History

A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan. We suggest viewing this book in full screen mode.

The pilgrimage of the Huichol natives of Northwestern Mexico, known as Wixaritari in their language, to the Ocean is a vital phenomenon. Although they mostly live a good 100 kilometers from the coast of the state of Nayarit: That is where the sparks of Our Great-Grandfather the Setting-Sun, Tatutsi Sakaimuka, disappear as he enters one of his subterranean aquatic canals, and one waits for Our Father, Tayau, or Our Creator, Taweviékame, to reappear on the other side, in the sacred desert of the east, Wirikuta.

Wirikuta is one of the most important natural sacred sites of the Wixárika (Huichol) indigenous people and the world. The Wixárika people live in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Durango and are recognized for having preserved their spiritual identity. They have continued to practice their cultural and religious traditions for thousands of years. Wirikuta is the birthplace of the sun and the territory where the different Wixárika communities make their pilgrimage, recreating the route taken by their spiritual ancestors to sustain the essence of life on this planet. In this desert springs the peyote or jicuri, the cactus that the Wixárika ritually ingest to receive the “gift of seeing”.