán / La Ofrenda - Hanal Pixán, 1975, oil on canvas.
Courtesy of Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatán
HANAL PIXÁN:
FOOD FOR THE SOULS
EDUCATOR RESOURCE PACKET
National Museum Of Mexican Art, 2012
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EXHIBITION INTRODUCTION
HANAL PlXÁN: FOOD FOR THE SOULS
In Mexican culture, like in so many other cultures, people trace their reverence and
devotion toward death and the deceased back to ancient days. When the Spanish came to
Mexico, they brought their own cultural recognition of lost ancestors. These traditions
blended with indigenous Mesoamerican cultures to form the present-day rituals we honor
here with the Day of the Dead. From region to region, and town to town, these traditions
vary as they adapt to local customs and surroundings.
The name for this celebration in the Yucatan Peninsula is Hanal Pixán [han·al pi·shan], a
Mayan term that means "food for the souls." Many of the unique characteristics from this
part of the Mayan region can be found on altars created with traditional food and drink
such as: mucbil pollo (a large tamale also know as pib), xeek (chopped fruits) or Xtabentun
liquor. In the ancient Mayan cosmology, the sacred ceiba tree symbolized the sky, earth,
and the underworld. The souls on their way to paradise were believed to take respite in its
shade.
Mexicans in the U.S. also carry on the tradition of remembering and honoring their
ancestors. They adapt traditions from Mexico and embellish them in unique ways to
express their family values. This is how they make an effort to reclaim their cultural
traditions and also make them new and relevant here. The variety of offerings on family
and community altars in galleries and museums demonstrate the bicultural experience of
Mexican-Americans living on this side of the border. They maintain the Mesoamerican
concept of duality - life and death, light and dark, positive and negative - in an attempt to
remember their roots, even as they live a bicultural lifestyle.
This exhibition is dedicated to Francisco G. Mendoza, artist, educator and very close
friend of the Museum. In a collective effort, community artists, friends and family members
created an ofrenda and works of art in his memory. Mr. Mendoza has left us a lasting legacy,
not only in the many murals he created in Pilsen, but in the hearts and minds of thousands
of his students and community members. Hasta siempre Panchito!
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Several Names for Death
Below are some colloquialisms, or local names, for Death in Mexico:
La muerte - Death
La bien amada - the Beloved
La Blanca - the White One
La calva - The Bald One
La catrina - the Fancy Lady
La cruel - The Cruel One
La cuatacha - the Girlfriend
La dama del velo - the Lady of the Veil
La dama de la guadaña - the Lady of the Scythe
La dientuda - the Toothy One
La flaca - the Skinny One
La igualadora - the Great Equalizer
La llorona - the Weeping One
La novia fiel - the Faithful Bride
La triste - the Sad One
La seria - the Serious One
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Day of the Dead in the Yucatán:
Hanal Pixán
(“food for the souls”)
In 2003, as a means of identifying, recognizing, and protecting the heritage that reflects
thousands of indigenous groups, U.N.E.S.C.O. declared the ancient celebrations dedicated to
the dead in Mexico an oral and immaterial cultural heritage of humanity. More than 41
indigenous groups hold celebrations to the dead throughout the country.
Just like many other Mesoamerican groups, the Mayans displayed a deep interest in death,
manifesting this concept in different aspects of their culture. One such aspect of death
became a part of a cyclical understanding. It was represented by a space; that space was a
kind of a spinal column belonging to an enormous ceiba tree in whose branches rest the 13
layers of the heavens; in its trunk, the Yóok’ ol kaab (space where life is brought forth) and
in its roots lie the 9 levels of the Underworld. In the center of its trunk flows an abundant
amount of milk for the sustenance of the souls during their transit towards their eventual
place of rest.
The Day of the Dead, known as Hanal Pixán (translated as “food for the souls”) in Yucatan,
is not a simple folkloric celebration. It is, instead, a space in our annual cycle that allows us
to assimilate and reproduce our cosmology and our love for our deceased loved ones.
Likewise, we believe that they will continue to help us from beyond. It is a celebration that
has been enriched and transformed over time, but that thanks to its proliferation and the
character of the Yucatan people, it has remained, among the most important and popular
celebrations with ancient Mesoamerican roots. A Hanal Pixán altar is traditionally built
inside the house, as contemporary Mayans have firm convictions that the souls of the
departed visit their homes during the celebrations.
