The Huichol Indians

The Huichol Indians of Western Central Mexico live in the Sierra Madre Occidental. They call themselves the "Wixarica" or "the people" in their native language, "Wixa" (The "x" is a rolled "r"). Their aboriginal religion consists of four principal deities, Corn, Eagles, Deer and Peyote, all descended from their Sun God, "Tau." These people have accepted small parts of Catholicism. There are many evangelical Christian churches forming in recent years after the Bible-translating work of Americans, Joe and Barbara Grimes, which began in the 1950s and followed up by later Evangelical Christian missionaries. Most Huichols, however, retain traditional beliefs and are resistant to change.

The Huichol are originally from the State of San Luis Potosi to the east of the parts of Durango, Jalisco, Zacatecas and Nayarit in which the Sierra of the Huichol is found. It is said that Wixa is a form of Chichimecha, common to the Indians of San Luis Potosi. They refer to several entities as family members, such as "Grandfather Fire," "Grandmother Growth" and "Great Grandfather Deer-tail," the last of which was the shaman who brought them to their part of the Sierra, probably to avoid either the Aztecs or the Conquistadors.

The Huichol are dirt farmers, gleaning a living from land that is desert for half the year and jungle the other half. In summer, when the rains come, they live on their ranchos (farms) and make cheese from the milk from their cattle, which they slaughter and eat usually only during fiestas (religious gatherings). For the most part, their diet consists of tortillas, made from the purple "Sacred corn," beans, rice and pasta, with the occasional chicken or pig, from which they make "Chicherones," chili peppers, all supplemented with goods provided by nature, like "weizz," a legume gathered from trees, or "ceruelas" wild plums and guiabas (guavas).

The craftsmanship of the Huichol includes embroidery, beadwork, sombreros (hats), archery equipment, prayer arrows, and weaving, as well as "cichuries," woven or embroidered bags of great beauty and religious significance which also serve great practical purpose. It is uncommon to ever see a Huichol without his cichurie.

In winter they gather around water holes ("ojos de agua") in villages of adobe and burnt adobe houses interspersed with "Caretons," houses on stilts made with wood, cornstalks, lashing, and thatched roofs. Each settlement will have a "riviki" (God's House) or "Caliwey" (a temple), where religious ceremonies and fiestas take place.

Often a large settlement will have only a few extended families. Inbreeding and the health problems associated with it have become a problem. A very large percentage of Huichols are born with congenital cleft lip or palate.

The Huichol seek autonomy in their land, but have two governments, one native to the Huichol and one answering to the Mexican Government through "Municipal Agents" in the larger settlements. Schools have been established in the Huichol Zone during the last 40 years, both federal and church, but also a private Junior High School, which has led to some friction between "Town" and "Gown" among members of the tribe. Friction also exists between converts to Christianity and followers of the old religion, which means the missions, are just barely tolerated by some of the people.

With the building of roads in the Huichol Zone in the last ten years, new influences are impacting the social fabric of the Huichol. Where mules, horses and burros used to be the main forms of transport, trucks are becoming more prominent, importing food, medicines and beer. New diseases that these people do not have a natural immunity to are also entering the society, so the length of time that traditional Huichol society can endure is an open question.