They clean the Holy Remains before Janal Pixan

Days before the arrival of the souls that come to the Janal Pixan, in the Pomuch cemetery, in <a href="http://www.world-today-news.com/campeche-ministry-of-health-reports-successful-anti-rabies-vaccination-campaign-in-2023/" title="Campeche Ministry of Health Reports Successful Anti-Rabies Vaccination Campaign in 2023″>Hecelchakán, Campeche, a meticulous and delicate ritual is carried out that strengthens the closeness between family members even after death: the cleaning of the Santos Restos, a tradition that has been inherited from generation to generation.

This meeting between the living and the dead takes place every year, with tranquility and respect, a week before the celebration of Janal Pixan, the equivalent of the Day of the Dead, and until October 31, which is the day before their arrival.

Residents of Pomuch, in the Hecelchakán police station, remove the remains of their relatives from the ossuaries and carefully clean each of the bones.

For outsiders this act may seem strange, however, for those who perform it it represents a way of “bathing” and “changing clothes” for their loved ones prior to their return to the world of the living.

For decades, probably centuries, the cleaning of the Holy Remains is a tradition that all of Pomuch has defended because it is part of their Mayan beliefs, which represent the opportunity to live again with those who are no longer here and has managed to persist thanks to the efforts of families to guarantee generational inheritance.

Even for years, the Campechana authorities have organized special events to attract tourism to the community and spread this tradition that is unique in the country and is considered cultural heritage of the region. This 2024, the Day of the Dead Festival, Pomuch para el Mundo, will take place starting on October 31 with 21 free activities.

In the days before the Food of the Souls, families arrive early at the cemetery with candles, flowers and cleaning supplies. To remove dust from bones. They usually use brushes or broom brushes and they can be new or part of the tools they use every year. Everyone participates, from children to teenagers, and even the oldest people in the town, who have been cleaning their loved ones for decades.

The first cleaning is done when the deceased celebrates his third anniversary of death, the bones are exhumed and they are moved to an ossuary, where they wear clothing that consists of a white cloth with their name or initials, decorated with ornaments. floral.

Cleaning the remains of family members is an act of care that is carried out by the heirs of this tradition, as long as conditions allow it. Some of the relatives of the deceased express that they cannot always come to see them, but that, nevertheless, they make an effort to be present during these days and share time with those who came forward.

Although it is a job for close people, in order not to fail to comply with tradition, people who cannot carry out the cleaning entrust it to the gravediggers of the Pomuch Cemetery, who are paid from 40 to 80 pesos for cleaning a bone. complete.

Family members also take advantage of these dates to paint and decorate the niches of their loved ones, do outdoor cleaning work, and walk through the corridors of the cemetery and observe how each group brings the Holy Remains to light once again.

Although this tradition attracts dozens of tourists, the majority of Pomuch residents believe that this media exposure is positive. For them, it strengthens the sense of identity that differentiates them from other peoples who have lost contact with the remains of their dead.