Notes From Furst, Rock Crystals, 2006 P 73.

The peyote journey At the beginning of the journey, Ramon or the marakame, tied the knot in the cord for each person. At the end of the journey, each person untied his or her own knot. The doing and the undoing. The transformation. From needing help or guidancebeing new-- to being capable. From a child to an adult. Two stages to crossing the threshold between worlds: 1) the gateway of clouds, and 2) where the clouds open. Next comes the place called Vagina, then a series of named stations where the ancestor gods passed on the First Journey. Then to the place of our Mothers. On the fourth day of the journey, the people are instructed to tie red and green parrot feathers to a small bush. This is accompanied by prayers and chants. Symbols for celestial ight. Power objects. Then the people form a semicircle, men to ramon's left, women to the right. Ramon told how the ancestors had done this thing and how with Kayaumari's assistance they would soon safely pass through the Gateway to the Clashing Clouds into the sacred country beyond. Ramon then blindfolded the ones who were "new and delicate" the ones who had not made the journey before, starting withthe women. He said this must be done because they could easily be blinded y theglare emanating from the sacred country on the other side of the clouds, and were Lsoespecially vulnerable to the whirlwinds and other dangers that malevolent sorcerers try to cast on the journey. Blindfolded, they would be safe, but they must hold onto theperson in front as they walked. "it is a great penance, and you will cry very much. The blindfolding was serious, but soon much reverse joking occurs. "oh yes I am eatingand drinking many good things," when in fact they were fasting. The doing and undoing. P. 77. Through the gate of the clashing clouds At a certain point Ramon stops and places his bow and arrow crosswise over his shaman's basket, with the bow and quiver pointing east, towards Wirikuta. He prays andchants, while gesturing with his shaman's feather wand. The others prayed or chantedquietly, and some lit candles. rRamon gestured in the ve directions with the feather wand. He picked up his bow and began beating his bow string while it was held to his mouth ( like a Jews harp?). He stepped forward and thanked Kauyumari for holdingback the clashing clouds with his antlers. The sound of the bowstring was like a rhythmic drumbeat, but with a high-pitchedrecognizable tune as he tightened and relaxed the string. Then it is over. The people's faces show their emotional stress. Some even cry. Ramonspeaks soothingly to them, as to frightened children. After all, they are " new and delicate" . He also hurries them into the vehicles to be on their way. One should notlinger longer than necessary in such dangerous and sacred places. P. 78 Arrival at the sacred waterholes The springs of our mothers Pilgrims are led single le to a bog near a dry lake. They put down their gourds to be lled from the springs and proceed to pray with great fervor facing east. The new ones are still blindfolded. They sit or squat. Ramon tells the novices to make themselves small and tuck their heads down. The others move back and forth to the various water holes, each of which represents a different mother and has her name. in the myth, this is where the divine female ancestors awaited their exhausted male counterparts and for the rst time assuaged their thirst with precious water.

