Huichol art
Encyclopedia
Mexican handcrafts and folk art
Mexican handcrafts and folk art is a complex collection of items made with various materials and intended for utilitarian, decorative or other purposes. Some of the items produced by hand in this country include ceramics, wall hangings, vases, furniture, textiles and much more...
produced by the Huichol people, who live in the states of Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
and Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
in Mexico. The unifying factor of the work is the colorful decoration using symbols and designs which date back centuries. The most common and commercial successful products are “yarn paintings” and objects decorated with small commercially produced beads. Yarn paintings consist of commercial yarn pressed into boards coated with wax and resin and are derived from a ceremonial tablet called a nearika. The Huichol have a long history of beading, making the beads from clay, shells, corals, seeds and more and using them to make jewelry and to decorate bowls and other items. The “modern” beadwork usually consists of masks and wood sculptures covered in small, brightly colored commercial beads fastened with wax and resin.
While the materials have changed and the purpose of many of the items have changed from religious to commercial purposes, the designs have changed little and many retain their religious and symbolic significance. Most outsiders experience with Huichol art is as tourists in areas such as Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the sixth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
without knowing anything about who makes the items and the meanings of the designs. There are some notable Huichol artists in the yarn painting and beadwork fields and both types of work have been commissioned for public display.
The Huichol people
Huichol language
The Huichol language is an indigenous language of Mexico which belongs to the Uto-Aztecan language family. It is spoken by the ethnic group widely known as the Huichol , whose mountainous territory extends over portions of the Mexican states of Jalisco, Nayarit, and Durango, mostly in Jalisco...
.
After the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, the Huichols retreated into the rugged mountains of northern Jalisco and Nayarit. While nominally converted to Christianity in the colonial period by Franciscan missionaries, most of native Huichol culture managed to survive intact because of the isolation and because the area lacked mineral or other resources of interest to the Spanish. Mexican historian and anthropologist Fernando Benítez states that the Huichols have probably maintained their ancient belief systems better than any other indigenous group in Mexico. Much of this isolationist tendency remains intact although economic circumstances have forced a number of Huichols to migrate to areas such as Guadalajara, and coastal areas to work or sell their wares.
The religious faith of the Huichols is still based on a “trinity” of veneration of the deer, corn and peyote
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
. The last is ritually gathered each year on a long pilgrimage to the desert area of San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí....
, where the people are said to have originated and used by shamans. The importance of this and the pantheon of gods is seen in their stylistic representations on just about everything that the Huichol decorate. They did not have a written language until recently, so these symbols were and are the primary form of preserving the ceremonies, myths and beliefs of ancient Huichol religion.
Yarn painting and beadwork
The best known Huichol art is made with modern, commercially produced items such as yarn and small beads. These have replaced many of the traditional materials such as clay, stone and vegetable dyes. Making and decorating items with beads did not begin with importation of European glass beads, as it did with a number of indigenous cultures to the far north. Techniques for making and using beads have been in place long before that with beads made from bone, clay, stone, coral, turquoiseTurquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl648·4. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue...
, pyrite
Pyrite
The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...
, jade
Jade
Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
and seeds. Huichol art was first documented in the very late 19th century by Carl Lumholtz. This includes the making of beaded earrings, necklaces, anklets and more.
What mostly links the yarn paintings and beaded objects made today is the continuance of the traditional patterns used for centuries to represent and communicate with the gods. The use of commercial materials has allowed for the production of more elaborate designs and brighter colors, as well as more flexibility in how traditional concepts are rendered. It has also allowed that the production of commercialized folk art along with the production of strictly religious items.
The commercialization of Huichol art began when a Franciscan priest by the name of Ernesto Loera Ochoa began a Huichol museum at the Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan
Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan
The Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan and the abbey of Our Lady of Expectation of Zapopan are a Franciscan sanctuary built in the heart of Zapopan in the state of Jalisco, México. The church belongs to the Franciscan province of Sts...
just north of Guadalajara. One of the artists exhibited here was Ramón Medina Silver, whose work was exhibited and sold at the museum. Medina’s work came to the attention of American Peter Furst, who suggested that Ramón represent the traditions and beliefs of his people by pressing colored yarn into a wax and resin-covered baseboard. These yarn paintings first appeared in 1962 in Guadalajara and were derived from “nierikas” a small board or disc with a hole or mirror in the center. Nierikas were initially produced by shamans to represent visions they experienced while consuming peyote, then left as offerings to the gods in places such as caves, temples and streams.
