Staying alive by worshiping death
An intimate journey to the velación de ánimas, wake of souls ritual, done by one of the remaining ancient blood-line heritage aztec dance groups.
POWER JOURNEY VLOG
Julián Katari
11/27/20241 min read
What is the role and value of ancestral culture in our everyday lives? What do ancestral ceremonies provide for us that is crucial for our day to day?
Answering these questions may take us to a deeper question which is, what is the meaning of life?
Death could not exist without life, and life without death. They are part of each other, and as our modern overworld culture has separated us from this knowledge and contact, it is still kept by native traditions that are practiced at the heart of the largest cities in the world.
As modern overworld culture progresses, it prays on the energies and time saved for art, culture and true spirituality. The few that survive, become ever so valuable. They are the guardians of what gives our life meaning, the people that do the work for us, that connect us with the beyond. As I travel to participate in this ritual, I begin to see the harsh reality. The great chiefs have passed away. Only we remain to keep this alive.
