Day of the Dead: Paper Mache

Historical / Cultural Significance

The Mexican tradition La Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, occurs on November 1. On this day, the souls of dead relatives and friends come from heaven, hell, purgatory to be with the living. This is a joyous celebration involving great food, parties, parades, sweets, and music. There is no mourning on the Day of the Dead, even if a family is saddened by loved ones' death. The elders say "the path back to the living must not be made slippery by tears" (Cala). This day immediately follows All Saint's Day on November 1.

On All Saint's Day, families spend the day honoring the dead in the graveyards. Candles are lit, incense is burned, and offerings of food and gifts are left on the graves. Marigolds, the flowers of the dead, or other bright and cheerfully colored flowers are put on the graves. The tradition preceedes its current context of Catholicism.

The Aztecs believed that death was a "portal to other existances". Families paid homage to the dead and on the day that the dead walked among the living, their presence was welcomed, respected and revered. These days happen to be the same as the Catholic holy days of All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day. The lines between ancient folklore and western religion and ideas are often blurred in Mexican culture.

There are many customs for La Dia de Los Muertos. The three most prominent are La Calavera, calvaras de azucar, and pan de muerto. La Calavera means the skeleton of death. Paper mache, wood, and other mediums are employed to create humorous and playful skeletons. They can be masks, on plates, bowls, sculptures, wall hanging, anything! The idea behind this and most other Day of the Dead traditions is to bring forth the playfulness of the dead. Skeletons are made to mimic the living as if they were amung us. Another significant part of this is mocking the dead.

Calvaras de azucar are candy skulls made from a sugar paste caste into molds. They are decorated with colorful eyes, foil, and icing. Children's names are often written on the skulls. Throughout Mexico the skulls are sold in the markets. They are considered tokens of love, gifts, and objects to adorn alters and gravesites.

Pan de muerto, or bread of the dead, is a plain round cake covered with sugar crystals or icing in the form of a skull and crossbones. "Give me bread and sugar to help me on my journey to the next level" say the dead before burial.

Principles and Elements of Design

Vibrant colors are a key element to most Mexican artwork. Form and shape are also key especially when creating 3-dimensional characters.

Techniques and Methodology

Crafted skeletons appear in many forms including plates, masks, woodcarvings, and paper mache figures. In the classroom, the Day of the Dead offers an opportunity to give the idea and tradition of Hallowe'en a multicultural context. Hallowe'en is a fabulous holiday; however, its potential richness and cultural validity get lost in the race for candy and quick-fix costumes. The Day of the Dead, though, can also be appreciated without a connection to Hallowe'en. This celebration is unique from Western customs as it presents a different and more positive way of preceiving the dead.

Activities

Paper Mache Bowls and Plates

: Lesson 1 would be making the bowls or plates; lesson 2 would be painting the products. Special emphasis could be placed on color.

Paper Mache 3-D Skeletons or Puppets: with emphasis on form and/or shape, make skeletons in the spirit of the Calaveras. To make them puppets, join appendages at any or all of these areas: shoulders, elbows, hip, knee. Puppets could be hung from the head; for manipulation, appendages and head could be strung to crossing sticks overhead; or hands could be attached to sticks.

Pan de Muerto: Bread of the Dead

In celebration of Mexico's Day of the Dead, this bread is often shaped into skulls or round loaves with strips of dough rolled out and attatched to resemble bones.

Ingredients: 1/2 c butter
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
5-5 1/2 c flour
2 packages dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp whole anise seed
1/2 c sugar
4 eggs

In a saucepan, over med. flame, heat the butter, milk, and water until very warm but not boiling. Meanwhile, measure out 1 1/2 c flour and set the rest aside. In a large bowl, combine the 1 1/2 c flour, yeast, salt, anise seed, and sugar. Beat in the warm liquid until well combined. Add the eggs and beat in another 1 c flour. Continue adding more flour until dough is soft but not stickey. Knead on lightly floured board for 10 min until smooth and elastic.

Lightly grease a bowl and place dough in it, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch the dough down and shape into loaves resembling skulls, skeletons or round loaves with "bones" placed ornamentally around the top. Let these loaves rise for 1 hour.

Bake in pre-heated 350' oven for 40 min. Remove from oven and paint on glaze.

Glaze:

1/2 c sugar
1/3 c fresh orange juice
2 tbsp grated orange zest

Bring to a boil for 2 min, then apply to bread with a pastry brush. If desired, sprinkle on colored sugar while glaze is still damp.

Integration with Music, Dance, Drama

Music lessons could revolve around Day of the Dead songs and drama could work with the dances.

Other Integration Possibilities

Personal Planning and Social Studies could look at how traditions effect individual and community spirit; Language Arts could do research, creative writing, or oral presentation activities.