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Essay on The Mexican and Japanese Ways of Looking at Death
Death is something that concerns everybody, partly because sooner or later everyone personally faces it and partly because it brings loss and sorrow to every family and community. The common cause is believed to be magic, sorcery and witchcraft. The curse is something greatly feared in many societies, and a powerful curse is believed to bring death to the person concerned. God is also considered a cause of death, especially for those which there is no satisfactory explanation, e.g. death caused by lightning. Among the Abaluhyia death or dying is described as 'sleeping'. The Akamba use it as follows: 'to follow the company of one's grandfathers', 'to go home', 'to stop snoring' and many others. Death is also conceived as a departure and a complete annihilation of a person. There are many, ceremonies connected with death, burials, funerals, inheritance, the living-dead, the world of the departed, the visit of the living-dead to the human families, reincarnation and survival of the soul.
Death, a subject largely avoided in the American culture of the United States, holds a significant place in Mexican culture.Death was, in fact, honored and respected by the Mayan, Aztec and other indigenous civilizations of Mexico. It was considered an honor to die in battle, childbirth or human sacrafice.It was also believed that souls come to rest in Mictlan, the land of the dead. Mictlan is not a place of judgment, but rather a place to bide time for the day when they are able to return home. This day is El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
The origins of Dia de los Muertos are an example of the complex events that shaped Mexican culture: ancient civilizations, Spanish invaders and a heavy cloak of Catholicism.When Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico, they discovered celebrations that honored death, the fall harvest and the new year.....
