Everyone is born and everyone will die. This week I will be examining death within the Mexican Culture. The Mexican culture is not afraid of the concept “death” unlike other nations and culture that are taught to fear death. As common in western cultures, like the United States, several Mexicans believe in being reunited with their Creator after passing away. Catholicism is the most popular religion in the Mexican culture, “believing that death is not merely the end of bodily life, but is the gate to eternal life” (Long 2014). The idea of heaven after death give family and friends courage and consolation in times of grievance. In the Mexican culture death is “embraced” and “celebrated” because it’s a pathway to the afterlife, eternity. As Long stated in this article, he states that death is an event where one is surrounded with love ones and death is a pain-free and peaceful transition, similar to the Japanese culture.
Similar to the US, in Mexico the authoritative knowledge of death is determined by a doctor in a hospital. Most commonly a Mexican person is more likely to die at an old age due to a chronic illness. However, in the Mexican culture death is too common its part of Mexicans everyday reality, due to its high rates of gang violence. The Mexican government collects death data in two ways. First the certification of death and the second is the registration (Brian). The most important is the death certifications, where a doctor examines and can confirm death and the cause of death. Counting the death and causes of death is crucial for the Mexican government. Because counting deaths accruing to causes can help develop health priorities fir intervention programmers to reduce deaths in those areas.
After the death is confirmed, the funeral is that same week in the Mexican culture. As a typical funeral, the person is put in a casket fully clothes. Family and friends come to pay respects. After the reception, a religious ceremony takes place, mainly common within Catholic families. In the Mexican culture is rich with funeral traditions. Some are, objects of importance to the person are buried with them. The deaths are not left alone 24 hours before their wake.
The celebration of the death do not end with mourning, but it continues to be celebrated on the Day of the Dead. Day of the dead is not the same as Halloween, its celebrated for three days. In the Mexican culture, it’s a celebration of life, not death.
Braine, T. 2006. Mexico’s quest for a complete mortality data set. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 84, 161-256. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/84/3/news20306/en/
Long, S., P. 2004. Cultural scripts for a good death in Japan and the United States: Similarities and differences. Social Science and Medicine, 58, 913-928
Chen, Sandra Cai, and Sandra Cai Chen. “Why Mexico Is So Comfortable With Death.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 7 Dec. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/mexico-death-comfort_b_8775574
I have always appreciated Dia de los Muertos, and I admire the fact that death is not necessarily feared in Mexico. The fear of death is oftentimes regarded as a universal cultural trait and based in evolution, but in Mexican culture and other cultures death is not feared. It’s a nice demonstration on how things that we think are completely natural and instinctual are actually cultural.