26
2009
My own experience and admiration for Huicholes/ Wixáritari
First the formal description so you understand a bit more about them, then inside, my own experience and the purpose of this note:
The Huichol or Wixáritari are an indigenous ethnic group of western central Mexico, living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the Mexican states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango. They are best known Huichol, however, they refer to themselves as Wixáritari “the people” in their native language. The adjectival form of Wixáritari and name for their own language is Wixárika.
The craftsmanship of the Huichol includes embroidery, beadwork, sombreros (hats), archery equipment, prayer arrows, and weaving, as well as “cuchuries”, woven or embroidered bags.
Their religion consists of four principal deities, the trinity of Corn, Blue Deer and Peyote, and the eagle, all descended from their Sun God, “Tao Jreeku”. The Shaman is named Maraakame . Most Huichols retain the traditional beliefs and are resistant to change.
In traditional Huichol communities, an important ritual artefact is the nieli’ka: a small square or round tablet with a hole in the center covered on one or both sides with a mixture of beeswax and pine resin into which threads of yarn are pressed. Nieli’kas are found in most Huichol sacred places such as house shrines (xiriki), temples, springs and caves.
In the past thirty years, about four thousand Huichols have migrated to cities, primarily Tepic, Nayarit, Guadalajara and Mexico City. It is these urbanized Huichols who have drawn attention to their rich culture through their art. To preserve their ancient beliefs they have begun making detailed and elaborate yarn paintings, a development and modernization of the nieli’ka.
