Halloween and the Dia de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”): Origins, Similarities, and Differences
UCA museum anthropology students will host a mask-making arts and crafts program for young children on Saturday, October 19 at 11:30 am after the Spanish story hour, and a panel discussion “gallery talk” for youth and adults about the exhibition on Sunday, October 20 at 2 pm. Costumed students will be on hand to answer questions, and bassoonist Holly Williamson will play Halloween and Mexican music for both events.
“This project has anthropological significance because there isn’t a single culture in the world that responds to death in a matter-of-fact way by simply disposing of corpses. Some cultures focus on bereavement and others on an almost pathological fear of contamination and dread of the dead…what if they should have scores to settle or become angry at having to leave this life?” said Dr. Alison Hall, lecturer in anthropology and museum studies.
This student-produced anthropological exhibition will trace the roots of the Mexican Dia de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”) tradition to very ancient pre-Hispanic, pre-Christian roots among the inhabitants of West Mexico who buried their dead in underground shaft tombs as deep as 21 meters (68 feet). Ancient people believed in the continuation of the soul after death in an underworld, and their practice was to “feed the dead” with necessities for their afterlife (with the possible exception of weapons). Precious little is known about these cultures because of the widespread practice of looting tombs and trafficking in their treasures and forgeries. This results in the loss of reliable scientific information archaeologists need to understand the beliefs, life-ways, and ecology of the past. Many of the artifacts from the West Mexican Indian Shaft tombs in some of the best museums in the country have been discovered to be forgeries, and it is estimated that up to 60% are not authentic. Plans have been made for UCA students to work with UCA chemistry professor Dr. Karen Steelman, and experts at the Gilcrease museum in Tulsa to assess, if it is even possible, artifacts that were donated to the university by private collectors in the 1970s.
Students involved in the project are Brittney Behr, Christopher Bohn, Amanda Cross, Jonathan Lewis, Tony Martin, Hannah Mosby, Morgan Rogers, Michael Jason Smith, Breanna Wilbanks, Crystal Taylor.
“This project is another great example of the sort of academic vitality one finds on the UCA campus. Dr. Hall and her students have designed a significant service-learning activity, one that meets a community educational need and advances student learning,” said Dr. Peter J. Mehl, associate dean and service-learning faculty liaison.