Rare Art Vintage HUICHOL Mexican Shamman's Hat

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Rare Art Vintage HUICHOL Mexican Shamman's Hat Details I came across this Shamman's Hat over 25 years ago on my first trip to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. I was in a quaint little artists boutique full of Mexican Folk Art. T were several Hats for sale - this one among them. I purchased four hats that day - knowing that they were indeed special. 25 years ago I paid what I thought was a great deal of money for the hat - gladly. I have been an avid Mexican Folk Art Collector for well over 25 years and have never seen a Huichol Hat for sale. This is a rare offering. THE HUICHOL PEOPLE OF MEXICO:Tucked away in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico in the state of Jalisco and Nayarit.t is a secret world of the Huichol Indians. The Huichol Indians live in virtually inaccessible areas straddling the Sierra Madre Occidental in an inhospitable region of about 15,000 square miles in scattered kinship settlements. The ethnic population in 1990 according to the 1990 census: 20,000 in north central Mexico. Today it is written t are estimates between 60,000 and 7,000 remaining descendants. The actual number of Huichol is difficult to determine due to the inaccessibility of the mountainous territory in which they live (many peaks over 9000 feet) and the natural suspicion the Huichol have of strangers. The Huichol have protected their traditional culture by removing themselves from areas w non-Huichol have come to live. The Huichols are descendents of the Aztecs and are related to the Hopi of Arizona. After withstanding the Spanish Invasion, they fought to keep their culture alive, despite the presence of their Mexican neighbors. When game was plentiful and they were free to roam the vast mountain ranges and deserts of their homeland, they were not farmers, but hunters. The Huichol live a lifestyle that has remained unchanged for over a thousand years. They were the "healers" of the ancient Aztecs, whose self appointed role in nature is to heal the wounds man inflicts on mother earth. The Huichols are one of the few civilizations in the world that has not lost their cultural identity to Western influences - and perhaps the last tribe in North America who still live much as they did in Pre-Columbian times. This sadly is changing. Believed to be direct descendants of the Aztecs, the Huichols are a warm-hearted and enduring people who romanticize their past, clinging tenaciously to their lifestyle, ever-increasing physical and cultural encroachment of the modern world. They have no written language. The Huichol men wear embroidered muslin pants, a long shirt/smock that is wrapped around the waist and held in place by hand-woven belts, and a kerchief which may be embroidered or a combination of embroidery and felt. They use hand-woven and embroidered bags, and during ceremonies wear a straw hats with feathers. They are well known for their artwork consisting of beaded gourds, masks, sculputres, yarn art and jewelry. This is our offering. You are bidding on this wonderful hat:This is a Shamans Hat. Used in ceremonies. Woven straw - completely handmade. Even the straw has handmade stictches used to fashion it into the hat shape. Colorful yarn and feathers are the hallmark of each hat. This hat has yarn colored in yellow, blue, green, and pink. Under the top yarn pom-pom ball t is an X of suede like fabric. Each colored pom-pom is hand sewn into place. Approximately 85 feathers (brown, white and a few small yelllow) are attached to yarn and the yarn and feathers are woven onto a cord that is attached to the inner brim of the hat. Mixed into the feathers is a tail of an animal. Unclear what type of animal tail. On the underside of the brim hanging down are narrow beads made out of some sort of seed pod. The strap is made of yarn and is either knitted crocheted in the Huichol fashion - it is bright pink with white and green. Age of Hat - unknown, however minimally 25-30 years old. Measurments are:Dimensions: Hat itself is 15.5 inches wide and approx 58" in diameter. With the feathers of course th... read more

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