Cambridge Scholars Publishing The Public Rituals of Life, Death, and Resurrection in Tlayacapan, Morelos (Mexico)

A process of social, cultural, and religious change occurred in central Mexico starting in the sixteenth century, following the Spanish conquest. Missionaries from different religious orders attempted to convert the indigenous peoples of central Mexico to Catholicism, and a part of this process involved the imposition of a new ritual cycle on the existing Mesoamerican cycle that governed agriculture and the cosmic order. This study describes the evolution and modern practice of the public ritual of life, death, and resurrection in Tlayacapan, Morelos. Tlayacapan is a community located in northern Morelos that has evolved from being a traditional community of Náhuas to a center of cultural tourism based on its architectural patrimony, artisan tradition, and, particularly, its public ritual. Carnival and the Day of the Dead continue to form a part of the traditional ritual cycle, but have also been used to attract tourism. This study discusses the modern practice of carnival, Holy Week and the Day of the Dead, and the historical origins of these public rituals. About the Author Robert H. Jackson received his doctorate in Latin American History from the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied with Tulio Halperin Donghi, in 1988. He continues to conduct research on missions on the frontiers of colonial Spanish America and historical demography, among other subjects. His most recent books include Regional Conflict and Demographic Patterns on the Jesuit Missions among the Guarani in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (2019) and A Population History of the Missions of the Jesuit Province of Paraquaria (2019).