1. The Day of the Dead
2. Oaxaca and its people
Ethnicity, variation and loyalty
The family
Compadres and comadres
Poverty, subsistence, and fatalism
3. Funerals and death
4. The Day of the Dead markets
Related cottage industries
Pan de Muertos
Cabecitas (Muñecas)
Ceramic skeletons and skulls
Ceramic vessels
Paper products
Incense
Chocolate, spices, and other food stuffs
Mole and other prepared foods
Candies
Flowers
Candles
5. Preparation
The living arrive
The final preparations
The altar structure
Decorating the altar/ofrenda
The cloth
The flowers
The fruit
Finishing touches
Setting out the ofrenda
Smells
Calaveras and muerteadas
6. November first : a private affair
Open doors
The magic path
When they come
the private gathering
Going visiting
Family obligations
7. November second : panteones and public festivities
Outside the cemetery
Inside the cemetery
Olvidados, the forgotten ones
The celebration ends
Four more Mondays
Accidentados
8. The roots of the Day of the Dead
A religious paradox
The spiritual conquest
Symbolism and prehispanic roots
The cult of death and the Day of the Dead
9. The future of the day of the dead.