These modern yarn paintings quickly proved popular and were imitated. They have also developed into complex designs which can take weeks to complete.The yarn paintings led to experimentation with other commercially produced materials such as beads, which have taken the place of yarn for many Huichol artisans. This beading has been expanded to include the decoration of jaguar heads, masks of the sun and moon and various animal forms.
This art produced for commercial purposes has provided an important, sustainable source of income for the Huichols. Even though new materials are being used, traditional symbols are maintained and transmitted to younger generations. However, the production of goods for commercial markets has caused a certain amount of controversy. One question concerns the “authenticity” of the yarn and bead art given the current forms’ modern origins. One person to do this was Fernando Benítez, who was particularly disturbed by the depiction of the dead as floating heads in yarn paintings; something he said was not traditionally Huichol. (origensbarnett) Much of the “authenticity” of the modern works has to do with the continued use of traditional symbols and designs. However, some items of Huichol items can be deemed non-traditional or borderline traditional, such as the production of Christmas tree decorations, masks of the sun and moon, the use of the jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
(a Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n symbol) and the incorporation of modern images such as airplanes and modern buildings in to designs. Selling of the items has not been easy for the Huichol either, with limited outlets such as tourist venues, especially Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and San Miguel Allende as well as sales to middlemen who can earn much more from the works than they can.(CRUruibe)
Noted Huichol artists
Notable Huichol artists include Emeteria Rios Martinez, who has done a number of yarn painting murals. José Benítez Sánchez is a shaman-artist, who helped to expand yarn painting from its early decorative function to larger more vision like pieces. Pablo Taizan is also a shaman in the village of Mesa de Tirador. He principally does beadwork featuring animal figures used in healing.More traditional items
Although the yarn paintings and items decorated with beads are the best known and most widely sold pieces, the Huichols continue to make a number of other types of folk art and handcrafts. Urus, or prayer arrows, are ceremonial arrows created to be shot into the air and petition the gods for special blessings. They are also sometimes left at certain places or sent down rivers. These arrows are decorated with symbols and designs related to the petition.From the far past to the present, men, women and children all wear woven bags around their waist to carry personal objects. These bags are colored and otherwise decorated for aesthetic and to magically protect the wearer.
A “kuka” is a three dimensional ceremonial mask which is decorated by beading. These masks evolved from small gourd bowls originally covered in seeds, bone, clay, coral and shell, but these have been replaced by commercially produced beads. It is from these masks that the modern practice of covering wooden sculptures of snakes, dolls, small animals, jaguar heads and other forms is derived.
Nearika are highly decorated ceremonial objects that can be circular or diamond shaped. When Carl Lumholtz did his writing on the Huichol, he named the circular ones “frontal shields” and the diamond shaped ones as “eyes” and giving rise to the concept of the “God’s eyes,” applied to a Huichol cross. Nearika are tablets of wood or bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
which are heavily decorated placed into certain sacred areas. Often they focus on a face of a sun, moon or person. From these the new tradition of yarn paintings developed, and the most traditional of these still show the round face of Tau, the Sun, in the middle.
Huichol decorative designs
Most outsiders are not aware that most Huichol patterns and designs have religious and cultural significance. These patterns can be found on a wide variety of objects including carved and beaded on masks, gourds, musical instruments and embroidered on clothing objects such as belts, sashes, side bags, and more. Most have religious significance and many are influenced by visions which occur during peyote rituals. Much of what is known about Huichol designs and symbols was put together by Norwegian explorer and ethnographer Carl Lumholtz in the late 19th century, but Huichol art and decoration has since become more varied. However, plant and animal motifs remain the most common and most retain their original meaning.When ceremonial or religious items are made, all aspects of the making from materials to colors to designs are important as they are identified with particular gods and meanings. Mesquite
Mesquite
Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
and the color reddish brown belong to Tatewari, who is of the earth and the wood of the Brazil tree is related to Tayuapa or “Father Sun.” Symbols such as the golden eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
and macaw
Macaw
Macaws are small to large, often colourful New World parrots. Of the many different Psittacidae genera, six are classified as macaws: Ara, Anodorhynchus, Cyanopsitta, Primolius, Orthopsittaca, and Diopsittaca...
