My people’s “Night of the Dead”, the “day of the dead” tradition and archaic rituals in Sardinia

Archaic Cult of the Dead and the “Supper of the Souls” in Sardinia

While admiring the beautiful Catrinas portraits by incredibly talented Mexican artists honouring the Day of the Dead, I like to remember our archaic Sardinian tradition, shrouded in the mystery of this celebration that brings back to live the Souls of the dead in “sa die de su Mortusu” or “Is Animeddas”, the holy days of the Souls, the loved ones in spirit, the Sardinian festival that celebrates the cult of the dead.

Just like modern Halloween today, or the Mexican “Dia de los Muertos” dedicated to the commemoration of the dead, "Sa die de sos mortos," in Sardinia was celebrated between the night of October 31st and November 1st, and included traditions and ancient rituals that have largely remained alive and unchanged to this day, like the "supper of the souls," which relatives of the deceased continue to prepare on that night.

Countless popular legends narrate how, on the night dedicated to “Tutti i Morti” - all the dead - , when the realms of light and darkness merges and the souls of the deceased circulate freely among the living.

Photography: @gus.mejia.arte - Modelo: @zobots_02 - MUA: @cindys_airbrushglam

It was thought that, on that night, the threshold that separated the world of the living from that of the dead gradually tended to thin until it disappeared completely, thus leaving the door of darkness open to allow the souls of the deceased to return to earth, to their homes, to the places to which they were bound and wander among the living. The family members' task was to honor and ingratiate them, offering them food, which has always been a symbol of eternity and regeneration.

The Supper of the Souls: An Ancient Custom to Commemorate the Dead

My mum remembers that on the 31st of October’s eve, every family, after dinner, set the table for the banquet of the dead who, in the night would return to visit for their soul to be fed. They used to leave food and very special homemade sweet called “papassinos” which are still made in the island only at this time of the year. They would light up candles and small lamps and send prayers to their loved ones and the ancestors.

link to recipe - Papassini o Pabassiusu

These popular beliefs have given rise over the centuries to a whole series of rites primarily involving children as a link to the world of the dead. In other areas of the island, the children would go out to knock on the doors in the village and ask to receive gifts for “sas animas, or animeddas”, meaning little souls. Personifying the souls of the dead, the children had to be blessed by the offerings of the villagers, which would help the souls of the deceased on their journey in the underworld or …to heaven.

In other towns on the island, particularly Seui, which celebrates "Su Prugadoriu," children wear a white robe similar to a sheet and carry a sack on their shoulders, demanding sweets and dried fruit from house to house while chanting the litany "seus benius po is animeddas, mi das fait po praxeri is animeddas?" “We came for the Souls of the dead, can you give me something to please their souls?”.
In Campidano, my area, when the children asked 'si onada a is animas?' (will you give us for the souls?), the gift once consisted of bread and sapa, oranges, pomegranates and almonds.

This rituals and tradition are still kept and honoured especially in small villages around the island and carrying their ancient names depending on the area of the island: “Is Animeddas”, “Sa notti de is animas de su prugadoriu”, "Is panixeddas," "Su mortu mortu," and "Su Prugadoriu", the purgatory, allowing the souls of the deceased, having opened the gates of Purgatory, to return.

“Janas e animeddas e su mortu mortu”- among the suspended souls of the deceised, were the Janas, recounted in the island's popular legends and oral tradition. Fairies or witches, or nature devas, the Janas are small spirits balanced between earth and sky, with soothing voices and enchanting beauty, (I would add: knowledgeable in herbal healing and devoted to the great mother). They inhabit the domus de Janas, tombs carved into the rock, symbolizing a cultural facies widespread throughout Sardinia between the 4th and 3rd millennia BC.

Domus the janas. Domus the janas

“The Deceased and Sowing by Roberta Carboni*

According to Claudia Zedda, the feast of "Is animeddas" is celebrated precisely at a key moment in the agricultural calendar: sowing. This is a crucial moment, a prelude to the subsequent rebirth of Nature. After all, it is the earth itself that unites the newly sown grain and the deceased. The earth's womb welcomes them, waiting for both to be reborn. From this perspective, therefore, keeping the spirits of the dead happy was an effective way to control and ensure the success of the harvest.”

The connection with the afterlife, the great mystery of life

With inherent life within themselves, and the power to preserve life, seeds, and symbolically fruits like pomegranates, have always been associated with the deceased and rebirth.

Just as seeds bring nourishment to the earth, so the deceased buried within her, will bring protection to their loved ones and, one day, would return to new life.

Photo: Roberta Carboni

Bibliographic references:

Story telling from my mother and aunties.

Claudia Zedda teachings, Janas Academy.

*Roberta Carboni, The Supper of the Souls: An Ancient Custom to Commemorate the Dead