Wirikuta
©Juan Negrín 1979 ~ 2004 All rights reserved
Wirikuta Detail
©Juan Negrín 1979 ~ 2004 All rights reserved
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| This picture was taken in Wírikuta, the desert where the Huichol pilgrims go to seek the psychotropic peyote cactus, called Tatei Hikuri. In the close-up, we see that an altar has been made with votive arrows some of which are obviously sanctified with blood near the shaft, while another has a mirror (nierika) attached to it. Votive bowls have designs that represent blue serpents, symbolizing the rain that is invoked in the sacred land of the east. If one looks at the upper margin of the slide, to the right of the feather, there is a peyote cactus with its head sticking out of the sand. In the photograph of the over all scene, we see the leading shaman with his young son kneeling near him in front of an altar of plumed arrows that have been raised in front of the votive bowls, next to a bow for hunting the peyote with arrows, among other objects wrapped in white cloth. Only practiced eyes can spot the peyote heads that only sprout up to the earth's level. | |