s are related to Tatewari. Shapes such as the deer, coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
, pine tree or whirlwind can be associated with Tamat’s Kauyumari, who shaped the world. The salate tree, the armadillo
Armadillo
Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...
and the bear are associated with Takutzi Nakahue, the mother of all gods and of corn. The toto is a small white flower with five petals associated with the rainy season. Sashes and belts often have designs that mimic the markings on the backs of snakes, which are also associated with rain, along with good crops, health and long life. The zigzag lines that emanate from all living things represent communication with the deities. The butterfly motif is reminiscent of the Itzpapolotl or Obsidian Butterfly, a principal deity of the classical Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s, who the Huichols claim as ancestors.
The most common motifs are related to the three most important elements in Huichol religion, the deer, corn and peyote
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
. The first two are important as primary sources of food, and the last is valued for its hallucinogenic properties which give shamans visions.
Exhibitions of Huichol art
Most outsiders’ experience with Huichol artwork comes from visiting areas such as Guadalajara and Puerto VallartaPuerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the sixth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
and seeing the work being sold. However, most do not know what it is. These vendors are mostly Huichol women who come into these cities from rural villages.
The artwork varies greatly in size, with some as large as murals. In 2010, the Institute of the Americas at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
held an exhibit of Huichol art targeting tourists who visit the west coast of Mexico, especially those who travel by boat.
The Museo de Arte Popular
Museo de Arte Popular, Mexico City
The Museo de Arte Popular is an institution dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Mexican handcrafts and folk art. Located in the historic center of Mexico City in an old fire house, the museum has a collection which includes textiles, pottery, glass, piñatas, alebrijes, furniture and...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
held a temporary exhibit in 2009 comparing the art of the Huichol people with that of the aborigines of northern Australia entitled "Magica huichol: rito aborigen" ("Huichol Magic: Aborigine Ritual"). The aim was not to show any historical connection but rather to show the similarity of style between two disparate cultures.
The Bead Museum
The Bead Museum
The Bead Museum is a museum of beads located in Glendale, Arizona It is located at 5754 W. Glenn Drive.The Bead Museum was founded to establish a safe haven for a permanent collection of beads and adornments of all cultures, past and present, which would provide an enduring opportunity for the...
in Glendale, Arizona
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
held an exhibit called "The HuicholWeb of Life: Creation and Prayer".
Huichol work has been commissioned for public display. There is a permanent display of twelve Huichol murals at the Lindbergh International Airport
San Diego International Airport
San Diego International Airport , sometimes referred to as Lindbergh Field, is a public airport located northwest of the central business district of San Diego, California and from the Mexico – United States border at Tijuana, Mexico...
at Terminal 3.A Huichol bead mural was commissioned for the Paris Métro
Paris Métro
The Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...
at the Palais Royal-Musee de Louvre station. It was donated by the Mexico City Metro
Mexico City Metro
The Mexico City Metro , officially called Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, is a metro system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City...
to France, as a returned favor for the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
Bellas Artes station
Metro Bellas Artes
Metro Bellas Artes is a station along Line 2 and Line 8 of the Mexico City Metro system. It is located in the Colonia Centro district of the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City, on the junction of Avenida Juárez and Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas, on the eastern end of the Alameda Central, west of the...
which was donated by France to Mexico. The work is called “Huichol Thought and Soul” and measures 2.4 by 3 meters in total divided into 80 panels of 30cm by 30cm, created by artist Santos de la Torre.
One of the most recent commissioned works is the “Vochol
Vochol
The Vochol is a Volkswagen Beetle that has been decorated with traditional Huichol 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 the Wirrárika indigenous group...
,” a Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
which was covered in Huichol designs using 2,277,000 beads fastened to the body of the car using a special heat-resistant resin. The car was commissioned by the Association of Friends of the Museo de Arte Popular and other public and private enterprises to be auctioned off to benefit Mexican artisans.