The first day of the celebration corresponds to the October 31st, the name of this day is U
k’iinil mejen pixano’ob or Day of the Departed Children. A table created with local woods,
without the use of any metallic elements in its construction, is placed in the interiors of
homes. The table is decorated with a white tablecloth decorated with lively colors
representing animals or flowers. In the center of the table, a green cross is placed
symbolizing the Mayan tree of life (the ceiba), a symbol to which additional elements have
been added to as a product of Christian influences.
At dawn, bowls filled with whipped chocolate, sweet bread, new atole, and water are placed
on the table. At lunchtime, children’s favorite dishes are also placed: puchero, escabeche,
relleno blanco, turkey. Regional fruits are also offered: mandarins, oranges, jícamas,
bananas, xeek; sweets are also added: ciricote, papaya, yucca, squash (all in sweet syrup),
pumpkin seed palanqueta, candied coconut, peanut, etc. A picture of the deceased child is
often placed along with his or her belongings: toys, clothes, whistles. The table is decorated
with multicolored flowers decorated with aromatic herbs (basil, rue herb, etc.), which are
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placed at the front of the offering along with brightly colored candles. Censers are lit with
carbon incense and, in some cases, rosemary and lavender are also added.
The celebration for the deceased adults, U k’iinil nukuch pixano’ob, takes place on
November 1st. Similar offerings are presented with some differences. The tablecloth tends
to have more somber coloring: black, brown, gray or white. The candles that illuminate the
offering are presented in somber colors as well (generally white or black). Regarding the
foods presented as offerings, dishes with strong flavors are generally presented: chirmole,
relleno negro, relleno blanco, stuffed cheese or any food that was preferred by the deceased.
If the person smoked or drank, the table must include cigarettes, beer or whatever type of
drink the deceased enjoyed when they were alive. The belongings of the deceased are
presented at the offering: clothes, tools, recreational objects, personal items, etc., which are
displayed because it is believed that when the souls visit, they will proceed to use them to
do the work or activities they did in their past life.
The last day of the celebration is called U k’iinil taakal kimeno’ob and is celebrated on
November 2nd. It is not strange to observe in some communities that a special mass is held
in the local Catholic church or even in the town cemetery. When the celebrations are
finished, families tend the tombs of the deceased. They clean them, place flowers on them
and place lit candles. This is since, according to the perspective of the Catholic Church, this
day symbolizes a “farewell to the souls”. This is only observed in urban zones because in
rural areas, the souls of the departed are considered to stay in the world until the last day
of November. For the day when families say farewell to the souls (depending on the region,
this may be in early or late November), dry dishes are usually prepared such as the mukbil
pollo or piib and the tamales. However, in many areas it has already become tradition to
have them prepared as early as the beginnings of the holiday. The piib is a large tamal made
with corn dough, filled with a kind of sauce (k’ol) seasoned with achiote and mixed with
pieces of chicken and sometimes pork wrapped in banana leaves; this is all cooked in an
oven that is built in a hole in the ground and is heated with a wood fire.
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Hanal Pixán Altar Elements
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Candles - Solemn colors (white or black) are preferred when the altar is for an
adult, because these will light the way and guide the deceased to their offering.
Limestone and rocks - A path made of scattered limestone is made in a straight
line in front of the altar and is delineated with rocks to help guide the soul of the
deceased to his or her altar.
Flowers - The altar is decorated with wild flowers in yellow, red, orange and purple
colors. Some of the most utilized flowers are x pujuc (Tajetes erecta), xtés o abanico
(Celosía argentea), amor seco (Gomphrena globosa) and virgineas (Zinia spp.). These
are decorated with rue leaves (Ruta chalapensis), basil (Ocimum micranthum) and
limonaria (Murraya paniculata).
Censer - The censer helps with its light and aroma to help make the essence of the
food more pleasant for the visiting souls.
Salt and Water - Salt and water can symbolize the purification of the souls or the
origin of life, it can also be used to protect the souls from bad winds, these are
placed in a lek (gourd bowl), a small plate or a clay container. These serve to help
guide the souls once they depart to the Afterlife so they will not get trapped in this
world.
Green cross - A wood cross that is painted green is placed on the altar. It represents
the Yaxché (the ceiba tree, that according to Mayan cosmology symbolizes the
universe and its division into thirteen levels).
