Tatei Aramara, December 12

A traditional ceremony honoring the Mother of the Ocean. According to Huichol belief, her spirit is imbued in a white rock off the shore of Nayarit. The indigenous people go to Isla del Rey, (Island of the King) to invoke her spirit, pray and make offerings. There is a ceremonial fire at which the Marakame, shaman of the culture, talks to the spirit about all that has happened that year in the village. He talks throughout the night appropriating all of the water for the coming year. A steer is sacrificed and butchered, early the next morning. The ceremony ends with the division of the meat among the participants. These slides document the activities associated with this ritual ceremony.

These slides are housed in LSF Container HH.

A descriptive narrative of these slides is found on audiocassette #15 side B, which is housed in LSF Container RR.