Day of the Dead animals: alebrijes, spirit guides and the pets we miss

Alebrijes: the colorful creatures

The brightly painted fantasy animals most people picture when they think of Day of the Dead are called alebrijes. A single alebrije might have a lion’s body, an eagle’s wings and a dragon’s tail, covered in dots, stripes and flames of color.

They are surprisingly modern. Mexico City artist Pedro Linares said that in 1936, sick with a high fever, he dreamed of a forest where rocks and clouds turned into strange animals, all shouting one word: “¡Alebrijes!” When he recovered he began building them out of papier-mâché. Woodcarvers in Oaxaca later made their own carved and painted versions, which are now the best known.

Alebrijes were not part of the original holiday, but they have become one of its symbols. Mexico City’s Museo de Arte Popular holds a parade of giant alebrijes every autumn, and Pixar’s Coco turned them into glowing spirit guides who protect souls in the Land of the Dead.

The Xoloitzcuintli: the dog who guides souls

Long before alebrijes, the dog was the animal of the dead in Mexico. In Mexica belief a dog carried each soul across the river on the way to Mictlán, the underworld. The ancient hairless Xoloitzcuintli is named after Xólotl, the god who guided the dead, and a Xolo figure is still a common sight on ofrendas. Dante, the dog in Coco, is a Xolo. The full story of the Xolo.

Monarch butterflies: souls on the wing

Every year, millions of monarch butterflies arrive in the mountain forests of Michoacán and the State of Mexico at the end of October and the start of November, right around Día de Muertos. In the communities where they arrive, many people have long said the butterflies carry the souls of the dead coming home. Butterflies are a gentle symbol to add to an ofrenda for that reason.

The axolotl: Xólotl’s other form

The axolotl, the smiling salamander of the lakes around Mexico City, carries the same god’s name. In one Aztec story, Xólotl refused to be sacrificed so the sun could move, fled, and changed into an axolotl to hide in the water. That link to the god of the dead is why axolotls show up in Day of the Dead art next to Xolos and skulls.

Our own pets: the animals we miss

The animals most people actually honor on Day of the Dead are their own. In many Mexican homes, October 27 is the day set aside for pets who have died, a few days before the people return on November 1 and 2. Families put out a photo, fresh water, a favorite treat and a trail of marigold petals so their dog or cat can find the way home. Read about the Day of the Dead for pets, or learn how to make a pet ofrenda.

Are alebrijes spirit animals?

Not traditionally. The idea of alebrijes as personal spirit guides comes mostly from Coco, where every soul in the Land of the Dead can have an alebrije companion. In Mexican folk art they are imaginative sculptures, and in some Zapotec-inspired Oaxacan workshops they are linked to a person’s birth-day animal from the old calendar. If you love the idea anyway, painting your late pet as an alebrije is a lovely way to put them on your ofrenda.