Cambodian Dreamscape, Day of the Dead

Last week, my mistress met with a walking buddy to help with a creative project. Martha Siv had agreed to fashion a “Tablescape” for an upcoming Kappa Kappa Gamma fund-raiser. The wife of Sichan Siv, a Killing Fields escapee, had a collection of Cambodian pieces which could be combined for a table centerpiece. But how?

After more than three hours of selecting, discarding, arranging and rearranging, the ladies came up with a tabletop they named Cambodian Dreamscape. It features, among other things, woodcarvings of dancing gods, lace-like baskets, hand woven silk textiles, wooden drums with snakeskin heads, copies of Sichan’s autobiography, “Golden Bones,” and a silver squash and chicken--all Cambodian.

Now I wasn’t there, but it’s just as well because the size I am, I can’t really see what’s on a table. (Of course I can smell what’s up there and jump up like a jack-in-the-box cadging treats when my masters are eating.) Over the weekend, however, I got to see an amazing Day of the Dead display. And this one had things at dog level as well as up high.

In a barn in the Texas Hill Country, the owners and some friends created an astonishingly artistic and moving installation honoring deceased loved ones. They invited guests to join in the celebration, which originated in Mexico.

The Day of the Dead display included, among a myriad of other things, mountains of sun-colored marigolds; fanciful wooden, papier mache and clay funereal figures from Mexico; strings of papel picado; favorite foodstuffs, beverages, toys and other possessions of the deceased; burning candles; and photos of the departed. The magical Day of the Dead altar space, redolent of flowers, burning candles and incense, held pictures of both the hosts’ and the guests’ lost loved ones.

I wandered through the Day of the Dead space, along a row of marigolds on the floor leading to the altar filled with tributes to people and yes, beloved dogs, who have passed to the other side. When I go, I do hope my master and mistress will put my collar on that altar.