Huichol
Tarahumara, Hopi, other Uto-Aztecan -speaking peoples |
The Huichol (Spanish pronunciation:
The Wixáricas speak a language of the Wixarikan group that is closely related to the Nahuatl group. Furthermore, they have received Mesoamerican influences, which is reflected by the fact that Wixarika has features typical to the Mesoamerican language area.
Their spirituality traditionally involves collecting and consuming
Location
The Huichol say that, for the most part, they originated in the state of
The three main Huichol communities belong to the municipality of Mezquitic, Jalisco and are called San Sebastián Teponohuastlan (Wautüa in Huichol), Santa María Cuexcomatitlán (Tuapuri in Huichol) and San Andrés Cohamiata (Tatei Kié in Huichol). Other Wixarika communities include Guadalupe Ocotán (in Nayarit), and Santa Catarina and
History
The Wixárika arrived in the Bolaños Canyon region after the arrival of the
Historical documents indicate that during the 16th century, the Wixárika had already arrived in the region that is today northern Jalisco. The writings of Alonso Ponce, that date from the year 1587, indicate that the province of Tepeque was inhabited by an ethnic group who used to unite with the Guachichiles to carry out attacks and incursions on Spanish settlements and caravans.
The Wixárika arrived in the Bolaños Canyon region looking for refuge and settled among the Tepecano settlements that already existed there. It is likely that there was mixing among the ethnic groups, as is evidenced by the many traditions, rituals (as the one of the use of chimales, or woods of oration, and the use of peyote in their ceremonies) shared among the groups. It is clear that the two ethnic groups would unite under a single leader to defend themselves from Spanish incursions and to mount rebellions against the Spanish colonial government. There is historical evidence of a rebellion mounted jointly by the two ethnic groups in
Language
The
Lifestyle
In summer, when the rains come, they live on their ranchos (farms) in tiny rancherias (hamlets) and make cheese from the milk from their cattle, which they slaughter and eat usually only during celebrations.[13] For the most part, their diet consists of tortillas, made from the Blue, Red, Yellow or White "Sacred corn", beans, rice and pasta, the occasional chicken or pig (from which they make "chicharrones"), chili peppers, supplemented with wild fruits and vegetables of the region, such as "colorines", a legume gathered from trees, or "ciruelas" (wild plums) and guayabas (guavas).
Marriages are arranged by the parents when the children are very young. Huichol usually marry between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. Extended Huichol families live together in rancho settlements. These small communities consist of individual houses which belong to a nuclear family. Each settlement has a communal kitchen and the family shrine, called a xiriki, which is dedicated to the ancestors of the rancho. The buildings surround a central patio. The individual houses are traditionally built of stone or adobe with grass-thatched roofs.
A district of related ranchos is known as a temple district.[14] Temple districts are all members of a larger community district. Each community district is ruled by a council of kawiterutsixi, elder men who are usually also shamans.
Crafts of the Huichol include embroidery, beadwork, sombreros (hats), archery equipment, prayer arrows, and weaving, as well as "cuchuries", woven or embroidered bags.
The Huichol seek autonomy in their land, but have two governments, one native to the Huichol and one answering to the Mexican Government through "Municipal Agents" in the larger settlements. The government has established schools without much success in the Huichol Zone during the last 40 years, both church and state. A private Junior High School has led to some friction between "Town" and "Gown" among members of the tribe. Friction also exists between converts to Christianity.
With the building of roads in the Huichol Zone in the last ten years[as of?], new influences are impacting the social fabric of the Huichol. Where mules, horses and burros used to be the main forms of transport, trucks are becoming more prominent, importing food, medicines and beer. Although this of course can be beneficial, it was also degrading to the culture as a whole.[speculation?] In 1986, the Huichols continued to live isolated lives very traditionally in every aspect, but since this contact from within their own country, they have had to adapt and change to be more modern.[15]
Religion and mythology
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". Most Huichols retain the traditional beliefs and are resistant to change.
