Celebration Masks for the Mexican Days of the Dead

Celebrating with Masks

Explorations in Art, Davis Publications

Third Grade, Paper Traditions, Pages 166-169

 Nancy Walkup

Objectives

Students will:

·      Understand that people in different cultures create masks as part of a tradition.

·      Create a paper mask.

Materials

·      9” x 12” white and colored construction paper

·      pencils

·      scissors

·      white glue

·      hole punches

·      decorative scissors

Studio Evaluation Criteria

·      Masks show a face.

·      Masks are three-dimensional

·      Masks include decorative elements.

Introduction to Celebratory Masks

Share with students that one important tradition found in all cultures is the tradition of celebration. When people celebrate, they often do the same thing each time. We call this a tradition. Many cultures use masks in such celebrations. Tell students they will be making a mask for the celebration of the Mexican Days of the Dead. A good animated video to share with your students about the meaning of this celebration can be found at https://youtu.be/jCQnUuq-TEE.

Unassembled Mask

Background Information for the Celebration of the Mexican Days of the Dead

The two days of Los Dias de los Muertos, the Mexican Days of the Dead, represent the most important celebration of the year in Mexico, especially in rural areas. Celebrated on the Catholic holy days of November 1, All Saints' Day, and November 2, All Souls' Day, the occasion is a joyful time of remembrance, family reunion, and feasting, as relatives and friends gather together to honor their loved ones who have died. According to tradition, it is believed that the souls of departed children return on November 1 and the souls of the adults visit on November 2. While some people call this fiesta time “Day of the Dead,” the plural form better describes the celebration as it spans several days.

Mexican families save all year to buy the flowers, candles, incense, and special foods needed for the festivities to properly honor their dearly departed. No expense is spared in preparing for the Days of the Dead. Mexican families participate in the construction and decoration of ofrendas (tabletop displays) to honor their loved ones.

            Decorations for the ofrenda may include candles, gifts, flowers, incense, papel picado(cut paper banners), photographs, pictures of saints (and often the Virgin of Guadalupe) and offerings of the favorite food and drink of the deceased. Mexican marigolds (called zempascuchitl) and cock’s comb are the flowers most associated with the Days of the Dead. The marigold is particularly pungent in aroma as is the copal incense that is burned on the ofrenda and in the cemetery.

            Pan de los Muertos (bread of the dead), candies, and toys are made in the shapes of calavera (skulls and skeletons). The skeleton or skull is seen as a promise of resurrection, not as a symbol of death. Calavera toys and papier-mache skeleton figures depict specific professions, musicians, brides and grooms, bicycle riders, and other subjects from everyday life. There are rich traditions in Mexican folk art that incorporate calveras in many ways. For example, the Linares family of Mexico City is well known for their fantastic papier-mache calaveras figures.

            In preparation for the fiesta, tombs and gravestones in the cemeteries are cleaned, freshly-painted, and elaborately decorated by the members of the community with candles, flowers, breads, fruits, photographs, and other objects. Since the cemeteries are often in or very near a village or town, they are not seen as places separate from the community, but as part of everyday village life.

            Though specific practices of the Days of the Dead may vary from village to village, in most communities the entire village holds vigil in the cemetery the nights of the Days of the Dead. Each family maintains a vigil around its graves - graves which are covered with lit candles and flowers, as many as a family can afford. The entire family, from oldest to newborn, each dressed in their best clothing, keeps watch, quietly offering prayers until their candles burn down in the cold night.

Making a Paper Mask

Fold a 9" x 12" white or colored construction paper in half the long way. With the fold towards the left, lightly draw half of a head or skull shape on the folded paper, filling the paper as much as possible. Cut away on the drawn lines. With the paper still folded, draw an eye, nose, and mouth and then cut them out. Open up the mask and make two or more shallow cuts on the edges of the mask, one on the chin and two above the eyes. Decorate the mask with cut, curled, folded, and scored papers or colored markers. Once the decorations are complete, overlap and glue or staple the paper together at each cut. If students want to wear the masks, staple or tape a piece of yarn to each side.

For younger students, you may want to provide a mask template for them to use.