Fall is here and that means one of Tulum’s most beautiful holiday festivals is coming soon: Janal Pixan, or our Maya version of Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos). It’s a time to remember our ancestors, to celebrate life, and reflect on the Afterlife.
You might have seen the movie “Coco” or be familiar with the typical Mexican Day of the Dead, with its yummy sugar skulls and pan de muertos bread.
Here in the Yucatan peninsula, we also celebrate our deceased. But, we do things a bit differently, honoring the area’s Maya roots. Here, a quick guide to Janal Pixan in Tulum in 2024!
(To pronounce “Janal Pixan”, say “Ha-nahl Pea-Shahn”. Some people also spell it Hanal Pixan.)
What We Are Celebrating
In the Maya tradition, the world is made up of many planes, divided into three parts:
- 13 divine planes above us
- Our Earth
- 9 underworlds beneath us.
All of them are joined together by the sacred Ceiba tree, or Yaxché.
Our place in all this? When we are born, the Gods give each person a Pixan— a soul in the form of a vital fluid. This fluid determines our strength and energy, and stays with us even in the afterlife, when our soul journeys on to other planes.
Since all these planes are connected, during Janal Pixan (“Food for the Soul” in Maya), it’s believed our ancestors’ Pixans can return to Earth for a visit.
When To Celebrate
We celebrate Oct. 31 as U Hanal Palal, a day for departed children, while Nov. 1 is for remembering adult ancestors (U Hanal Nucuch Uinicoob). Finally, on Nov. 2 we honor all the souls (U Hanal Pixanoob).
Usually in Tulum, events and celebrations start up to a week before these dates.
People enjoy time together with their families and community, building altars and offering favorite foods and drinks to their deceased loved ones. They may paint their faces, wear traditional clothes, and join in a “Paseo de las Animas,” a festive procession from the cemetery through the streets to celebrate the holiday.
Tulum Janal Pixan Festivities
Here in Tulum, many people set up altars inside their homes, but there is also typically a public display and festival with traditional music and dancing in the Parque Museo de la Cultura Maya park next to the Palacio Municipal (City Hall). In recent years, Tulum has also hosted a popular “Paseo de las Animas” procession.
We recommend checking the current “Ayuntamiento de Tulum” Facebook page for event announcements, which usually get posted a week or two ahead.
Across the Peninsula
You can also plan to travel from Tulum to Mérida for a night to participate in their famous Janal Pixan festival, but, be forewarned—it’s very popular and can get quite crowded! However, if you want to see authentic Yucatecan Maya traditions on a grand scale, it’s your best bet.
Here, we’ll help you understand the holiday’s traditions:
Janal Pixan Altars
If you’ve seen typical Day of the Dead altars in movies, you know they are bursting with bright colors and sugar skulls.
The traditional Maya altar looks more natural, with a green cross in the middle to represent the Ceiba tree that unites all planes of existence.
Typically offerings are placed in clay bowls or jicaras (gourds), on white cloth or large banana leaves, with lots of fruit, flowers, and candles. They also include fresh water, and copal incense made with a tree resin.
Each item holds a symbolic meaning, for example candles are said to light the spirits’ path on their way back to visit us.
Special Janal Pixan Foods
Since the holiday’s name in Maya is “food for the souls,” the delicious traditional dishes placed on the altar are highly important!
From cacao, to many corn dishes and drinks, our region’s ingredients are offered in a spirit of great love.
Mucbipollo
Ask anyone from the peninsula about their treasured memories of Janal Pixan, and they are likely to mention this tasty square baked tamal first!
It’s prepared in a traditional Maya underground oven called a “pib,” that’s covered over with banana leaves. The rich ingredients include corn masa (dough), tomatoes, lard, chile morrón, onion, epazote and a local bean called espelón, and it’s filled with chicken, turkey, or pork in an achiote sauce.
Since traditional Maya people buried their deceased in the ground behind their homes, and also built their pib ovens on their land, to cook with corn grown on that land, the connection to the Earth is vital to this holiday all around!
Xec
This tart, piquant citrus salad is made with oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, and jicama, dressed with sour orange juice and a touch of chile piquín and cilantro.
The word “xec” in Maya means “all mixed up,” so if you hear someone say a situation is a big xec, it doesn’t mean it’s a fruit salad, but rather that it’s jumbled up!
Janal Pixan Drinks
Traditional drinks for the season include atole nuevo, a delicious drink made with freshly harvested corn, fresh water, and a touch of chile.
There’s also balché, an ancient alcoholic drink made with the bark of the balché tree and our region’s special stingless bee (melipona) honey.
These may be hard to find in Tulum, and are more common in the surrounding villages or Yucatan state.
Many people ask, do Janal Pixan food and drinks get left out on the altar, and for how long? Normally, people place the offerings, and then, once they feel the spirits have enjoyed it, the living get to eat and drink them.
Janal Pixan’s Party
While it may seem weird to people from other cultures to joyfully celebrate our dead loved ones, Janal Pixan is indeed a festive holiday.
Of course people feel the melancholy of missing departed relatives. But the celebration of their lives and life in general means the festival includes lots of music, dancing, and feasting.
It’s important to respect altars, by not touching, moving, or placing any items on these sacred spaces. Yet, the festival is by no means a somber occasion.
So feel free to join in the party! You can paint your face with skeleton designs, enjoy delicious chocolate or corn drinks, and parade through the streets (**ideally very revealing clothes are not used on this holiday, nor scary Halloween-type masks).
In Tulum, besides the park mentioned above and the procession, the Palma Central food truck park often has a special party and altar displays during the holiday, where you can dance and share in the spirit.
Other restaurants, bars, and cafés in the Centro may also host special Janal Pixan celebrations.
Typically events here get announced a bit last minute, but rest assured, the holiday is never ignored!
Come stay at the Shibari Tulum Hotel, enjoy the pure sacred waters of our blue cenote and luxury cenote deck, indulge in natural spa treatments, dine at our amazing fine-dining restaurant, ATTA, and celebrate the eternal cycle of life and death in a very special way this year!
For reservations, visit our main website here.
See you soon!