- The "Huichol think that two opposed cosmic forces exist in the world : an igneous one represented by Tayaupá, "Our Father" the Sun, and an aquatic one, represented by Nacawé, the Rain Goddess".[16] "The eagle-stars, our Father's luminous creatures, hurl themselves into the lagoons and ... Nacawé's water serpents ... rise into the skies to shape the clouds".[17]
- "According to Huichol [belief], the Sun created earthly beings with his saliva, which appeared in the shape of red foam on the surface of the ocean's waves."[18] "New things are born from "hearts" or essences, which the Huichol see in the red sea foam that flowed from Our Father the Sun ... . The Sun itself has a "heart" that is its forerunner. It adopts the shape of a bird, the tau kúkai. The bird came out of the underworld and placed a cross on the ocean. Father Sun was born, climbed up the cross, ... in this way killing the world's darkness with his blows".[19]
- "Kacíwalí is ... maize goddess. The wind carried her to the top of a mountain, which was given to her as a dwelling".[20] "Kacíwalí's rain serpents are changed into fish".[21]
- "Komatéame is ... goddess ... of midwives. Both she and Otuanáka [another goddess] have tiny children in human shape, male and female".[22] "Stuluwiákame has the responsibility to give humans children, and Na'alewáemi ... gives animals their young".[23]
- Tatéi Kükurü 'Uimari ... Our Mother Dove Girl, who was also mother of the boy who became the Sun.[24]
- Tatéi Wérika ... associated with the Sun and often depicted as a two-headed eagle.[24]
- Tatéi Niwetükame ... patroness of children, who determines the sex of a child before it is born and gives it its soul (kupuri).[24]
Peyote
Like many indigenous American groups, Huichols have traditionally used the
Mexican government protection
Huichol rituals involve the hallucinogenic cactus known as peyote. Due to the desire to use this traditional plant recreationally (in the wake of Carlos Castaneda's books' undesired publicity), the Mexican government, with the help of international organizations, has passed laws allowing for its use in religious practices only and any other use or possession can be a crime worthy of ten to twenty-five years in prison.[28] It has gotten harder and harder for the indigenous to find their sacred plant and they have had to ask for intervention from the Mexican government to protect a section of their trail. As stated by Pedro Medellin, the head of a government study on peyote population in Huichol sacred areas, "If peyote disappears, then their whole culture disappears."[29]
Animism
Huichols have traditionally believed that in rituals they interact with the primal ancestor spirits of fire, deer, and other elements of the natural world. "A newborn, separated from its umbilical cord, will still have ... the agave plant where the cord was buried. When children grow up they need to obtain cuttings from their protector so that they can bury their children's umbilical cords under them".[30] The "Huichol ... keep ... the souls of ancestors who have returned to the world in the shape of rock crystals."[31]
Art
In traditional Huichol communities, an important ritual artifact 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
For the Huichol however, yarn painting is not only an aesthetic or commercial art form; the symbols in these paintings are sprung out of Huichol culture and its
The first large yarn paintings were exhibited in Guadalajara in 1962 which were simple and traditional. At present with the availability of a larger spectrum of commercial dyed and synthetic yarn, more finely spun yarn paintings have evolved into high quality works of art.
The beaded art is a relatively new innovation and is constructed using glass, plastic or metal beads pressed onto a wooden form covered in beeswax. Common bead art forms include masks, bowls and figurines. Like all Huichol art, the bead work depicts the prominent patterns and symbols featured in the Huichol religion.
Some Huichol shaman-artists have acquired some fame and commercial success: the acclaimed Huichol yarn painter José Benítez Sánchez has had an exposition of his works in the USA.
