Huichol Art

In La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and in the Puerto Vallarta area you will see some stunning examples of Huichol Art. Our guide book writes:

"The Huichol (ooh-ee-chol) are and indigenous group of people living deep in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains in the states of Nayarit, (La Cruz is here)Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango. The Huichol are one of only a few tribes people remaining in North America. Because their settlements are so remote and inaccessible, their way of life and their religious beliefs have changed little over the centuries. The Huichol have an intimate and complex bond between their physical life and the spiritual life of their gods and the environment around them. Once each year the Huichol make a pilgrimage to their sacred land, Wirikuta, where they harvest the peyote cactus. It is with peyote that the Huichol are able to communicate with all of their gods. The Huichol create stunningly colorful works of art through the use of beads and yarn in order to honor and please their gods, as well as to reflect their own experiences, beliefs, myths, and ceremonies."

I took a short class today on this bead art from a "famous" local artist. I had previously purchased one of his works. He told us that the art was at first made with seeds of various natural and dyed colors. Both men and women are trained in the art. He has works on display in Mexico City, including a volkswagen covered in Huichol art. The Photo is of 2 sides of a jaguar head, and a coconut shell covered inside. The outside is carved with figures of animals and birds.