People of the Peyote, Huichol Indian History, Religion and Survival

Description

international and multidisciplinary collection on the Huichol. Chapters on contemporary life include the discussion of gender, religion, healing and ceremonial practices, peyotism, and cultural change. Particularly interesting are Nahmad Sitton's piece on Huichol religion and the Mexican State; Shaefer's chapter on peyotism and meaning; and the conclusions co-authored by Furst and Schaefer that offers an excellent illustration of the challenges and dynamism of Huichol contemporary life"--(Handbook of Latin American Studies) People of the Peyote explores the culture of the Huichol Indians of Mexico. Th Huichols are best known outside Mexico for their worship of the peyote cactus. Ritually harvested each year, the peyote flower is pivotal to most Huichol observances of the annual ceremonial round. Although not the largest indigenous group in Mexico, th Huichols are the most culturally persistent, having maintained their pre-Christian r eligion and rituals without significant syncretism and with only minimal accommodation to Catholicism. In spite of Spanish and Mexican domination, most Huichols continue to live their lives and observe their rituals and ceremonial as their ancestors did before the Spanish conquest of Mexico. This volum explores Huichol ethnography, ethnohistory, shamanism, religion, mythology, art, ethnobotany, society, and other topics. The contributors, an international array of scholars who include Huichols, are Allen R. Franz, Ramón Medina Silva, Armando Casillas Romo, M.D., Masaya Tasumoto, Susana Eger Valadez, Denis Lemaistre , Marina Anguiano Fernández, Michel Perrin, Guillermo Espinosa Velasco, Anthony A. Shelton, and Salomon Nahmad Sittón.