Ramon inserted the wooden point of his power arrow into several of the water holes, stirring up the cloudy liquid, and speed water in the ve sacred directions, and on the pilgrims. This also happened at the confession ceremony, when ceremonial arrows were used to spray water from gourds on the women, in an impregnating gesture. Meanwhile others who were not blindfolded unpacked offerings, such as ceremonial arrows, ojos de dios, animal crackers, votive gourds, yarn designs, candles. They were laid out "for our Mothers to see". Some were left at the waterholes, and some were to be sacriced by re. Some were general offerings and some were for specic petitions for Heath, rain, fertility, luck in hunting, etc. P. 80-81. Ritual birth Ramon takes a newby by the hand and leads him or her around the waterhole. The shaman asks whether he has had plenty to eat and full of tequila or beer. Much joking and laughter as the answer is yes, when indeed they are fasting. "is your belly comfortable and are you snug and warm?" "oh yes". The newby is subdues and crouched in a fetal position. Ramon swoops down with a gourdful of water and rips the blindfold off the Newby. Then he gestures to the east and says, " behold, companion, the sacred places!" and with that, throws the water over the newby's head. Splash! The water is very cold and this comes as a considerable shock, but the new by shows no sign of discomfort. Next Ramon instructs the new by to scrub the water through the hair, face and eyes. Ramon then gives the new by another gourdlful of water, instructing him todrink it all down and not leave a drop. Then he gives him his "rst food" bits of tortillaand animal crackers that have B\been soaking in sacred water. Thus, the newby is reborn. Then Ramon had himself ritually washed and "made to see" by one of the other men. At the beginning of the journey, Ramon undergoes a required ritual bath and hair washing. And some other point, Ramon immerses nude in a hot spring inside a limestone cave. The pilgrimage of old could take 20 days entirely on foot, covering more than 300 miles. This was the only washing. P. 82 Furst thinks the "owers of brilliant colors" reference by the Huichol to the Chihuahuan desert refers to the peyote visions. They say the desert is beautiful. Furst has never seen the desert aster a rain! The land is carpeted with brilliantly colored owers of yellow, purple, white, pink, red. One part of Wirikuta is called "the patio of our grandfathers" or the "dancing ground. ".To enter the dancing ground, the people walk playing drums, the bow string, and blowing horns from cattle or goats. Each person, even the youngest child, picked up wood or creosote and carried it in to " feed Tatewari". Chanting and praying the people formed a circle while Ramon "brought out the re," that is thought to be inherent in the wood. When the re is put out, Ramon uses sacred water from the springs. Then hecollect a special coal and adds it to his small bag of power objects. By the end of thejourney, he had collected a number of such coals. P. 88 Ritual sobbing and emotion from the people. Praying, chanting, and gesturing with the branches in the ve directions. Walking in a "counter- sunrise" circuit around the re. People added their "food" to the re. Ramon entreated Tatewari not to out as they prepared to hunt the Deer-

peyote. People carried offerings and bags to hunt the peyote. Ramon leads the people forward, then stops when he spies a few twigs. "his tracks, his tracks!". Another says, "yes there are his tracks-- the new maize". Ramon moved forward, then motioned urgently-- there he is! The deer! Growing under a thicket of mesquite or creosote, a cluster of dusty green-- the peyote. It is barely visible, almost level to the ground. Ramon red rst one then a second arrow into the cluster. Then Jose, the older shaman, ford directly into the center of the cluster. Ramon completed the kill by stabbing an arrow decorated with hawk feathers straight down in the ground on the far side, so that the cluster was surrounded by arrows from the four corners. Ramon looked down at the " imprisoned" peyote. " look here, how scared it is, how beautiful the ve- pointed deer." Each peyote button had ve ribs. This is not always the case, as older buttons may have more, and younger ones fewer. Then the people gather round, with chanting and praying. Some sobbed as the trapped deer lay dying. Ramon's basket of power objects is opened, and he propitiates the deer. The life essence of the deer was rising, Ramon, explained, like a colored rainbow traveling to the top of the sacred mountain to meet the Sun Father. Ramon implores the deer not to be angry, for the people have brought him offerings, and will feed him well. Offerings were water, grasses, tamales, votive gourds, and prayers. Take them Elder Brother, and give us our life. ". He then pushes the deer's rainbow soul back into it's head with a power wand. Chanting that from the dead deer peyote is springing up from his hooves, his bones, his tail. His back. His antlers. Then he proceeds to cut the peyote from the ground with his pocketknife, leaving the bottom of the root in the ground. This is the way to harvest peyote so that more grows from the bones. Ramon slices off the tough bottom of the rst peyote and peeled away the rough brown skin, carefully preserving the bits for ritual disposal later. Then he divides the button into ve pieces by cutting along the ridges. He puts them in a votive bowl. Other people do the same with other buttons. One by one the people came forward to Ramon to eat " the elder brother's esh." Those who had made other pilgrimages came rst. The newbies were last. Ramon touched a piece of the button to the person's forehead, eyes, larynx, and heart, then placed it in the mouth. He instructed them to "chew it well, chew it well, for thus you will see your life.". Meantime all the gourds had been gathered up and placed near the holes from which the peyote had been cut. Sometimes a gourd is covered with the scrotum of a deer, which is especially powerful. The people sat in a circle. Offerings were placed in a pile near the holes. Ramon touched the offerings with his power basket and feather wand Then set re to the offerings. Again a bowl with peyote went around , with Ramon repeating the touching of various parts of the body. Ramon explained that the life essence of the deer was "rising, rising, rising like abrilliantly colored rainbow traveling up the sacred mountain to the birthplace of the sun."do not be angry, elder brother, do not punish us for killing you. You have not really died. You will rise again. We will feed you. We have. Roughy you tobacco, water from the mother springs, tamales, arrows, grasses, and our prayers. Then Ramon lit theofferings on re. To push the rainbow soul back into the deer/peyote, Ramon took his wand, lifted it to theve directions, and pressed on the peyote button. Then Ramon and others took up homemade

