Yarn painting- Greco border. Blue spiral snake in the center

Yarn painting- Greco border. Blue spiral snake in the center

Maximino Hernández de la Cruz

Huichol

24” x 24”

The Huichol indigenous group remains one of the most intact primitive cultures in the Western Hemisphere. Their art, which began centuries ago, was originally tributes to the gods and now has become spectacular art, all derived from peyote visions, dreams, and ancient spiritual and mythological traditions. The artist presses one strand of yarn at a time onto a board covered with a mixture of beeswax and resin.

This painting by Maximino Hernández de la Cruz is a petition for rain and for an abundant harvest.

The snake is the most ancient image associated with the goddess and with female wisdom, healing, and prophetic counsel, being closely associated with Mother Earth. The Huichol earth goddess Grandmother Growth is always pictured with her sacred object, a serpent staff. Rain is often shown as snakes in Huichol art, connecting the heavens with the earth. We also see other sacred symbols including peyote, sacred arrows, Father Sun, corn, and a spirit animal. The border is a “Greco” design found in the ruins of the ancient city of Mitla in the Oaxaca Valley, the only ancient Mesoamerican site with designs like these.