Latin American Art Gallery

For the Huichol, who live in Mexico and call themselves Wixárika, life and religion are intertwined.  Their deities are honored in their ceremonies and represented in their art and are part of daily life.  As Carl Lumholtz, the original ethnographer and explorer who studied the Huichol society, said, “All phases of their lives are prayer – the planting, harvesting, peyote pilgrimages – all art, weaving, bead work, face painting, and yarn paintings embody prayer within symbols.”  They ask the deities for rain and sun for the crops, successful deer hunts, healthy children and protection from natural and supernatural dangers.  Here we introduce the Jaguar and Turtle and show them in Huichol art pieces. The Takutzi Nakahue, Mother of all gods and of corn,  is symbolized by the rain, serpent, water, the bear, the armadillo, and the sacred tree.