essay
Myth as history, history as myth: a new look at some old problems in Huichol origins
people of the peyote: huichol indian history, religion, & survival • Albuquerque • Published In 1996 • Pages: 26-60
By: Furst, Peter T..
Abstract
This document revisits the centrality of peyote in Huichol origin mythology, religiosity, and identity. Drawing on a range of historical and ethnographic evidence, the author shows that peyote has been widely employed as a visionary sacrament and pathway to the realm of the ancestor deities. The hunt for peyote in the traditional homeland of the Huichol, Wirikúta, is a sacred obligation that the ancestor gods have passed along through the generations; reinforced through the oral and visual arts, in rituals and religious expressions, and in daily life. The author argues that the peyote cult persists as a process in which all aspects of existence, including myth and history, are harmonized through reformulation, reaffirmation or rejection. (For non-English terms see Schaefer [1996] "Glossary." For references cited see Schaefer and Furst [1996] "Bibliography.")
- HRAF PubDate
- 2016
- Region
- Middle America and the Caribbean
- Sub Region
- Northern Mexico
- Document Type
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Anthropologist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Teferi Abate Adem
- Field Date
- 1965-1968
- Coverage Date
- 1530-1990
- Coverage Place
- southern Sierra Madre Occidental (Nayarit, Jalisco, Durango, and Zacatecas), Mexico
- Notes
- Peter T. Furst
- for bibliographical references see document 23: [Schaefer and Furst]
- LCCN
- 95032453
- LCSH
- Huichol Indians