The culture of the Huichol people is very interesting. They believe in 120 deities in their religious views. Deities are supernatural beings, who are thought to be holy, divine, or sacred. They are commonly known as a being with a higher power that interacts positively or negatively, in ways that make them think of more than just ordinary life. Some religions have one deity where other religions have many. Each deity effects and plays a specific role in the Huichol's everyday lives. The Huichol people have three main gods, Tatemari (our grandfather fire), Tayau (our father sun), and Kauyumaki (sacred deer person). Tatemari is the main god, ruler over the rest of the gods, who was believed the build the first temple, led the Huichol's on their first peyote hunt, and taught them how to behave. Tayau is believed to be dangerously powerful and sends the Huichol's misfortunes as warnings or punishments for the acts they have done. Kauyumaki is the trickster god, sometimes clever and other times stupid. He taught the Huichol's many things through stories, such as sex and other immoral acts.
The Huichol's do a religious activity called the peyote hunt. This is the primary event in the Huichol culture. The peyote hunt is an annual hunt that is used to heal oneself from the bad things they have done. During the event, a group of about five Huichol people travel close to 300 miles to their religious paradise called Wirikuta. Once they get to Wirikuta, they find and eat the fruits of the peyote. The peyote is a type of cactus that has fuzzy tuffs instead of spikes. The fruit of the peyote contain mescaline, which is a type of hallucinogenic. The Huichol's eat as much as possible of these fruits until they hallucinate and "see" their gods and ask forgiveness for the things they have done. This act purifies and regenerates their souls so they are on good terms with the gods when the leave Wirikuta.
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