Honoring the Dead: A Journey Through Global Traditions and Personal Memories

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What if you could connect with loved ones who have passed in a meaningful way that spans across cultures and traditions? Join me as I share my personal journey of building a heartfelt altar at home, inspired by the vibrant Mexican tradition of La Ofrenda, to honor cherished family members and pets. This episode explores the significance of Dia de Muertos and how it joyfully welcomes spirits back for a day of remembrance. We also travel to Haiti to uncover the unique Fete Guedet, a celebration that melds elements of Mardi Gras, Halloween, and Dia de Muertos, and venture to Bolivia for the Fiesta de las Ñatitas, where families commemorate skulls believed to forge protective bonds with their caretakers. Through these global traditions, we reflect on the universal desire to honor and remain connected to those we've lost.

Expressing love takes many forms, and in this chapter, I offer inspiration and ideas on how to commemorate the memories of those who have departed. From personal stories to cultural rituals, this discussion emphasizes the importance of maintaining connections through meaningful practices. Engage with the conversation by sharing your own experiences, leaving comments, and rating the podcast. Your input enriches our exploration and keeps the dialogue alive. Thank you for being part of this heartfelt journey, and I look forward to sharing more personal reflections and cultural insights with you in the episodes to come.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh we could, we could fly.
Welcome to this new season ofthe have a cup of johanni
podcast.
So I want to title this newseason that I'm embarking on
with I'm growing, so this isgoing to be the season of growth
and that's what I'm going toshare with you throughout the

(00:20):
season.
So I thank you for coming overhere and sitting with me and I
hope you enjoy.
Hello, everyone, and welcome toour last episode of October,
and today we're talking aboutsomething special building

(00:42):
altars to honor those we've lostand how this practice is
reflected in traditions aroundthe world.
With Dia de Muertos coming up,I've been thinking a lot about
not just honoring the loved onesthat passed, but also how

(01:03):
different cultures do the samething, how they honor their
loved ones who have passed.
Are you ready?
After losing family members andmost recently Lento, and before
that, johnil, and before that,john, and before that, my other

(01:26):
fur babies I wanted a way tostay connected with them and,
while talking about them andwriting about them and, like for
john, immortalizing him and mrsfrench's evil ring, I needed
something physical, somethingthat would allow me to keep
their memory alive in everydaylife, and that's when, talking

(01:51):
with my husband, we decided tocreate an altar in my home
dedicated to the memory of theloved ones that have passed, and
this is a practice that manycultures around the world use to
honor those who have passed,and from looking in the internet

(02:14):
, I could tell that the gist ofit all stays the same, which is
to honor the dead.
The practice is what usuallydefers, but creating an altar
isn't just a personal ritual.
For me, it is rooted in cultureand the need to stay connected,

(02:37):
and one of the cultures that Iam tied to is the Mexican
culture, where they have Dia deMuertos, and this holiday
celebrates the lives of thosewho have passed, and one of the

(02:58):
big elements that it has is LaOfrenda.
Has is la ofrenda In thisversion of honoring the dead.
It's similar to what I have inmy home, which is a table with
the photographs the pictures ofthose who have passed, along
with their favorite foods.

(03:20):
For my grandmother and for thepets, I put their little collar
there, and for the pets I puttheir little collar there, and
in Mexico they also havemarigolds in their altars, which
welcomes the spirits of theirloved ones back to the living

(03:41):
world for a day of celebrationand remembrance.
So it's not a day of mourning,but it is a joyful day to honor
them and reconnect with theirspirit in the living world.
And, like I said, I createdsomething similar and I will be
revamping it this year with thephoto rental and a candle and a
couple of other favorite toys.

(04:04):
Just because if I put in theretheir food, I have other pets in
the house that will most likelyjump on it and eat the ofrenda.
So for me, the ofrenda needs tobe not edible, not food, but
every time I light a candle infront of their photos, it's a

(04:26):
time to reflect, it's a time toconnect with them and it's
almost as if I'm inviting themto come over and come and sit by
my side, just like they didwhen they were here.
But from researching it a littlebit further, it's not just Dia

(04:48):
de Muertos or Old Souls Day.
There are other celebrationsaround the world that occur, and
I'm getting this frominthelightturnscom, and they
have a few celebrations fromaround the world here that
people celebrate.

(05:08):
I was born in the DominicanRepublic, so in Haiti, was born
in the Dominican Republic, so inHaiti.
Fete Guedet or Just Guedet.
It's a celebration that has itsown distinct feel, but, like I
said, the intent of it all is tohonor the dead, but this one
right here has a Creole originto it and it's a fete, it's a

(05:32):
party.
So the party is kind of likethey're comparing it to Mardi
Gras here, with Halloween and alittle bit of Dia de Muertos all
combined, and it involvesdancing, feasting, visiting
cemeteries and making offeringsto the dead, and people like to
dress up and dance usingtraditional moves to the sound

(05:54):
of a drum.
And at this time they believethe spirits pass on the road
between the living and death.
And this passage requiresapproval from death.
And death is referred to asPapaguete and he was the first
person that died and he takesall souls into the afterlife.

(06:17):
And he is said to have a quirkysense of humor, but he's gentle
and if people request a giftfrom him they have to have an
ofrenda in return, right, andthat ofrenda, that offering,

(06:38):
must be repaid at the end of thecelebration.
And this reminded me a lot ofhow my grandmother used to say
to you can ask from the saintsthings, but when you ask you
need to offer them something andyou better come through on that

(07:00):
promise or else it will be somesort of repercussion to that
and that is kind of likesomething, a similar mentality
here with Papaguete, which islike, yes, ask him for things
right To spare the life of achild or a loved one, since he
is death, he's the one thattakes them to the other side.

