The Huichol indians
The huichol Indians of Northern Jalisco and the State of Nayarit, Mexico.
The Huichol people originally lived in the sierras of Northern Mexico and the State of Nayarit. Their tradition is rich in the production of textile design. They use yarn of different colors to paint many objects including designs on boards covered with bee wax or commonly called "Cera de Campeche", representing Huichol visions. Campeche is one of the Mexicans Southern States and rich in the production of bee wax. These visions could have been created, in the past, by the effects of peyote, smoked in ritualistic ceremonies.
These visions came , if induced by peyote, from images in the subconcious. These images and ideas are what psychilogist Carl Jung called “ archetypes”. Archtypes are patterns of behavior that every human has and are expressed through dreams and images. These archtypes that Dr. Jung discovered in the early 20th Century, are part of the bases of mythology in cultures around the world, according to “Power of the Myth” by bill Moyers. Many of the design that Huichol people draw come from the imagination of the artists. Theoritically, they close their eyes, in meditational form, and they draw what they see in their visions, using yarn, beads and other media. The method Huichol people use or used to free their spirits in sear of visions is not precised. Some popular theories argue that originally artists would used “peyote”(colore vision induced cactus),to reach the spiritual trance and have access to images only found in the subconcious. These images, according to Jung’s theory, are the prodcut of the collective subconcious that every human being has or the product of past experiences saved by the person’s mind.
Peyote Cactus
These drawings could also come from other original drawings, already in existence, were the artisan could add or remove, symbols, shapes or figures to produce a new and different product. The designs in the huichol art are varied. Many of the designs are based on cacti shaped drawings, native to their habitat. Many of the designs for example, have the native hallusinogent cactus called “peyote”, many other will have the sun as the central theme. The eight –pointed star and the four-petaled toto flower from the peyote cactus are frequently found as patterns of designs on bags and embroidery work. The cross stiched technique is often used on clothes embroidery where the colors most often used are: yellow, orange,green and blue. We could also find gourds decorated with yarn and hats decorated with charming colorful embroidered designs.
Artesanías de Nayarit
De acuerdo a la Coordinación de Fomento a las Artesanal del Estado de Nayarit, en su publicación “Todos Somos una Familia”, el arte étnico posee una belleza enigmática, es único en el mundo por su simbolismo místico, mágico y religioso.
Ojos de Dios
Los Tejidos con estambre y elementos rígidos son relevantes en el arte ritual. Los ojos de Dios, según los Huicholes, son talismanes. El ojo de Dios es símbolo de poder y sirve par ver y entender cosas desconocidas. Es una ofrenda que elabora el padre al nacer su hijo, y este representa los primeros años de vida. El ojo de dios también simboliza los puntos cardinales de los indígenas: norte, sur, este, oeste y centro.
“El acto de transcender de la naturaleza a la cultura, es la legitimación de nuestra identidad, la artesanía es parte substancial del patrimonio cultural del pueblo Nayarita. En las ultimas décadas se han desarrollado nuevas formas de expresión artística, dando lugar a formas estéticas que conjugan lo antiguo y lo moderno y que demuestran la tradición viva de los pueblos indígenas” (Coordinación de Fomento a las Artesanías del Estado de Nayarit, DIF Nayarit; tel. 01 311 212 55 99 Ext. 137).
Handcrafts from Nayarit
According to the Coordinacion de Fomento a las Artesanias del Estado de Nayarit, in its publication called “ Todos Somos Familia”, the ethnic art has an enigmatic beauty, is unique in the world by its mystical, magical and religious symbolism.
The Eye of God
The weavings with yarn and rigid elements are relevant in the ritual art. The eyes of God, according to the huicholes, are talismans. The Eye of God is a symbol of being able to see and to understand unknown things. It is an offering that elaborates the father when his son is born, and this represents the first years of childhood. The Eye of God also symbolizes the cardinal points of the natives: north, south, east, west, and center.
“The act of transcend from nature to culture, is the legitimating of our identity. The crafts are a substantial part of the cultural patrimony of the State of Nayarit. In the last decades new forms of artistic expression have been developed, giving rise to aesthetic forms that conjugate the old and the modern art, and that demonstrates the living tradition of indigenous cultures” (Coordinacion de Fomento a las Artesanias del Estado de Nayarit, DIF Nayarit; tel. 01 311 212 55 99 Ext. 137).