huichol
DESCRIPTION
Huichol: an indigenous group of western Mexico who for many centuries has preserved its unique culture and prehispanic religious beliefs. But why does we talk about the Huichol people? The concept of balance is fundamental for the Huichol art and culture. Today, the Huichol people say that they keep making art and performing ancient rituals, not only for the benefit of its own people, but for the benefit of the whole world.TRANSCRIPT
Huicholes
..and the balance in the world…
"There is people who have a physical illness, or from the soul, or from the heart, or just have not
been able to find themselves.
Living in this wild magical side of the world, the Blue Deer will reveal Himself to us, in order to find our life. He will teach us. He will be our
medicine
A maximization of the spirit will lead us to the point of temporary transformation, in transition to the spiritual exaltation to find these balance
forces. That unspeakable ability to venture us fearlessly into the narrow bridge across the great abyss that separates the ordinary world from the world beyond
To achieve these balance forces, we must overcome our fears and take away the evil thoughts of our
hearts. Pilgrims must be clean from all evil feeling. We must return to the period of our lifes when we were innocent, before we were
mundane adults, because we have come to born to this mother earth. We would achieve the pass from this world to the afterlife because when we'll get the Blue Deer, we will cease to be ordinary, we
will be changed. But remember it is only temporary because we are only men and women, and not gods “
Huichol philosophy
Huichol: an
indigenous group of
western Mexico who
for many centuries
has preserved its
unique culture and
prehispanic religious
beliefs. Its remote
location in the
rugged mountains of
the Sierra Madre
Occidental, mainly in
the states of Jalisco
and Nayarit, has
allowed greater
resistance than any
other indigenous
group to the forces of
Christianization and
acculturation. The
Huichol people today
are still creating
traditional art and
practicing ancient
rituals too,, that are
predessors to the time
of the Spanish
conquest.
But why does we talk
about the Huichol
people? The concept
of balance is
fundamental for the
Huichol art and
culture. The balance
of opposites, such as
wet and dry seasons,
or darkness and light,
is a frequent theme in
Huichol art. Huichol
ceremonies are
performed and
offerings are
constantly being
made with the
intention of keeping
the world in balance,
ensuring successful
crops and hunt,
fertility and health.
Today, the Huichol
people say that they
keep making art and
performing ancient
rituals, not only for the
benefit of its own
people, but for the
benefit of the whole
world.
Huichol Art
In the past and today, the Huichol people
create its art in order to communicate
themselves with their ancestors and their
propper gods. Huichol people are
constantly creating offerings that serve as
visual prayers to them. In the richness of
the Huichol ceremonial life, you can
appreciate the importance of the cardinal
directions and elaborated religious
symbolism , decor and symbols such as
the presence of deer , fire, rain, corn, and
the concepts of growth and fertility.
Ceremonial offerings to the gods are the
precursors of the modern painting
made by wire, so characteristic of the
Huichol culture., The Huichol yarn
painting is a traditional artistic technique,
used to capture dreams, visions, myths,
and the most intimate personal prayers of
the artists who perform them.
PARTICULAR HUICHOL
SYMBOLS AND THEIR
MEANINGS
SHAMANS - Spiritual leaders who are ambassadors to the gods. Shamans preside over ceremonies, recite the divine passages, cure the sick, interpret dreams, etc. They are believed to have supernatural powers and insights in the metaphysical world that are considered out of reach for normal humans. The marakame, or shaman priest, plays a central role in everyday Huichol life. He is the nexus with the gods, invoked through the ceremonial use of peyote, and receives instructions from the spirit world through visions, dreams and trances. SPIRIT GUIDES - Intermediaries between human and spirit realms, the guide can take the shape of half-human, half-animal being. These figures appear in visions and dreams and remain with each shaman even after apprenticeship is over. FIRE - Considered a very valuable gift from the gods, fire is called Tai. Tai is believed to enable the Huichol to have visions. The fire god, Tatewari, is always honored at Huichol ceremonies, and receives many offerings such as corn meal, sacred water and much of the art that they make.
HEALING WANDS - Called Muvieri, each shaman carries a wand in their medicine basket. They are made of pairs of eagle or hawk feathers attached to ceremonial arrows, and are used in rain making ceremonies and other divinations. PATH OF LIFE - Wavy lines represent the "vine of life", which the Huichol Goddess of Life gives to every soul (plant, animal, human) at birth. This vine is the soul's spiritual connection to the breath of the goddess in the ethereal realm. When people chose to follow her "path of flowers", they receive her blessings: prosperity, abundance, creativity, health, and their hearts' desires. WOLF PEOPLE - Believed to be the earliest ancestors, they spoke and lived like people. Tacutsi, the goddess of life, first taught them how to live well and overcome hunger and cold. PRAYER ARROWS - Used to express gratitude or requests to the gods, called Urus, prayer arrows, like gourd bowls, are ceremonial objects through which the gods are believed to give their blessings. Special prayer arrows have crystals attached to them, representing the spirits of departed ancestors. PEYOTE CACTI - Symbol for life, sustenance, health, success, good luck, and acquisition of shamanic powers, the peyote appears in practically all Huichol art and is considered a gift from the gods to the people to enlighten their lives and bring them into the mystical realm.