(07:21):
But if he does grant you that,then you better come through on
what you promise him, in thiscase by the end of the
celebration, or else there maybe vengeance.
So I can see from reading thisthat the cultures kind of like
combine in the island and wedraw from similar traditions and

(07:46):
kind of like created our owndistinct way of celebrating
certain things, and in this caseis celebrating or honoring the
dead.
You also have in Bolivia Fiestade las Ñatitas.
Fiesta de las Ñatitas iscentered on skulls and these are

(08:07):
the Ñatitas and they'rebelieved to form a beneficial
and sometimes chaoticrelationship with the people who
care for them, and during thisis like a week-long holiday and
during this holiday familieshead to the cemetery with their
own skulls and they often tradeskulls between family members.

(08:28):
They may give offerings toother skulls and the event is a
nod to the indigenous people ofthe area who believe that skulls
of the dead gave benefits totheir fields or their lives.
That's very interesting, huh?
Then in Japan, we have the ObonFestival.
It's either in July or Augustand it's a time to honor their

(08:51):
ancestors as one of the threebiggest holidays in Japan.
Many people take the whole weekfor this celebration and on the
first day, families take paperlanterns to their ancestors'
graves and some people light afire at their homes to help
their ancestors find their way,and this is a time for eating

(09:12):
and making offerings.
The end of the festivalinvolves moving the paper
lanterns to guide the spiritsback to their rest.
Most recently, some people havechosen to float the lanterns
down the river.
This symbolizes the soul'sdescent back to the sky.
That is very interesting,though.

(09:33):
In Cambodia they have Chung BenFestival, and is a time where
people gather at temples tooffer food to their ancestors'
spirits.
Of various holidays.
Because of the diversity of thepeople here, we have a Memorial

(09:59):
Day that honors the fallenmilitary members.
We also have Dia de Muertoshere, which, when the
translation happened, theystarted calling it Dia de los
Muertos in the United States,but that's because the
translation Day of the Deadright.

(10:20):
The translation to Spanish wasmore exact that way, so the name
changed when it came this way,but it's actually Dia de Muertos
and we also have All Saints Day, all Souls Days and, of course,
halloween, which is rooted inSamhain.
And Samhain and this isaccording to the Wikipedia page

(10:45):
here that I pulled up isbelieved to have Celtic, pagan
origins and some Neolithicpassage.
Tombs in Great Britain andIreland are aligned with the
sunrise at the time of Samhain.
It is mentioned in the earliestIrish literature from the 9th
century and is associated withmany important events in Irish
mythology.
The early literature says thatgreat gatherings and feasts mark

(11:10):
Samhain, when the ancientburial mounds were opened, which
were seen in portals to theother world.
Some of the literature alsoassociates Samhain with bonfires
and sacrifices.
The festival was not recordedin detail until the early modern
era.
It was when cattle was broughtdown from the summer, pastures

(11:32):
and livestocks were slaughteredand special bonfires were lit
which were deemed to haveprotective and cleansing powers.
Ah, it says here, makingcontact with the spirits more
likely, and most scholars seesthem as remnants of pagan gods.
At Samhain they are appeasedwith offerings of food and drink

(12:04):
to ensure the people andlivestock survived the winter.
The souls of dead kin were alsothought to revisit their home,
seeking hospitality, and a placewas set at the table for them
during a meal.
Mummy and guising were part ofthe festival from at least the
early modern era, whereby peoplewent door to door in costume,

(12:28):
reciting verses in exchange forfood.
The costumes may have been away of imitating and disguising
oneself from the spirit.
Divination was also a big partof the festival and often
involved nuts and apples.
Look at that.

(12:49):
In the 9th century, the WesternChurch endorsed 1 November as
the date of All Saints Day,possibly due to the influence of
Oswin, and 2 November laterbecame All Souls Day, and it is
believed that sowing and AllSaints and All Souls Days
influence each other, as well asthe modern Halloween.

(13:11):
You see that how it convergethere, that's very interesting.
I like to learn things likethat.
But, like I said, even thoughthese traditions may differ in
form and how they are practiced,the heart of it all it's the
same, because the heart of itall is finding a way to remember

(13:35):
, honor and stay connected toour loved ones.
So I will be creating thisaltar this year and putting
lentil on it, and I am sure thatit will be a mix of emotions,
but I know, in the end it willhelp me to feel at peace and it

(13:59):
will help me to lessen the lossof my fur baby, because I would
be feeling the connection.
And doing this it's my way ofkeeping their memory alive and
celebrating what they brought tomy life, and the act of

(14:19):
lighting a candle on this altar.
It will be a meaningful objectand sitting there by their
photos and talking to them andreminiscing about them is a way
of having that connectionstrengthened through practice.

(14:43):
But these global traditionsshows us that grief and
remembrance are universal.
They go from continent tocontinent, country to country,
while the weight of loss neverfully goes away.
Having a sacred space to honorour loved ones give us a way to
carry that grief more peacefullyand through that we continue to

(15:06):
celebrate their lives and notjust mourn their absence, their
absence.
So as Dia de Muertos approaches, or whatever tradition that
speaks to you, I encourage youto think about how you can

(15:30):
create your own ritual, your ownspace to honor those you've
lost Doesn't have to be likethis fancy, grand thing, just
something that feels right toyou, and whether it's an altar,
a photo, lighting a candle,putting some toys out, their
favorite toys, these simple actsof remembrance can help us stay

(15:51):
connected.
I thank you for tuning in todayand I hope that this episode
inspired you to find your ownway to honor your loved ones,
and I will talk to you next time, okay, bye.
Thank you so much for listening.

(16:14):
I want to hear from you.
Leave me a comment, do a ratingif you can on the podcast,
share it with somebody you love,but, most importantly, come
back.
See you next time.
Bye.