Deformutilation: Cleaning the Dead in Mexico

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Cleaning the Dead in Mexico

Pomuch is a small population of deeply rooted traditions located near Campeche, Mexico. Each year, in the last days of October during Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead, family members flock to the cemetery to perform a very particular ritual. The ritual includes the rare event of unearthing the dead and cleaning their remains to show adoration. As part of the ritual, the women embroider cloths with the initials of the deceased and it is used, along with flowers and other decorative motifs, to cover the bones once they are cleaned. The cloth represents "the clothes" of the deceased, and a new one is made each year, or they will not return. The altars are decorated with tablecloths embroidered with images of the saints, candles, incense, and traditional foods and drinks.

**Note: Most links are in Spanish**