Current issues
Religious freedom
Wixaritari are relatively well known among anthropologists for their long tradition of rejecting
Environmental impacts
Mining
Currently, one of their sacred mountains, Cerro Quemado (Leunaxü), important in ceremonial migration,
The company's current methods includes
Roads
Besides the mining conflicts, the Wixarika community has faced further problems by the construction of a road in Jalisco during 2008.[43][44] The community has made it clear that the persons involved in the project don't have any rights to use Wixarika lands for whatever end; hence, they are committing violation of internationally recognized indigenous rights.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Gramática didáctica del huichol: escritura fonológica y sistema de escritura, Volumen 1". Función. XIV (19–20). 1999. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
- ^ Phil Weigand, quoted in: "The Huichol: Wixarika" Archived 2017-09-21 at the Wayback Machine by Juan Negrín, Wixarika Research Center (website), 2003.
- ^ Schaefer, Stacy B. y Furst, Peter T.,People of the Peyote. Albuquerque, Nuevo México, 1996, p. 49
- ^ Schaefer, Stacy B. y Furst, Peter T., People of the Peyote. Albuquerque, Nuevo México, 1996, p. 43
- ^ Thomas, Cyrus. Indian Languages of Mexico and Central America. Washington, DC, 1911, p. 48
- ^ Thomas, Cyrus. Indian Languages of Mexico and Central America. Washington, DC, 1911, p. 23
- ^ Lumholtz, Carl (1898). "The Huichol Indians of Mexico". Bulletin of the AMNH. 10 (article 1).
- ^ Sauer, Carl O., The Distribution of Aboriginal Tribes and Languages in Northwest Mexico. Berkeley. CA, 1934, p. 7
- ^ Gerhard, Peter, The north frontier of New Spain, Princeton, New Jersey, 1982, p. 98
- ^ Schaefer, Stacy B. y Furst, Peter T., People of the Peyote. Albuquerque, Nuevo México, 1996, p. 45
- ^ Gerhard, Peter, The north frontier of New Spain, Princeton, New Jersey, 1982, p. 74
- ^ . Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ^ "Huichol Subsistence and Commercial Activities". Advameg.
- ^ Schaefer, Stacy. "Huichol" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-12.
- ^ "Huichol Religion". Centro Cultural Huichol ©. Archived from the original on 2014-04-03.
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. pp. 169–170, citing Zingg 1982, 1:171
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. p. 170, citing Zingg 1982, 1:525
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. p. 170, citing Zingg 1982, 2:187
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. p. 171, citing Zingg 1982, 1:177
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. pp. 174–175, citing Zingg 1982, 1:555
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. p. 176, citing Zingg 1982, 1:432
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. p. 175, citing Zingg 1982, 1:558
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. p. 175, citing Zingg 1982, 1:548, 556–557
- ^ a b c Barbara G. Myerhoff, Peyote Hunt, Cornell University Press, 1976, page 90.
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. p. 173, citing Furst 1972b
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. p. 174, citing Furst 1972b
- ^ "Huichol". 5 March 2010.
- ^ Käkelä & Ramirez. "A "Magic Trip" to Wirikúta". Gothenburg University.
- ^ Garcia-Navarro, Lourdes. "Mexico's Peyote Endangered by 'Drug Tourists'". NPR.
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. pp. 172–173, citing Zingg 1982, 1:263, n. 20
- ^ Alfredo López Austin : Tamoanchan, Tlalocan. U Pr of Co, 1997. p. 173, citing Furst 1972a
- ^ Barnett, Ronald (24 June 2020). "Huichol art, a matter of survival II: authenticity and commercialization". Ronald A. Barnett ©.
- ISBN 0-8263-1905-Xp. 236
- ^ "Religious and ideological resistance to acculturation and assimilation, tempered by accommodation, is a prime characteristic of both the Huichols and the Cora neighbors. During the entire colonial period, relationships between Indian and Catholic religion were marked by tension and conflict. It was especially among the Huichols that all efforts at evangelization and the imposition of Catholic concepts were consistently frustrated by a whole series of conscious and unconscious mechanisms". Stacy B. Schaefer, Peter T. Furst (1998) p. 472
- ISBN 0-8014-9137-1
- ^ "The pantheon of Lacandon gods, and the manner in which they are worshiped in Naha’ today, also come, directly and without Christian or any other known influence, from the ancient Mayas". [1]
- ^ La Jornada – Huicholes enfrentan desde hace años coyotaje y explotación
- ^ "puebloindigena.com". Archived from the original on 2008-06-29.
