The 9th and 10th months of the Aztec calendar, the Little Feast of the Dead, and the Great Feast of the Dead, were public spectacles of imperial power. These festivals, at the main temple of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, were also about state religion, ritual sacrifice, and promoted the never-ending warfare of the Aztec empire.

These ceremonies were also known to the Azteca as the Bestowal of Flowers, and the Feast of the Old Fire God. There’s clearly much more to the Dia de Muertos than face painting and guacamole.

Using original source material, I’ll explore the indigenous, pre-Hispanic roots of what has become, for Mexicans, a magical and powerful commemoration and celebration of loved ones who have passed.

Jay Savage studied history of science at Harvard and Cornell and is a big fan of the theory of knowledge, though much about the Aztecs can’t be known.