Sacred art of the Huichols: receive healing and wisdom at the hands of this traditional culture

New Life Journal, Feb-March, 2005 by Lisa Lichtig

NESTLED IN BEES WAX

   Beads on wood nestled in beeswax
   Color emerging from color
   Emerging from somewhere
   Hidden doorways appear
   Inviting us beyond the
   Skin deep layer
   Which protects us from our heart
   protects us from knowing You.

   Yarn on wood nestled in beeswax
   Form emerging from form
   Emerging from formlessness
   Taking us on a timeless journey
   Showing us who we are
   Helping us to know our place.

We live in a world that often feels cold, isolated and confusing. Many people find that they don't know who they are, where they came from or where they are going. While myriad factors contribute to this condition, a disconnection from teachings and relationships that offer guidance and connection to the divine and nature. can contribute to this feeling of isolation.

The Huichol Indians (pronounced Hwee-chol), know who they are and where they came from. Their artwork, ceremonies, rituals, stories, and songs are continuous reminders of their place in the tapestry of life. These 20,000 people have lived for countless generations in remote hamlets, high in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Western Mexico. Their lives are filled with ritual and beauty. Everything, from planting their corn to embroidering their clothes, is done in a sacred way. They have never been conquered; their sacred traditions and connection to sacred fire have remained intact in an unbroken lineage. They are one of only a handful of existing indigenous cultures with such a continuous heritage. The Huichol routinely make pilgrimages to sacred places bringing offerings to show their respect and ask the gods for help in all aspects of life including growing food, healing, weaving, and maintaining their connection with their ancestors. Their life is as deeply practical as it is spiritual. Despite Westerners' attempts to study and understand the origins and beliefs of the Huichol, they remain quite a mystery to us. Thus, this humble attempt to write about them is a simple introduction to their artwork, which is alive with their experience of the Divine.

Huichol Indians use art for much more than decoration or economic gain. The art is an essential part of their identity and way of life. The practice of art is passed down from generation to generation and considered a gift offered by various gods and goddesses such as Takutse Nakawe (Grandmother Growth). Most artisans work in three media: embroidery, beadwork, and weaving. Clothing is beautifully embroidered with colorful designs, such as deer and corn, which are major elements in their subsistence activities. Wooden sculptures of the sun and moon, jaguar, and eagle are precisely painted with colored beads giving ecstatic expression of the world around them. The loom is the violin for women. Woven bags come in various sizes and colors and are used for carrying everything from food to sacred offerings. Each, however, is made with special woven designs that are signatures from the heart and dreams of the weaver. Women's weaving and designs become simpler as they become older. They are known as designs of the hewixi, of Takutsi, and the ancestors. Upon death, a woman's favorite woven bag and her loom, with an unfinished weaving on it, accompany her to the grave. This unfinished weaving is buried with the woman so that she may complete it in the other world.

Becoming a true artist involves much more than becoming a skilled craftsman. Motivation to learn weaving comes from within, from one's 'iyari, or heart memory. A child receives its 'iyari at birth or soon thereafter and her 'iyari grows and matures as she does. Some young men and women receive a calling to become master artisans. Following such a path requires devotion, dedication, and sacrifice through the long process of apprenticeship. A mara'akame (shaman) in the community is consulted and communicates with the gods through dreams. The mara'akame offers guidance and instruction to the apprentice. The apprentice makes pilgrimage to the sacred places requesting the help of various deities such as Takutsi Nakawe or Tatei Haramara (Grandmother Ocean) to guide "them in their life and work. They leave special offerings and samples of their artwork in sacred places in gratitude for guidance and help offered by the gods.

For example, in the process of learning to weave, the apprentice makes miniature weavings as offerings to the gods. When a girl leaves her offering, she may take one of the offerings previously left by another girl or woman for that same god. This exchange can only occur if the girl has left her offering in the place of an earlier one. She then takes the "borrowed" offering home and copies the design, after which she must return the borrowed piece and leave another one that she has made herself. This practice has been a means by which designs were distributed among Huichol women.

Aside from their request for help from their ancestors and gods, for centuries the Huichol have successfully sustained themselves without the need of outside assistance. Yet as globalization continues, a cash economy has been introduced to these people. Airlines, missionaries and other organizations attempt to entice the Huichol with modernization to "improve" their lives. Laws have been passed requiring the Huichol people to become more dependent on a cash economy. Some Huichol under this economic pressure feel forced to leave their families and move to cities like Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, and Tepic looking for work to earn wages. Working in factories or tobacco fields, they become exposed to pesticides, poor work conditions, and unfair wages. Under the influence of modern culture, which is not interested in maintaining a connection with the Divine, some Huichol have begun to lose their traditional way of life. Nonetheless, most Huichol remain in the rugged homeland deep in the terrain of the Sierra Madre mountains struggling to earn a wage, yet fully immersed and committed to a tradition rich in spiritual values.