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.

Their lives are as deeply practical as they are spiritual; those two aspects are deeply entwined. Selling their artwork for a fair price is a more hopeful means of earning a wage while maintaining a deep connection to the Huichol tradition and family. There are few peoples who maintain their lives through subsistence practices; the Huichol do so in a sacred way that maintains nature’s balance. The Huichol commitment to maintaining a close and respectful relationship with the forces of nature has the potential to teach us all, regardless of whether we ever step foot in the Huichol homeland.

The Huichol Art Project assists the Huichol people in supporting themselves by helping to create outlets around the world for their divinely inspired artworks to be purchased and appreciated. The Project’s artwork is purchased at fair market value directly from the artisans in their homeland in the Sierras. All proceeds go directly back to the Huichol people. Purchasing art from the Project allows the artists and their families to continue to earn a living in their traditional way, for the benefit of all. Being with a Huichol yarn painting or beaded sculpture or even wearing a beaded bracelet or woven bag can offer an experience beyond appreciation of masterful craftsmanship and art. Yarn paintings tell stories that are more than myth and symbolism. The designs, which come from the Huichol ancestral connection to the Divine, can interfere with the mind’s attempt to make sense of it. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself relaxing into these colorful images and at least for a moment being touched by a realm where no words are needed.

To learn more about the Huichol Art Project or consider carrying art items in your location contact Annie Smith, Huichol Art Project Coordinator, 828-277-7395. To see or purchase Huichol Art the Asheville, NC area, stop by Family to Family, 207 Charlotte Street, Asheville, NC, 828-251-2700, Mon-Fri 9 am-noon. Some of the ideas on Huichol weaving are inspired by reading this excellent book on Huichol Art: To Think with a Good Heart by Stacy B Schaefer. Also consider Art of the Huichol Indians by Kathleen Berrin.

Lisa Lichtig, MD is a family physician offering holistic health care and midwifery at Family to Family in Asheville, NC. She is also an apprentice in the Huichol-spiritual tradition.

The Huichol Art Project is an offering from the Blue Deer Center and is managed by a small handful of devoted volunteers. The Blue Deer Center, is a healing and retreat center rooted in the living traditions of the Huichol shamans of Mexico. It provides opportunities for direct connection with the Divine, the Self, and the natural world. The Blue Deer Center is the first project born under the auspices of the Sacred Fire Community. The Sacred Fire Community is a newly formed worldwide network of people whose purpose is to foster a global community that rekindles our relationship to each other and to the world through the universal and sacred spirit of fire. For more information about the Sacred Fire Community, the Blue Deer Center or Huichol links, please visit their Web sites: www.sacredfirecommunity.org and www.bluedeer.org

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