Blue Corn

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See more items in: Vita Rose photographs of Guadalupe de la Cruz Rios and family

Collection Citation: Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Vita Rose photographs of Guadalupe de la Cruz Rios and family, image #, NMAI.AC.372; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

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Scope and Contents: View of a young Wixarika (Huichol) woman winnonwing corn kernels from last year's harvest as part of a ceremony on the small family racho of Dona Manuela in Nayarit, Mexico.
Vita Rose Narrative: Like a nymph pouring out a stream of sacred water, a young Huichol matron winnows corn kernels saved from last year's harvest. Another woman will next toast the corn a few grains at a time in a comal, roasting pan, directly over the flame of Tatewari, Grandfather Fire, while her nephew feeds wood to the God. This is very hot and tiring work. The women then make hundreds of small corn tamales to place as offerings before the altayn the Tuki, temple, on the small rancho of the family matriarch Doña Manuela. Don Mariano, the marakame (shaman) guiding the ceremony, commented that it was the women in this extended family who were guarding and preserving the ancestral traditions.

Collection Restrictions: Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

NMAI.AC.372_ref13

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv40e8fac36-eb4a-45ca-bfa4-8d499a86a781

NMAI.AC.372

NMAIA

Vita Rose photographs of Guadalupe de la Cruz Rios and family

Creator

Rose, Vita

Summary

This collection includes photographic prints made by Vita Rose circa 1996 of Doña Guadalupe de la Cruz Rios and her family in Nayarit, Mexico. Guadalupe de la Cruz Rios was a Wixarika (Huichol) visual artist, musician, and spiritual leader.