Peyote Hunt: Sacred Journey of the Huichol Indians (Symbol, Myth & Ritual)

Peyote Hunt: Sacred Journey of the Huichol Indians (Symbol, Myth & Ritual)

by Barbara G . Myerhoff (Author)

Synopsis

Ramon Medina Silva, a Huichol Indian shaman priest or mara'akame, instructed me in many of his culture's myths, rituals, and symbols, particularly those pertaining to the sacred untiy of deer, maize, and peyote. The significance of this constellation of symbols was revealed to me most vividly when I accompanied Ramon on the Huichol's annual ritual return to hunt the peyote in the sacred land of Wirikuta, in myth and probably in history the place from which the Ancient Ones (ancestors and deities of the present-day Indians) came before settling in their present home in the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental in north-central Mexico. My work with Ramon preceded and followed our journey, but it was this peyote hunt that held the key to, and constituted the climax of, his teachings. -from the Preface

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 31 Mar 1976

ISBN 10: 0801491371
ISBN 13: 9780801491375

Media Reviews
This study is based on observation, verbatim texts of myths, ethnographic data, participation in the rituals, and other publications of Huichol ethnology. The peyote complex is expertly set in the wider context of Huichol religion, society, and history. The study concludes with a review of . . . theories of Turner, Geertz, and Levi-Strauss, which, in turn, are synthesized to provide the basis for sophisticated analysis of meaning and function of the deer-maize-peyote symbol-ritual complex. . . . Should be useful to all seriously interested in understanding alien world views. -Choice
This is a beautiful book, recording with loving care how one thoughtful Huichol Indian wanted to see the world. -Review of Books and Religion
Barbara G. Myerhoff's splendid study . . . is a sensible participant-observer account . . . of a shamanic priest and his small party of pilgrims as they journey to their original homeland, now a distant sacred center, in search of peyote. -Benjamin Ray, History of Religions
Myerhoff's book will be a classic in the anthropology of religion. -Christian Scholar's Review