At the age of 92, Big Mama, a woman regarded as the "absolute sovereign of the Kingdom of Macondo" (153) passes away on a Tuesday in September. After weeks of mourning, the crowds have left Macondo and the "President of the Republic and his Ministers" (153) have "regained control of their estates" (153), which once belonged to Big Mama's family.

Fourteen weeks prior to Big Mama's funeral and subsequent mourning, Big Mama had gathered her nine nieces and nephews to her side to express her last wishes to them. Big Mama never had children, though she has a legitimate family and sizable "bastard line" (155) of children fathered by the males of the Macondo family. That morning, 100-year-old Father Anthony Isabel had come to Big Mama's mansion to perform extreme unction for Big Mama. Now, Father Anthony and Big Mama's family wait, fatigued, for her to share her will and pass away. A group of "peons" (154) rest in the central hall, waiting to spread word of Big Mama's passing to "the four corners of the huge hacienda" (154). Big Mama's eldest nephew, Nicanor, a military official, goes to look for a notary to officiate Big Mama's will.