Huicholes (Wixárikas or Wixáricas)

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The Huichol or Wixáritari (Huichol pronunciation: /wiˈraɾitaɾi/)^[1] are a Native American 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 to the larger world as the Huichol, however, they refer to themselves as Wixáritari (“the people”) in their native Huichol language. The adjectival form of Wixáritari and name for their own language is Wixárika.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huichol_people)

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How do they dress? The traditional male dress

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The traditional female dress

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Huichol Art

Huichol Art dates back millenia. During spiritual rituals Shaman have visions which are then transcribed into carvings, yarn art, and have evolved into t-shirts, boxed note cards, framed art and downloadable animations. Each image has spiritual meaning.

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Divine Art

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For the Huichol people, art is a means of encoding and channeling sacred knowledge. It is considered a form of prayer, providing direct communion with the sacred realm.

The Huichol use beads, yarn and wood in their imaginative work, creating elegant beaded jewelry, spiritual masks, votive bowls known as rukuri and animal figures. Every item carries heavily symbolic, esoteric and beautifully rendered symbols.

There are several prominent symbols featured in Huichol art.

Jicuri, the peyote plant, is considered the plant of life, promoting harmonious relations with the gods. It is often represented as the original ear of corn because both carry the colors of white, yellowish green, red and blue. Other times, jicuri is represented as antlers, which is a symbol of the first jicuri.

The serpent is also highly revered for its protection of corn and peyote by eating rodents and pests harmful to harvest. Four female deities are represented by the serpent, and 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 Huichol believe that rain itself consists of millions of small snakes. Takutzi Nakahue, mother of all gods and of corn, is symbolized by the sacred tree, the armadillo, the bear, the water serpent and rain. Tamat’s Kauyumari, the older brother who shaped the world, often appears as deer, coyote, the pine tree or a whirlwind.

(http://www.thehuicholcenter.org/huichol-art/)

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Huichol bead art: the Vochol

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The Vochol is a Volkswagen (VW) Beetle that has been decorated with traditional Huichol (Wirrárika) beadwork from the center-west of Mexico. The name is a combination of “vocho”, a popular term for VW Beetles in Mexico, and “Huichol”, the common name of theWirrárika indigenous group.^[1] The project was sponsored by agencies associated with the Museo de Arte Popular, Mexico City, the states of Jalisco and Nayarit and other public and private organizations. The Volkswagen was covered in  beads applied by eight artisans from two Huichol families in an exclusive design based on Huichol culture.

The artisans clocked 4,760 hours using 2,277,000 beads that weighed ninety kilograms and fastened with sixteen kilograms of resin that can resist 200° Celsius. The project lasted over seven months and began in May 2010.

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Some more examples …

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Huichol yarn art

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The Huichol Indians illustrate their religious beliefs in beautifully designed yarn paintings called “Nearika.”  A traditional Huichol representation is that of the deified face of the sun, the Giver of Life.  The Huichol make this art by spreading a mixture of beeswax and pine resin on a board and  then pressing pieces of yarn onto it. (http://www.lbrummer68739.net/6th-grade/nearika-huichol-art/)

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The hands that make this art possible: Huicholes at work!

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Wouldn’t you like to do it? Let your hair down and try it!

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To summarize …

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