The Huichol or Wixaritari are a native American ethnic group of western central Mexico, and are decendants from the Aztec empire. The Huichol number in the raange of 18,000, most of whom live in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the Mexican states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas and Durango.
Even though the Spaniards conquered most of Mexico, the extreme remoteness and rugged mountain ranges of the Huichol Indians spared them from Spanish colonization, and left them substantially unchanged from their Mexican culture. They remain one of the last tribes of people in North America who still live much as they did in pre-Colombian times, maintaining the same ageless rituals and beliefs. The Huichols are considered by many anthropologists to be an invaluable window to the past.
Their masks and figures are created by pressing beads, one at a time, into a beeswax-pine resin covered wooden art form. Each piece is exquisite and "one of a kind." One of their major art-forms – the beaded mask, is used for sacred rituals. Gourd bowls, and spirit figures are prominent in their work, and are created with the aid of "visions."Beaded gourd bowls are often left as offerings during pilgrimages, and can be found on the altars of Huichol homes and temples. Beaded masks and spirit figures record the dream visions of the women and men who create them. Designs emphasizing --Grandfather Fire, Double-Headed Eagles, Deer, Serpent, Lighting, Wands, Corn, Nierikas -- tell the story of Huichol mythology.