Jícaras (gourd bowls) - These are the common natural containers elaborated from
the jícaro gourd (Crescentia cujete).
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Yaxché, the Maya Tree of Life
The Tree of Life is a common symbol in many cultures. For the Maya, as for others, it represents
the axis mundi, the stable world center. It constitutes a symbolic vertical line--like the line of balance on a
spinning top--that unites the three realms of underworld, earth, and heavens.
For the Maya, the Tree of Life, called Yaxché, is traditionally a Ceiba tree. This is a tall tree with large
buttressed roots, a remarkably straight trunk, and a high horizontal crown. The roots are said to shelter bats,
symbolic of the underworld. The trunk teems with insect life, and attracts the animals and birds that feed on
them. The crown spreads wide over the jungle canopy, often with four branches that would suggest the four
cardinal directions that are so significant to the Maya. The eagles that roost there represent the celestial
realm.
The axis mundi is the navel of the world. A Yaxché could be found at the center of most pre-Columbian
Mesoamerican villages. The Tree of Life is a natural analog to the constructed Mayan temple, which was also a
vertical structure representing the passage from subterranean to heavenly realms.
For the Maya, the cross was viewed as an iconic representation of the Yaxché, so that in the symbol of the
Christian cross and traditional motifs are confounded. This may account in part for the power of the Talking
Cross that summoned the Maya of the Yucatan to rebellion during the War of the Castes. Ceiba flowers served
as the pattern for earflares worn by Classic Maya kings; in modern Mayan ceremonies, the same blossoms are
used to decorate crosses. The Tree of Life motif is also commonly found as a design element in highland Maya
textiles.
–Taken from http://www.buriedmirror.com/yaxche.htm
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The Yucatan Peninsula
The Yucatan Peninsula is a region at the easternmost tip of Mexico that is comprised of the
three Mexican states of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo. This region is considered a
peninsula because it is almost completely surrounded by water. It is bordered by the Gulf
of Mexico to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
The Yucatan is the homeland of the Maya, an indigenous group of people that have lived in
this area for thousands of years and whose descendants continue to reside in this region.
Many major ancient Mayan archaeological sites are located in this area. Some of the most
important ones are Chichén Itzá, Tulum, Cobá, Edzná, Uxmal, and Kabah.
The Yucatan Peninsula is also famous for its colonial cities such as the state capitals of
Campeche and Mérida. Many people around the world also come to the Yucatan for its
beautiful beaches and resort towns such as Cancún and Playa del Carmen.
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USING THE KWL AND CORNELL NOTES GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
FOR YOUR MUSEUM VISIT
KWL GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
A KWL graphic organizer helps students to connect their learning to prior knowledge. It
has three sections. The “K” column represents what students already know about a topic.
Students will create a list here of facts that they may already know about the topic. The “W”
column represents what they would like to know about a topic. Here, students will develop
questions about what knowledge they would like to pursue about their topic. Both of these
sections are to be filled out before students participate in the lesson or, in our case, visit the
museum. The “L” column is filled out after their museum visit. Here students will write
down what they learned about their topic during their visit. As you can see, the KWL
graphic organizer can also serve as an assessment tool of their museum visit.
This organizer can be used and adapted for all grades, but especially for grades 4-8.
CORNELL NOTES GRAPHIC ORGANIZER
The purpose of the Cornell Notes system of note taking is to help students organize notes
and main ideas about a chosen topic. If your group is visiting the museum and you would
like them to focus their visit on a specific topic related to the exhibition, they can use this
organizer to do so. This sheet can serve as a form of assessment of the museum visit.
First, have students write their topic in the upper left box on the provided sheet. Have your
students write their notes on the right-hand large column on the sheet. This is also a good
area to write down the information about specific works of art and to create sketches. If a
student runs out of room, give him or her as many new Cornell Notes templates as they
need.
Next, students will develop main idea sentences and important questions and write these
in the left-hand column. Once a student finishes, they can summarize what they learned or
concluded from their notes and visit in the bottom square.
This organizer can be used for grades 7-12.
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Name:
TOPIC:
K
What I Know
W
What I Want to Know
L
What I Learned
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Topic/Exhibition
Questions/Main Ideas:
Name:
Teacher:
Class:
Date:
Notes/Works of Art
Summary:
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