The interview was conducted with a Mexican female aged 24 years old. She lived in Mexico for the vast part of her life until her family decided to move to the United States for work in 2011. Her family is very traditional and religious, which is why she has a good knowledge of Mexican rites and customs. Mexican funeral customs were the key tradition that she highlighted during the interview.
The subject noted that Mexican funeral customs were very different from American or European ones. She also explained that these customs were shaped by Mexican history, as well as its religion. One of the main features described by the subject was that the body remains at home for two days after death, either covered by white sheets or in a coffin. During the two days that the body remains at home, family and friends come over to celebrate the deceased and say goodbyes. Indeed, as noted by Watson (2016), Mexican people usually spend more time with the dead. Instead of grieving, people always try to remember the best things about the deceased person. Religious people spend a lot of time praying for the deceased person’s soul. In fact, the subject explained that Mexican people have special prayers called Novenas that are performed by immediate family members for over a week after the person’s death. Another important aspect of Mexican funeral customs is that people are usually buried with their belongings. The subject explained that Mexican people believe in the afterlife and thus put the deceased person’s favorite clothes or other belongings in the coffin for him or her to use in the afterlife.
References
Watson, S. (2016). Cultural spotlight: Mexican funeral traditions.