instruments and began to play and sing. This was to soothe the newbies ontheir journey. Some began to dance. Everyone was exhorted to be pure of heart in order not to be fooled by cactus thatlooked like peyote but was not. Lupe explained that peyote was used to alleviate thirst,hunger, fatigue, and refresh the spirit. It was also rubbed on scrapes and cuts to heal and prevent infection. A 10-year-old was offered a small piece to see if he was receptive. Young children arenot ordinarily given peyote. But about this age, they can try it. If they are deemedreceptive, that may mean they will become a shaman themselves. They were exhorted to chew it well, so that they might see their life with clarity. P. 90 Ramon strung the peyote on a cord and draped it over the antlers of Kayaymarithat were mounted on the hood of the vehicle. P.98 lupe gathered a large basket of peyote in a short time by looking under thickets ofmesquite and cactus. She carried her burden basket with a tumpline. Each man and woman would cut a button in pieces and give one to every other person, thus sharingthe peyote. The peyote was handled carefully and reverently. People were exhorted to "chew well ," so they could see their life. Young peyote buttons are less disagreeable in taste than old ones. When the burden baskets were full, people lined up single le to walk back to camp. " our game bags are full," Ramon said. As they walked back to the sound od the bow-harp, they sometimes picked various grasses along the way as gifts for aTatewari. When they arrived at camp, they made a ceremonial circle around the re stillcarrying their burden baskets. Many wept. Each person feed tatwari the grasses they had brought, and the re grew brighter. They spent the night singing and dancing around the re as they chewed large amounts of peyote. Ramon told stories of. He passed from states of trance-like devotion to alertwakefulness. He had had little food for six days and nights. The group had experienced intense emotions Lupe placed candles around those in deep trance sothat Tatewari would protect them from sorcerers while their souls where out of their bodies. The people showed no I'll effects from eating the peyote. Indeed they seemed happy and in control. Later Ramon said that thoughts arose like brilliantly colored ribbons. Thepeople did not talk about their individual visions, but rather in more general terms aboutwhat they had seen. " I saw my life" or " I saw brilliant colors" were typical descriptions.Certainly culturally dened, as Furst says. P. 104 They wept tears when it was time to go, and sang songs to kakauyarite. Here is a song: What pretty hills, what pretty hills. So very green where we are. Now I don't even feel, I don' even feel now I don't even feel like going back to my rancho For there at the rancho it is so ugly, So terribly ugly at my rancho, And here in Wirikuta so green green. And eating in comfort as one likes Amid the owers so pretty Nothing but owers here, pretty owers with brilliant colors. So pretty, so pretty And eating one's ll of everything

Everyone so full here, so full with food The hikuri si very pretty for walking, for shouting, and for laughing So comfortable, as one desire And being together with all ones companions. Do not weep, brothers, do not weep. For here we come to enjoy it We came on this journey To nd our like. For we are all we are all We are all the children of We are all the sons of, A brilliantly colored ower. There is no one, there is no one Who regrets what we are. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Many landscape features have names in Huichol, t together thru are referee to as "kakauyarite" which sort of means "land of the gods" or " ancestor deities." it is a veneration of the natural world and landscape, from which all things come. Mountains have names, springs have names, rocks have names. Thin about "clashing rocks" . The canyons saw many huge rockfalls in the deep past, so there could have actually been some event tied to this concept in human history. All bodies of water are sacred. One of the rst rituals upon returning home from thepilgimage is to ing water from bunches of wildowers onto relatives, wives, and others.Water from certain springs is thought to be especially potent for fertility. Waters from special springs are also used for different purposes: sipped at certainrituals; added to fermented drinks; mixed with ground peyote powder and drunk;sprinkled on elds, animals, people, tools, hunting gear, and efgies of various deities. Before lling a gourd or other container, an arrow is dipped inside, suggesting sexualsymbolism. Fertility and fecundity are critical to survival of the group. Sex is considered pleasurable and desirable. Normally the grandfather names a new baby. The baby is presented to the Mothers andthe Sun, then to the ve directions. Then the child's name is rst prounounced. Dried peyote necklace found in northern Mexico dated to c. 800 AD.-- p. 90 Furst, Rock Crystals Ramon, doing and undoing, this and that, one thing and another---duality

