Category: The Huichol of the Sierra Madre

The Huichol are a small tribe of approximately 35,000 living in central western Mexico near Ixtlan in the Sierra Madre Mountains. They are said to be the last tribe in North America to have maintained their pre-Columbian traditions. Their shamans and healers practice today as they have for generations. In part, their survival is due to the focus of their traditions, as well as their remote mountainous territory.The Huichol people of Jalisco, Durango, Zacatecas and Nayarit, Mexico, known in their native language as Wixáritari, are globally recognised for their fantastically intricate, spiritually significant and brilliantly colourful bead and string folk art, which command high prices and even higher respect. Here’s a brief pictorial introduction to their work.