Wirikuta

Wirikuta is a desert, sacred to the Wixárika (Huichol) people high in the mountains of central Mexico, between the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Zacatecas ranges, near Real de Catorce. In Wixárika cosmology, the world is believed to have been created in Wirikuta. Wirikuta is the focus of a yearly pilgrimage in which community members, led by maraka'ames (shamans), travel approximately 250 miles (400 kilometers) from Jalisco to San Luis Potosí. The area in which the pilgrimage occurs is protected as a UNESCO Natural Sacred Area, but is at risk for exploitation and environmental damage by the foreign mining company First Majestic Silver.

In order to follow the sacred journey, every year the maraka'ames (shamans) travel 250 miles (400 kilometers) from Wixarica's area in Jalisco to San Luis Potosí. At the beginning they walk towards Takata, a sacred area in Sierra Madre Occidental where the temple guard (xuxuricare) will ask for a safe journey. The next step is kalihuey, a Main Temple where they join Wixarica's authorities. They collect peyote a cactus containing hallucinogens along the way, they believe the peyote enables the Wixarica (Huichol) to commune directly with their ancestors and deities. At the end they collect hikuri and take it back to their homes, recreating life's cycle. A fire invokes Tatehuari while a Maraka'me hits each speaker's legs with a stick so that they may remember correctly and not omit any occurrence. quote|The pilgrimage is a ritual undertaking that unifies families and communities, reinforces cultural beliefs, practices and values, and serves as a means by which pilgrims can work toward their own individual development. On this personal level, the pilgrimage helps the individual seekers find greater health, awareness, understanding and meaning; in essence it enables the seekers to "find their lives." The mining site represents a threat to the environment balance and health of the population in the area. It is adding greater social impacts through the division of local peoples. Chemical substances used in the mining process from previous mines are destroying resources at various levels, which are creating impact on the environment and human health. For example, the mining sites will consume vast quantities of water in an already arid region.