Day of the Dead tamales: what they are and their meaning

What is it?

Day of the Dead tamales are the tamales placed on the Day of the Dead offerings (1 and 2 November) and shared in the family meal that follows the ritual. Each region of south-east and central Mexico has its specific varieties: in Oaxaca, Oaxacan tamales of black, yellow or coloradito mole are made, wrapped in banana leaf; in Yucatán, the mucbipollo or pibes (large tamales cooked underground) with chicken and achiote are the centrepiece of Hanal Pixán; in Chiapas and Tabasco, chipilín or iguana tamales; in the centre, mole, green and red tamales. All share their ritual function: to symbolically feed the souls that return on these dates and to bring the living families together around the table with the taste of memory.

Origin and history

Tamales as a funerary offering are a pre-Hispanic tradition documented by Bernardino de Sahagún in the Florentine Codex. The Mesoamerican peoples believed that the dead journeyed to Mictlán over four years, and they fed them tamales and other offerings on specific festivities of the ritual calendar, particularly Miccailhuitontli (Little Feast of the Dead, equivalent to July-August in the Gregorian calendar) and Hueymiccaílhuitl (Great Feast of the Dead, equivalent to August-September). Larousse Cocina notes that after the conquest, the Catholic friars moved these festivities to 1 and 2 November (All Saints and All Souls), but the indigenous tradition of tamales as the ritual food of the dead remained intact. México Desconocido documents how in Oaxaca, Yucatán, Puebla, Veracruz, Tlaxcala and other regions Day of the Dead tamales preserve specific features inherited from pre-Hispanic traditions. UNESCO inscribed the Indigenous Festivities dedicated to the Dead as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

Characteristic ingredients

The varieties of Day of the Dead tamales are enormously diverse. Oaxacan tamales are wrapped in banana leaf and have dough with lard and black or yellow mole with chicken or pork. The Yucatecan mucbipollo is a giant tamal weighing several kilos: maize dough with lard and achiote, filled with chicken and pork in kol (thickened with masa), wrapped in banana leaves and traditionally cooked underground in a pib (subterranean oven) for several hours. In Veracruz, zacahuiles are made, giant tamales up to a metre long, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an earth oven. In Chiapas, chipilín tamales or round-ball tamales. In Tlaxcala, Hidalgo and Puebla, red tamales with pork, green with chicken, sweet strawberry or pineapple, and ash tamales (dough with ash from burnt tortilla that blackens the dough, symbolising mourning) are common. The essential ingredients are nixtamalised maize dough, pork lard, salt, wrapping leaves (dried corn husk or fresh banana leaf), and the fillings according to the variety.

Cultural significance

Day of the Dead tamales are a fundamental offering on any Day of the Dead altar, from humble household offerings to the public altars of cemeteries and squares. They are placed beside the pan de muerto, the sugar skulls, the water, the salt, the candle, the cempasúchil flowers and the favourite foods of the deceased. After the night vigil from 1 to 2 November, the tamales are shared among relatives and neighbours, in an act that affirms the bond between the living and the dead. The Indigenous Festivities dedicated to the Dead were recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008, and the ritual tamales are one of their central elements. The regional tamale economy experiences its first great annual peak in late October and early November. In Yucatán, Hanal Pixán includes the communal preparation of the mucbipollo, a ritual that brings whole families together for several hours. Traditional Mexican cuisine was recognised by UNESCO in 2010, and tamales are one of its pillars.

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