Huichol Bead Art

Nestled in the Sierra de Nayarit, just north of Guadalajara, Mexico, you will find approximately 12,000 Huichol (Wee-Chol) Indians, a tribe believed to descend from the Aztec Indians. This area of Mexico is remote and rugged, and home to one of the last tribes to exist under the Spanish rule. The Huichol Indians still follow pagan beliefs, consider deer a sacred animal, grow corn, which is thought to be the source of all life, and use a form of communication called peyote. Because of this, the core of the Huichol Indians consist of deer, corn, and peyote.

As a very religious and isolated group of people, they express their feelings through art. So incredible is the Huichol bead art that most consider it a powerful decoration more than a profound religious statement. As a part of this art, you will find yarn paintings, wooden masks, woven or embroidered adornments, and the most beautiful of all, the incredible bead work, which is thought to have been created for more than 200 years. Keep in mind that this tribe has its own culture, traditions, and language, meaning the Huichol bead art created is like nothing else in the entire world.

To create bead art, the Huichol Indians place a thin layer of beeswax with pine resin onto a hollowed out gourd or wooden form. Then, very carefully and meticulously, small, colorful beads made from glass are picked up with a long needle and pressed into the wax. Using complex designs and symbols, the result is stunning. Each piece tells a unique story about the legacy of this tribe, their religious beliefs, the sacred deer, and so on.

Today, you can find Huichol bead work done in both traditional and contemporary designs. Because of the small number of artists and the individual creativity, no two pieces of bead art are alike. While there are many different designs, beaded gourd bowls with animal or god symbols and animals are very common and popular. Ceremonial masks are also seen on walls along with iguanas, wolves, jaguars, and turtles adorning shelving and worktables.

Other popular pieces for this type of art work include beaded picture frames, combs, hairclips, dolls, jewelry, and coin purses. Although you can purchase a variety of pieces, the common denominators are the beautiful colors and impressive designs. In addition, the Huichol bead art is often designed with other specific motifs that include God’s eyes, water, eagles, arrows, mountains, flowers, and feathers.

Although some of the Huichol Indians create bead art for pleasure, most use the art to help generate income for the tribes, coupled with the local farming. Each piece is amazingly realistic with intricate detailing. For example, deer and jaguar are poised exactly as you would see them in the wild. To create these masterpieces, beads from the Czech Republic are used, very similar to those from the 18^th century that were brought to the mountains of Mexico by missionaries.

Today, you can find a few Huichol Indians willing and eager to embrace modern life but most prefer to remain tucked away in their remote mountains where they work by hand with natural materials to create some of the most amazing pieces of art found in the world.