FolkHeart Press HOME: Black Pepper Visions

Monday, May 20, 2013

Flying Folktales

Paper Kites Carry Family Folktales

During Dia De Los Muertos (Hispanic Day of the Dead) family members, friends and pets who have passed on traditions are remembered. Celebrations are based upon the cultural traditions of each geographic region, such as Mexico, San Salvador, Guatemala and other Latin countries. The most common festive ingredients include altars, skeleton cookies, and community processions and gatherings. One country in particular has found a way to integrate their terrain into the activities.

In Columbia, people fly kites that are lifted up by robust sea winds that are not punctuated by trees. These ornately decorated kites virtually reach the heavens above where ancestors reside. This makes them the ideal vehicle to carry family messages.

Paper colorfully painted with designs the ancestors would recognize, the kites also have thickly woven tails that handwritten messages on strips of paper or cloth are tucked into.

The kites are released during the afternoon when the winds are their strongest. In that way, it is believed, well wishes and reminders of love could better reach the other world.

Here in America, that tradition can easily be enjoyed by others. The next time you want to remember a loved one, create a kite upon which you can either write a brief story (folktale) about that person on the kite’s face or you can weave the written message into the weave of your kite’s tail.

Want to know how to make a kite? One Page Paper Kites