Like the pilgrims before him, rat person, naika tewiyari, became exhausted and was unable to carry the gourd of Our Grandfather fire further. He broke his fast and as he ate a pinecone, he was transformed into his animal form to be left behind while others struggled on. But the pilgrims were barred from advancing further by the giant lizard kieraka, who guards the entrance to the sacred land of Wírikuta against all that lack proper devotion. Peyote, the divine cactus which dwells in Wírikuta, emanates from the legs of the lizard.

Our Elder-Brother Blue-Deer saw all this, and again he meditated in search of enlightenment. His hand (at top left) reaches down with a flowering vine to bless the lives of the pilgrims. The insect of death, yuwikame, symbolizing the plight of the pilgrims, straddles the vine.

The five sacred water-holes of Our Mother of Water Born in the East, Tatéi Matinieri, are represented behind the lizard (as black circles with white centers). This is where Our Mothers of water dwell and where the pilgrims are purified before entering Wírikuta. Above the oasis is a votive arrow, urú, decorated with a feather, a round nierika disk and snake rattlers; next to that is a rhomboidal god’s eye offering, tsikuri, a weeping willow and wind is represented as green wavy lines.

THE PILGRIMS ARE BARRED FROM ENTERING THE HOLYLAND
Artist: Juan Ríos Martínez,
1973, 1.22 m. x .81 m.
#10 in a 14 panel series depicting
"The Pilgrimage of Our Elder-Brother Blue-Deer"
Interpretation by Juan Negrín
based on a taped explanation with the artist