It only took only one man to scare everyone else into respecting the souls
There once was a man who did not want to lose a whole day’s work on his plot.It wasn’t worth it to him , So when it came time to celebrate the Day of the Dead he said:
“I won´t waste my time today, I have go to work on my plot of land, and every day I scrounge for something to eat, i´m not spending my money on this feast, it wastes not only my money but my time as well.
So he went to work on the fields, and as he got hard into work, he heard a voice coming out of the bushes saying to him: “Son, son, I want to eat some tamales.”
The man surprised, thought that it was his imagination that made him hear things, shortly afterwards he clearly heard other voices, people who were talking to each other.
He reflected on what was happening and understood that they were the voices of his father and deceased relatives crying out for the offerings he had denied them.
Then and there he told his wife to kill some turkeys and make some tamales to offer to their deceased at the family altar.
While the woman worked herself to the bone in the kitchen preparing the offerings, the man layed down to rest for a while, he felt extremely tired. When everything was ready, the woman tried waking up her husband. However she did not succeed, the man was dead already; although he had fulfilled the requests of his deceased relatives, they still took him back with them.
That is why in the Huasteca traditions it is an obligation to prepare an offering for the deceased; this way they are pleased and share with them the joy that is lived in family.
That is why one should never stop offering to the dead on November 2; bottle rockets and firecrackers are lit so that their noise frightens the demons; candles are also lit so that they illuminate the path for the deceased. If the latter liked the liquor very much, for example, it should be bought and put on the altar for him to drink.
These rites are obligatory, because if they are not celebrated it is very possible that the dead will take the owner of the house.
The Yucatan Times
Historic Yucatan
