Matchua with Black Puppy

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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: Portrait of Matchua, a young boy, wearing his full regalia for the annual Wixarika (Huichol) pilgrimage to Wirikuta (Wiricuta) and holding a small black puppy. His mother Maria Felix, is the niece of Wixarika (Huichol) marakame, or shaman, Guadalupe de la Cruz Rios. His hat is trimmed with seedpods.
Vita Rose Narrative: Matchua, whose name means the physical and spiritual strength in our arms and hands, wears his traditional vesturario (ceremonial clothing) during the annual pilgrimage to Wiricuta, the sacred desert. Every morning, Huichols give thanks to Tatewari, Grandfather Fire, for the matchua that enables them to work and create beautiful artesania another day. A black female dog accompanied the sole human survivor during the ancient flood that destroyed the world. In the same tradition that gives us the story of the silke, the human/seals of Scandinavia, she later shed her dog skin and became the mother of the Huichols who would inhabit the newly washed world.

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_ref16

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sv4bb7ccf1e-0e18-43da-80e3-881e31b38267

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.