Day Of The Dead Celebrations: The “Santa Calavera” Human Skull Procession In A Jungle Town In Guatemala Editorial Photo

Townsfolk of San Jose, a small town on the border of the Peten Itza Lake and the tropical rainforest, in the northern department of Peten in Guatemala, arrange and decorate the graves of their loved ones and attend the Santa Calavera procession that takes place on November 1st. of every year, during the traditional Day of the Dead celebrations. In this procession, three human skulls are placed in the altar of the main church in town and a catholic mass is held, where the priest and parishioners pray for the well-being of both the living and the dead. Then, the skulls are taken out and carried in a walk around town to people’s houses, where they are received with traditional local food, flowers and candles made of black wax. A novena and a litany are prayed to the skulls on each house visited. The skulls are believed to be holy and can grant miracles to those who pray to them. The heads are then returned to the church where they are stored in a cabinet guarded by two saints, and wait until next year, or next Day of the Dead, to be taken out again and celebrated. This tradition is based on worshipping the souls and dates back to pre-Hispanic times since in Peten, the conquest occurred until the beginning of the 18th century 1900s. The human skulls are believed to be the ones of prominent Chamanes shamans or Mayan Priests of the Itza community, that were also direct descendants of the ancient Mayans, and that they are also the founding fathers of the town of San Jose.