HUICHOLES

“We are the Wiraritari, a group of people who maintain our culture, our rituals and our ancestral way of life, despite the Spanish conquest and the development of the Mexican mestizo society. Outsiders call us Huicholes, and we are the last peyote guardians of the world” 

– Wixarika, Uweni Temal

Bearers of ancient wisdom

ERENO exists because of its Wixaritari or Wixárikas artisans, better known as Huicholes, a Mexican indigenous group that lives in the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental. 

Isolated from the outside world, there is no other ethnic group in Mexico today that preserves its beliefs, culture and pre-Hispanic traditions as faithfully as the Huicholes. The meaning of their original name is unclear, but scholars have proposed several interpretations: “the Healers,” “People of strong hearts and a love of knowledge”, or simply, “the Ones.”

Wealthy in spirit but impoverished on earth

Such isolation has had its costs. These ethnic groups live in extreme poverty, just as they did 1000 years ago. They lack basic services, build their homes of adobe, grow their own food, and their children walk over three hours a day to get to school. ERENO aims to empower these people through work so they can preserve their millennial art. 

Artisans

For Huicholes, religion is life itself and their gods are the forces of nature.  

Some Huicholes follow the spiritual path to become shamans or mara´kames.  Others become artisans. They prepare for over five years to receive aítsika, or “good luck from the gods,” to create beautiful designs in beadwork, weaving, embroideries and yarn paintings. Inspired by their environment, and by peyote-inspired visions, these masters of color use stunning patterns and complex symbols to tell their stories and to express the beauty of their spirit world.