The Huichol people are Native Mexicans living in self-imposed isolation in the deep mountain range of central Mexico, also known as the Sierra Madre Occidental range. The Huichol represent one of the few remaining indigenous cultures left in Mexico.
When I came across their sacred yarn paintings it shook me to my core. So much about their culture is mirrored into these embroidered works of art. These yarn paintings are tangible storytellers of a spiritual journey, visual prayers, recordings of a shaman’s vision and dreams. Much of these visionary experiences are influenced by the hallucinogenic cactus, peyote.
“The Huichol tribe uses many symbols as representations of their deities and other things they deem sacred in their culture. Most common ones are the peyote, the deer and the snake.” – Elias Lopez of Aramara