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Paper short abstract:

The lecture will focus on the phenomenon of mocking death in the context of Mexican Day of the Dead feast. I will draw on long-term ethnographic research I've been doing in Mexico City since 2014, focusing on the ways in which emotional aspects of commemoration are influenced by cultural norms.

Paper long abstract:

The Day of the Dead is considered to be the most important ritual of commemoration in most of Mexico nowadays. Although the main purpose of the holiday is to remember deceased, its festive aspect also come to the fore, especially in the cities. The festive aspect is also characterized by unique symbolism including portraying of skulls and skeletons in a humorous and satirical context. The satirized death is therefore seen as a Mexican cultural specificity and as a product of cultural nationalism. However, mocking death can also be seen as a coping mechanism for death anxiety. In this lecture, I will focus on the phenomenon of mocking death as a coping mechanism in my research partners' lives and the ways in which emotional aspects of commemoration are influenced by cultural norms. I will draw on long-term ethnographic research I've been doing in Mexico City since 2014. The advantages of repeated engagement with my research partners allowed me to observe the influence of cultural narratives on the process of coping with death and the use of mocking death which lead me to the conclusions I would like to present in the lecture.