94 The Atlantis Encyclopedia
Day of the Dead
A relationship between early November and a day of the dead is not only
worldwide but very ancient. The “Days of Death” celebrated in early November
were among the most important Aztec festivals, and appear to have dated to Maya
or even Olmec times, in the 13th century B.C. The Aztecs began their ceremonies
with the heliacal rising of the Pleiades. They began at dawn over several days until
the constellation was completely obscured by the sun. Their Atemoztli, or “Falling
Waters,” occurred every November 16, when the end of the Fourth Sun or Age,
brought about by a world flood, was commemorated.
The Atlantean identity of this calendar festival is affirmed by the god who
presided over it, Tlaloc, the Maya Chac, portrayed in temple art as a bearded man
bearing the cross of the sky on his shoulders, the Mesoamerican Atlas. More than
a philological correspondence existed between the Aztec Atemoztli and Atemet.
The Egyptian goddess, Hathor, in her guise as Queen of the Sea, was depicted in
sacred art wearing a crown in the image of a fish. Her role in the Great Deluge is
described in her own entry.
The Mayas throughout Yucatan and Peten hung small packets of cake on the
branches of the holy Ceibra, especially where the tree was found standing among
clearings in the forest or at crossroads. These little sacrifices were made of the
finest corn available, and intended for the spirits of the dead, as indicated by their
name,hanal pixan, or “the food of the souls.” For the Mayas, the Ceibra Tree was
a living memorial of the Great Flood from which their ancestors survived by sailing
to Yucatan. The hanal pixan decorated this most sacred tree for the first three
days of each November. Meanwhile, in the High Andes of Peru and Bolivia,
the Incas performed the Ayamarca, or “carrying the corpse” ceremony every
November 2.
The appearance of the Pleiades at that time simultaneously signaled the
beginning of Hawaii’s most important celebration, the annual Makahiki festival.
In the Kona district on the Big Island, it honored the arrival of Lono at Kealakekua.
He was a white-skinned, fair-haired “god” who recently escaped a catastrophic
deluge. Lono was associated with all manner of cataclysmic celestial events,
together with devastating earthquakes and floods. At the western end of the
Pacific, celebrants still participate in the Loi Krathong the night of the full moon
by launching candle-illuminated model boats into the Gulf of Thailand. Designed
to honor the sea-goddess, the lotus-shaped little vessels made of banana leaves
bear flowers, incense and a coin to the spirits of their ancestors who perished in
the Great Flood. The Loi Krathong, depending on the appearance of the full
moon, may occur from November 2–12.
The Japanese have traditionally celebrated Bon, the Feast of the Dead, since
prehistoric times in a manner virtually identical to the Loi Krathong. They set
adrift fleets of burning lanterns to guide ancestral spirits across the sea. Ceremonies
last for several consecutive nights, and include Bon-Odori—hypnotic outdoor
dancing, often in cemeteries. Bon was partially appropriated by Buddhism in its