Where: Campeche, Mexico
People: Mayan descendants
Religion: Animism and Catholicism
Ritual: Choo Ba’ak
In the cemeteries of a few small Mayan towns in Mexico, Mayan families annually honour their ancestors by cleaning their bones and skulls, whereafter they put them on display in wooden crates in small open mausoleums.
This pre-hispanic Maya practice is said to help deal with the pain of death, and the deceased are part of a social structure that keep the families together. It is also believed that relatives that are not taken properly care of can become angry ghosts.
