Las mejores historias no se inventan: se descubren. La de Huichol art es una de esas narrativas que, cuando la conoces a fondo, te resulta imposible mirar hacia otro lado. Huichol art broadly groups the most traditional and most recent innovations in the folk art and handcrafts produced by the Huichol people, who live in the states of Jalisco, Durang
El contexto histórico
Huichol art broadly groups the most traditional and most recent innovations in the folk art and handcrafts produced by the Huichol people, who live in the states of Jalisco, Durango, Zacatecas and Nayarit in Mexico. The unifying factor of the work is the colorful decoration using symbols and designs which date back centuries. The most common and commercially 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 nierika. 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 it
Los hechos clave
The best known Huichol art is made with modern, commercially produced items such as yarn and small beads. The Tepehuánes of Durango adapted the yarn paintings. 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, turquoise, pyrite, jade 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 even 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
Dato clave: Urus, or prayer arrows, are ceremonial arrows created to be shot into the air and petition the gods for special blessings.
Lo que revelan las investigaciones
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 coveri
Las implicaciones
Huichol art has been the subject of considerable study and documentation. Huichol art broadly groups the most traditional and most recent innovations in the folk art and handcrafts produced by the Huichol people, who live in the states of Jalisco, Durango, Zacatecas and Nayarit in Mexico. The unifying factor of the work is the colorful decoration using symbols and designs which date back centuries. The most common and commercially 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
Por qué esta historia importa
La historia de Huichol art no es solo un relato del pasado. Es un espejo que nos ayuda a entender el México de hoy — sus contradicciones, su resiliencia, sus retos y su potencial. Conocerla es un primer paso hacia una conversación más honesta sobre el país y la sociedad que queremos construir.
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