- ^ a b "SALVEMOS WIRIKUTA". 2010.
- ^ "Press Release by the Wixárika Regional Council | Wirikuta Defense Front TAMATSIMA WAHAA". Archived from the original on 2013-09-07. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
- ^ Hill, Liezel (8 April 2010). "TORONTO. First Majestic reports commercial production at new cyanidation plant". Mining Weekly.
- ^ Tracy L. Barnett. "Battle for 'birthplace of the sun' in Mexico".
- ^ La Jornada – Piden huicholes revisar proyecto para hacer carretera en Jalisco
- ^ admin. "Water for the poor".
References
- Benítez, Fernando (1968 & 1971) "Los Huicholes." In "Los Indios de México," Volume I. México DF, México: Ediciones ERA.
- Benítez, Fernando (1968 & 1971) "En la tierra mágica del peyote." México DF, México: Ediciones ERA.
- Furst, Peter T. (1972a). "El concepto huichol del alma." In Mitos y arte huicholes. ed.Furst, P. T. & Nahmad, S. pp. 7–113. México: SepSetentas 50.
- Furst, Peter T. (1972b). "Para encontrar nuestra vida." In :- El peyote entre los huicholes. ed. Nahmad, S.; Klineberg, O.; Furst, P. T. & Myerhof, B. G.. pp. 109–194. México: SepSetentas 29.
- Lumholtz, Carl (1900). "Symbolism of the Huichol Indians", "Decorative Art of the Huichol Indians." Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History, Volume III. New York.
- Lumholtz, Carl (1903). Unknown Mexico – Volume I & II. London: MacMillan & Company Ltd. Reprinted by Rio Grande Press. 1973
- Negrín, Juan (1976). "The Huichol Creation of the World." E. B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, California.
- Negrín, Juan (1977). "El Arte Contemporaneo de los Huicholes." Universidad de Guadalajara, INAH, Museo Regional de Guadalajara, México.
- Negrín, Juan (1979). "The Huichol: A Pre-Columbian Culture in Mexico Today". Paris: The UNESCO Courier.
- Negrín, Juan (1979). "Sacred Colors of the Huichol". Portfolio (The Magazine of the Visual Arts). New York.
- Negrín, Juan (1985). "Acercamiento histórico y subjetivo al huichol." Universidad de Guadalajara, México.
- Negrín, Juan (2001). "An Appreciation of Huichol Culture." Entheos (Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality). San Diego, CA.
- Negrín, Juan (2005). "Corazón, memoria y visiones." Artes de México (número 75). México DF, México.
- Negrín, Juan (2005). "Protagonistas del arte huichol." Artes de México (número 75), México DF, México.
- Zingg, Robert M. (1938) "The Huicholes: Primitive Artists." New York: G.E. Stechert and Company.
- Zingg, Robert M. (1982). Los huicholes. 2 vols. transl. Paschero, C. México: Instituto Nacional Indigenista.
External links
- Wixarika Research Center
- Frente en Defensa de Wirikuta (in Spanish)
- Huichol Music
- Trailer for feature film "Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians" on the pilgrimage to Wirikuta and threats to its survival.
- The Huichol Center for Cultural Survival and Traditional Arts
- Portal Wixarika – Wixarika tribal website put together by the Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas, Mexico. (in Spanish)
- Huichol Indian Culture and History
- History of Huichol art and culture
- Huicholes y Plaguicidas The Huichol and Pesticides Project]
- The Huichol and Tobacco
- Huichol literature, Indian.org: Indigenous People's Literature
- Wixarika Regional Council (in Spanish)
- Wixárika(Huichol)-Spanish Translator (in Spanish)