"Red Ornament" - Original Huichol Beaded Ornament

By unknown Huichol artist
Medium: Beads
Size: 4"

About the Huichol people:
In the rugged Sierra Madre of Mexico, the Huichol people are living as they have for thousands of generations, in communion with nature and each other. Never conquered by outsiders, their sacred traditions and connection to the Gods have remained intact. They are one of only a handful of existing indigenous cultures with such a continuous heritage. Their lives center around sacred rituals and tradition, everything from planting corn to embroidering clothes done in a sacred way, their artwork alive with their experience of the Divine.

Deer is the most sacred of all animals, its blood a symbol of fertility. Corn is the source of all life, for it was Nacahue, mother of all gods, who gave corn to the first man for planting, and from it was born the first Huichol woman. Peyote is a means of communication with the gods, and the consumption of peyote by the Huichol people is a deeply religious experience. The unity of these three elements — deer, corn, and peyote — is the absolute core of Huichol beliefs.

The Huichols express these feelings through their art, which is made not from the standpoint of decoration, but to give profound expression to deep spiritual beliefs. This makes traditional Huichol art, whether it be meticulous beadwork, yarn paintings, wooden masks, or striking embroidered and woven personal adornments, beautiful not only from its aesthetic standpoint but from the psychological as well.

• Name : Patrick Hanaway

• Name : Lisa Lichtig