Decorative art of the Huichol Indians / by Carl Lumholtz.

Lumholtz, Carl, 1851-1922.

Date:: 1904

Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Decorative art of the Huichol Indians / by Carl Lumholtz. Source: Wellcome Collection.

16/74 (page 286)

of carrying his steel and tinder, besides some tobacco and a hikuli1 or two. This pouch is tied around the waist, and hangs down in front; thus, by its weight, serving also to keep the shirt in place. Most of the pouches, however, do not serve any practical purpose. On festive occasions a man may be seen wearing as many as a dozen hang¬ ing down his sides, suspended crosswise over the shoulders. Peculiar sets of small pouches (ke'tsa Iowa!mi) are also worn. From three to six of these are tightly fastened lengthwise at the ends of the open side. They have no ribbons, but are held up around the waist by means of a string. The workmanship in many of these small pouches is exquisite. Woollen shirts, of which at present not half a dozen exist in the tribe, are made in one long strip, which is folded over, and sewed up at the sides. The short sleeves are put in separately. The loom on which such large pieces are woven is placed on the ground. Embroidery-work (riiya'), at which also men are sometimes experts, is executed in cross-stitch with marvellous accuracy. It is always done on coarse cotton cloth, the thread being obtained by unravelling red flannel; or else variously colored crewel is used. When pouches are made from cotton cloth,—which, however, is only rarely the case,—they too are embroidered; but ordinarily this mode of decoration is con¬ fined to wearing-apparel. Three richly embroidered shirts, and a skirt with a beauti¬ fully embroidered border in varying patterns, are in the collection of the American Museum. The tribe is inordinately fond of beads, especially of the small milky-white variety, and both men and women wear quantities around their necks. Strings of beads of various colors are also made into ear-pendants, wristlets, and anklets, in a manner which resembles the bead-work of the blind in New England. The ear-ornaments con¬ sist of round, open bead-work (see Plate XXIII, Figs. 7-10), which generally represents a flower design, and an oblong extension, which is worked into a pattern in accordance with its conception as a serpent. The pendants are suspended, the round part down, by a string which passes through a perforation in the lobe of the ear. Wristlets and anklets (see Plate XXIII, Figs. 1-6) form solid ribbons of beads, with designs expressed in the weaving. These, as well as small gourds, are sometimes attached by one end to the front of the ordinary bead-strings worn around the neck, and form a kind of composite necklace. In my dealings with the Huichol, I made it a point to get the interpretation of the decorative designs on the articles in question; but to obtain such information is not as easy as one would think. Often the men knew nothing definite about the designs on their girdles, and it was difficult to find one woman able to interpret the meaning of the work done by another. Intelligent old women were my best source of information. As a rule, the people are willing to part with their beautiful work; but there are also instances in which no influence, not even that of the Gobernador, would induce a woman to sell any of her handiwork.