THE SUN - Brings light and illumination to the world. Tayaupa is father sun, master of the heavens, and his wife is the Eagle, mother of the sky and goddess of life. The Huichols believe all living things receive their power from the sun, and that He guarantees healthy crops and abundant food. SNAKES - Instruct shamans to become healers. The rattle on the Rattlesnake is believed to be the tongue of the greatest shaman of all, which is the fire god. Snakes may also be associated with the rain goddess. The Mother Goddess of the Sea is pictured as a huge coiled serpent forming herself into a cyclical storm cloud from which rain falls. The Huichols believe that rain itself consists of millions of small snakes. They are valued for their work in the cornfields where they eat the rodents and pests harmful to the corn harvest. DEER - The spirit guide Kauyumari, who leads the shamans on their visionary pathways and teaches them how to gain their special knowledge. One of the most commonly seen motifs, the deer, maxa, in Huichol, often appear in male and female pairs, symbolizing the unity between men and women on their spiritual journey. Legends about the deer abound in Huichol culture. The deer mother is the guardian spirit, the important animal in Huichol shamanism. She holds tobacco gourds and corn plant, both of utmost importance for Huichol survival. The Huichols believe that deer give their lives willingly to those who hunt them in a sacred manner. After a deer hunt, the hunters have to perform purifying rituals for many days to insure that the animals are properly thanked for giving their lives to the benefit of the people.
FLOWERS – Present in all Huichol ceremonies. All flowers are considered sacred in healing rituals; the patient's head is anointed with flowers. Shamans use them to prepare for the deer hunt and during harvest ceremonies to adorn the new corn. One flower that appears often is called Kiera, the tree of the wind. It is a hallucinogenic plant said to open the Huichols spirits to the highest level of enlightenment. BIRDS - Believed to be messengers to and from the gods, all birds are held in great regard. The shamans use tail and wing feather of eagles and hawks in their rituals and ceremonial chanting. The double-headed eagle is another common design, representing the shaman's omnipotent power to see in all directions. TURTLES - Esteemed as assistants of the rain goddesses, turtles are believed to be responsible for replenishing the water of underground springs and the purity of all water sources. WOLVES - Carrier of spirits, Kumukemai, the wolf, is honored in all peyote ceremonies. Many Huichols believe they are descendents of the "Wolf-People" of primordial times. Huichol shamans claim to possess the power to transform themselves into spirited wolves. SALAMANDERS - Agents of the rain mother, salamanders are connected with the water and rain, stirring up clouds and making rain fall
GOURD BOWLS - Used by shamans as containers filled with important symbols, such as corn, animals, and images of family members. Colorfully decorated, they are carried during ceremonies and prayer for protection, health, and abundance. The symbols themselves represent attributes of different gods and goddesses. They are placed in shrines and sacred sites throughout the Huichol homeland. SCORPIONS - Used by shamans to repel evil and bad luck. They are both esteemed and feared. A deadly species of scorpion inhabit Huichol land and cause numerous fatalities every year. However, the Huichols believe that the scorpion spirit is a powerful ally that protects them as well. JAGUAR - Messengers of the god of fire, Tatewari, they are guardians of the sacred vows taken by shamans during their years of initiation. Called Mayetse, they are given the power to devour the spirits of those who fail. EAGLES - Believed to be the embodiment of a goddess known as Mother Eagle, Mother of the Sky and Queen of Heavens. Huichols admire Werika, the eagle as the most magnificent among all birds.
CANDLES - Represent the illumination of the human spirit, Catira, candles hold the sacred gift from the sun and fire gods. Along with flowers and ribbons, attached candles serve as offerings and payment to the deities who have granted special wishes to a Huichol.
The "Eye of God" or "Tzicuri" (Huichol language) is the most important religious figure in the Huichol universe. Represents the five corners of the Wixarika cosmos: East, West, North, South and Center.
Points the East, as the place from which the "Grandfather Fire," came, the most important geographical point of the Huichol universe. .
A "Tzicuri" equals a year in the life of a child, and every year after his initiation into the "Festivity of the Drum" from his birth, his father must develop a Tzicuri per year until the child reaches five, years in order to be protected by it.
When the child get 5 of these amulets, the tzicuris are attached to a stick, creating a "cosmic tree" that it's throw to the sea in a sacred place that Huichol have in San Blas, Nayarit. TheTzicuri, allows you to see and understand what at first sight, your eye can not comprehend .
Based on this, we invite you to expand your vision, as the Tzicuri, and find nature in the deepest of your daily world, even in those unexpected places, like walls, crevices, etc. In which, many times and in unexplained ways, there are small plants or vegetation: nature, works in order to maintain the balance that we as humans have disturbed.
The next time you go out to the street,.. Pay attention!, Nature is everywhere, waiting to be admired by us.
TZICURI