Huichol Tribe Religion

Huichol Indians is a small tribe in the western central Mexico that has a population of approximately 35000 people (Maclean, 2003). We find the tribe is near the Sierra Madre Mountains. Huichol Indians are the only tribe in the North America that has maintained their traditions according to Maclean.

The mushrooms are most commonly known to be ingested during nightly ceremonies held by shamans in order to experience spiritual journeys and are thought to heal those with ailments (Rothenberg, 492). Though not always mentioned by the common observer in history, these hallucinogens have been a major part of the culture of these people, even before the first conquerors settled in the Sierra Mazateca, and have become even more of a predominant piece of tradition within the Mazatec people upon the emergence of the Huatescan shaman, María Sabina (Feinberg, 127).

Elialde author of The Sacred and the Profane introduces a new model of the sacred and the profane. Elialde’s model is meant to be universal, therefore meant to be appropriate for any recognized religion. David Carrasco author of Religions of Mesoamerica and Kay Almere Read and Jason J. González authors of Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America, discuss their interpretation of the Mesoamerican religion although their views on the Mesoamerican religion differs in some aspects when compared to Eliade’s model of the sacred and the profane there are a few noticeable similarities between both views.

Mechoopda is a tribal community located in today’s downtown Chico, California. Their culture is full of native history and culture. In the early 20th century they experienced a significant depression that later affected their agriculture and later displaced them. Like many indigenous cultures their relationship to the land is a vital part of who they are. They try to protect it as best as they can. To the Mechoopda it is their source of food and economic resource.

All forms of Peyotism center around the belief that peyote is a spirit, and a gift from God who they call the Great Spirit. The spirit empowers and connects us to our journey as people. Our lives are transforming journeys and peyote is a tool that can help guide and direct it. “It gives the individual a chance to re-evaluate their priorities. The head of the Peyote Way Church of God, which is a NAC organization stated ”Through the Holy Sacrament Peyote, the communicant experiences a loss of selfishness and becomes aware of the god within.” To native people, peyote is a way of life. It is a ritual that has been established in their families for thousands of years. It can be compared to a Catholics importance to baptism and communion, or a Muslims once in a lifetime trip to Mecca. Also like most religions, there are special times and places to take part in spiritual events, which are often called rituals.

In preurban RhoCancri, some ten thousands years ago, a collection of warring tribes held the animistic belief that offerings near carefully handcrafted totems of animals would grant them traits, mostly beneficial qualities, of the respective animal. In reality, a class of shamans and herbalists were actively supplying their tribes with all sorts of products, thus making sure of the survival of their respective tribes, and in doing so, laying the foundations of both a monotheistic religion and the contemporary RhoCancrian pharmaceutical industry.

On the book I have read this semester was interesting. The book was titled as “Pueblo Indian Religion” by Elsie Clews Parsons. This book describes about how the Pueblo Indian tribal functions in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She tells her stories about what information she has gather from each pueblo. Parsons, describe each pueblo in their own unique way and showed of how similar pueblos had the same practices. However, her approach of this novel was from her own experiences and what has been verbal told to her.

The evidence described here is that the detail that is chosen has a list of many jobs and how it is explained on how to work with them.The Inca’s jobs are important to their culture because it gives them income for their life so they can buy food and clothing,or other goods.

One of the most important examples of syncretism in South America is through the examples provided from hallucinogenic trances, via the intake of yage. Shamans utilized this during their curing rituals. The images developed from the trances have been recounted to show images that represent a blending of traditional indigenous beliefs with that of Christian beliefs. A visionary example of this is seen in the visions of a shaman as a tiger and of people

Yes, I agree, there are different definitions of the word primitive. It’s hard not to see that they meant it in a derogatory way, once you reflect and compare it to the other terms that were being used to describe what is now called, Indigenous Religions. The scholars called it primitive and basic simply because, they were more interested in the religions that were written vice to those that were taught orally. The scholars should have engaged the followers of these religions further. I am sure once they studied them and reviewed their practices; their minds changed about referring to these different religions as primitive. They have been practiced extensively by their members for numerous generations and should be treated with the all due

Today, people-who do not study music- tend to group different musical genres under the same category. Although there are many genres that share musical characteristics, it does not specifically mean that they fall under the same musical category. One of the controversial questions ethnomusicologist that study Latin America-or anyone else who is interested in the subject-face is can huichol music groups be considered “traditional mariachi”

Tribes in Mexico such as Huichol or Tarahumara discovered that the cactus can be dried and eaten to achieve an ever more rich effect (Wade par. 7). In Mexico, the Matazetec tribes from Oaxaca discovered that the mushroom flora they came across came upon the Earth as thunderbolts (Hochman). The people believed that these mushroom flowers were a gift from their God to take use in their practicing of rituals. The rituals took place every month with the gathering of the flowers and infusing them into tea. All of the people in the tribe would then drink the tea and partake in deep soul searching. The religious side of these drugs was based on the idea that hallucinogens allowed the Shaman to speak to the spirits and be given direction to lead his people in the most beneficial way.

On the theme of spirituality, all four ethnic groups have varying belief systems and are connected to the spiritual side of their cultures in different ways. The Amharas are Christians who subscribe to some local beliefs, monotheists believing in the Christian interpretation of God and going to church in a mountain cave over 150 days per year both to solidify their connections with God and to connect with the rest of their communities. The head of their religion is a local priest who acts not only as an intermediary between the Amharas and their spiritual realm, they are also community leaders, acting as guides that the Amharas consult for all their problems. The Lolos Noirs do not subscribe any organized religion, practicing instead ancestral and spirit worship. This belief system is entrenched by the local shaman, a village elder who is entrusted to protect the Lolos Noirs most sacred possession, 2 bronze drums that have been passed on for generations and that are used in religious ceremonies, specifically during funerals and mourning times (not too often for fear of disturbing the revered ancestors). Thus, spirituality not only connects the Lolos Noirs with the spirits and ancestors they worship, it also helps bring them, an already close community, even closer together, bonded over the collective protection of items they regard as sacred. The belief system that the Nyangatoms ascribe to remains unclear, the only system of beliefs or rites of passage mentioned being that

Ayahuasca, a Quechuan word meaning vine of the souls, or spirits or vine of the dead, has been used in sacrament for over two millennia. There exists a retreat that can provide a new experience and deeper healing to those in need. People have attempted several different techniques, but nothing has given them the healing that they truly are desperate for. Life is a hard journey and at times people feel as they have climbed mountains only to be pushed off the other side. Getting up can be hard, but there are so many helpful resources to fit the many types of healing needs. In today’s society, doctors often prescribe handfuls of medication to help in the healing process, yet for some this attempt at numbing the pain just doesn’t work. Others look to a higher power for answers, and others start a pattern of self-medication that can quickly spiral out of control, therefore making things much worse. Deep in the mountains of Peru, shamans perform ceremonies for those who have tried, without relief, to heal their pain. The ceremonies involve drinking a mixture of the rare ayahuasca vine, and other plants found in Peru that contain DMT, such as the chacruna or guambisa.

The research for this study will include discovering the types of 'holy ' plants used, what parts of the plants are used and what is the purpose of the plant within the performance of a ritual or other ceremony? Also with the three peoples being studied, what are the differences in use of plants for each group? What are the similarities? Are there any variations on the type of plant species used, or variation on the performance of ritual or ceremony, with similar plant usage? By the conclusion of this paper it is believed all these questions will be