Wixárika legend: Kauyumarie vs Kieri
Shamans are commonly good actors, and Ramón was among the best. When the mood hit him he would act the different characters and events of a story as shown in the images, taken while he played the roles of two mythological arch-enemies, the warlock Kieri, also called "Tree of the Wind" (or Datura or the related solanacea Solandra), who deceived people by making them eat their hallucinogenic leaves, sap, and fruits, and Kauyumarie, the hero of the divine culture and Persona Venado, the ally of peyote. In the end Kauyumarie wins the battle, killing Kieri with the fifth of five arrows. But Kieri is not really dead; It transforms into its plant shape and flies to live among the high rocks of the Sierra Madre.
“He was evil, this Kieri, evil. From the day he was a baby he was a deceiver, evil ... "
“He danced in front of people and cheated on them, telling them it was good to eat it. But he was not good, he drove them crazy, so they thought they could fly. But they couldn't fly… ”
“You see, it was evil, evil. And Kauyumarie looked at him, seeing how evil he was. 'Ah,' he said, 'that Kieri is evil.' ”
"Seeing how evil he was, Kauyumarie said to the Sun God, 'I will learn all I can about this Kieri, this evil Tree of Wind ...'"
“And Kieri saw Kauyumarie, and whoosh, an arrow came and hit him on the right side. 'Ah,' he said, 'I am dying. You hit me with your arrow. ' But Kieri did not die. ... Another arrow, another, a fourth ... "
“Whoosh, another arrow came, the fifth. And Kieri was hit on the left side, there, where the heart is. ”
"Pow. Kieri died, he fell dying. "
Dying, he vomited disease. Kieri transformed into the Tree of Wind, his arms, his body, everything. He became the Tree of the Wind, living there on the rocks. ”
Photos: Peter T. Furst
Art of the Huichol Indians, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco / Harry N. Abrams, Enc. , Publishers, New York, 1978.