Deities and Supernatural Beings TatewariGrandfather Fire KauyumariCulture hero who kills Kieri KieriDaturaevil socerer, shaman devoted to datura Utzia tiny black hummingbird only shaman can see who shows the way down the big boulders. Spirit companion of the Sun. Maxa Kwaxi--Deer Tailperhaps a historical figure. A famous Huichol leader. Grandmother Growthrain, fecundity, children Our Mother-- springs of water, rain Supreme Godthe sun as creator Tuuwexiancestral jaguar spririts, guardians of Tatewari, helpers on the peyote hunt Grandmother Earth Grandfather Wind Ancestor Gods on the Peyote Pilgrimage: Rabbit Person Hummingbird Personthese two did not complete the pilgrimage, but were left sitting along the way. Thus they remained animals.

TatewariRamon said fire came out of wood, the wood contained him and he came out when it was rubbed (Furst 2006, p.32). he is the one who warms us, who burns the brush, who cooks our food, who hunted the deer that is peyote, that one who is together with Kauyumari. Fire makes one feel safe, contented, protected. Warmth, food, comfortthe hearth. Kauyumarisometimes trickster, sometimes messenger between people and the ancestor gods, spirit helper of Tatewari. Kauyumari is also the same as deer and peyote. Utziwhen a shaman wishes to acquire the hummingbird Utzi as a spirit helper and assimilate its power and bravery, he or she must catch one and eat its heart. Hummingbird Dance (Dance of Our MothersFurst, 2006) The shaman gives two beats of the drum on the left, followed by one strong beat on the right. The shaman sings. The children dance as they become hummingbirds. Mothers have made a string with one tuft of cottonwood fluff tied in the cord for each child in the group. The string is displayed, sort of like a decoration, to denote the dance and ceremony. Look you hummingbirds, surely we are going where the peyoteros have gone. On their ancient pilgrimages to the peyote. Who knows if we are going to get there or not? Because this journey is very dangerous. One must fly high in order to pass over. The wind light as air

We will make camp there Under the highest trees Maxa Kwaxi gives them guidance. He gives them the names of where they will fly So that they may enter safely. They rise, they rise Like a string of beads How pretty is the pilgrimage How very pretty So says Maxa Kwaxi. And so on for several hundred verses. Children age 5 and under participate. They fly over the sacred landscape to Wirikuti with the shaman pointing out specific places along the way. Here Rabbit Person remained behind in the cactus thicket, and Here is the place of the lost water. Here is where they ground their face paint. Some locations are circled in the dance so the children may see them more clearly. They fly through the Gateway of the Clouds to the Divine Mother. Maxa Kwaxi holds back the threatening clouds on either side with his antlers, and the bird children quickly fly through. The clouds closed on the tail feathers of one little girl, but Maxa Kwaxi with his power raised her up from the ground and restored her ability to fly. After the Clashing Clouds, the children are restored to human form and run to the Divine Mother. Let us go where the one who embraces us lives, In order to know our mother. Let us go where the one who embraces us lives, The one who loves us so much. The mother greets them: Now I am content, now I am happy. I will give them life. Look my children, I am the one who embraces you, I am the one who gives you your kupuri (life force or soul) This may also be an explanation for child death. They dont make it through the Clashing Clouds. They dont get imbued with soul until about age 5. The tiny, beautiful hummingbird who doesnt make itinfant mortality.

Ritual objects Effigy figures made of basketry or matting with reeds stuck in them. Some reeds have squirrel tails or feathers attached. Some have special little mats woven as peyote flowers, hummingbirds, spears or other shapes. Ritual staffslong smooth sticks with tails and feathers attached Ritual spearssimilar Shaman basketssmall oval woven baskets with lids, tied together with woven cordage with special knots and decorations