The Fiesta de las Plantas Medicinales is held every year in a different pueblo in Mexico. This three day event features workshops given by curanderos (native healers), herbalists, and other native specialists in various traditional practices and beliefs involving alternative or traditional medicine. In March of 1990, I gave a lecture at the Unitarian Society in Guadalajara […]
Continue Reading
I met several people at the Fiesta de las Plantas Medicinales held at Atotonilco El Alto in 1990, among them Jesus Higuera (Katuza), who had held the impromptu peyote ceremony when the Huichols refused to participate for fear of the federales. It was there I also met Armando Casillas Romo, who was promoting a book he […]
Continue Reading
Some years ago, my parents and I lived at Ana Capri between Tuxcueca and Mismaloya on the south shore of Lake Chapala. Ana Capri was built as a motel but never saw any business because of its difficult location, so we rented it from the owners. There I met Salvador Cardenas, the gardener and caretaker, […]
Continue Reading
Some years ago, Huichol art became very popular and was being sold at fabulous prices at exclusive boutiques around the world. On one occasion I helped my Huichol friends Nacho and his son-in-law Juventino sell some large yarn paintings. Shortly afterwards I was invited to attend the annual peyote fiesta at Las Guayabas, Nacho’s home […]
Continue Reading
The Huichol Peyote Fiesta takes place around the end of May or the beginning of June, the start of the traditional rainy season in Mexico. The main purpose is to assure that the rain gods return to refresh the earth and nourish the newly-sown crops of beans and maize. The Huichols are located in large […]
Continue Reading
I don’t like flying; or rather it’s the going up and the coming down that bothers me most. Once I’m in the air and realize there is nothing I can do about it, I become quite philosophical about it all and try to forget my good friend John Hindmarsh, a skilled pilot, who for no […]
Continue Reading
Stories about the creation of the universe are found in many places in the world throughout history. We have our own creation stories: Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Darwinian Evolution. Whichever one and for whatever reason you choose, all are attempts to explain who we are, why we are here, and is there any real purpose […]
Continue Reading
I began reading about Indians when I was a boy and my sympathies were always with the underdog, so I warn you that what follows is not a scholarly objective study of the Huichol Indians (probably one of the most studied and least understood peoples on earth) but simply my personal opinions based on my […]
Continue Reading
The Huichol Indians of Jalisco and Nayarit have accomplished the almost incredible feat of maintaining their independence and most of their traditional values well into the 21st century. Thanks to the rugged terrain of the Sierra Madre mountains the Huichols were able to escape the brunt of the Spanish invasion. They continue to celebrate their […]
Continue ReadingShamanism is a form of religious or magical ecstasy found in various parts of the world at different stages of development. While rituals and paraphernalia may differ somewhat from one place to another, shamanism is one of the earliest forms of religious experience. Predominant in the religious systems of Siberia and the Ural-Altaic peoples, it […]
Continue Reading