The Heritage of the Goddess of Corn: Gourd Vine and Illness in a Wixarika Ranch

"This thesis aims to illuminate a specific facet of the particular motives driving [Wixarikai] kin-based ranches to traverse their “gourd paths,” in the hope that these paths will not wither away. Pilgrimages are undertaken—involving fasting and the endurance of fatigue and hunger—for specific reasons: to avert the retribution of the Maize Goddess (Tatei Niwetsika) and to return and exchange the native seeds inherited from generation to generation. In this way, illness among women and children is held at bay. I intend to contribute a perspective on a complex whole; every researcher possesses a distinct capacity for observation, offering their unique viewpoint when examining contexts that may appear to have been previously studied. “[...] the careful investigation of an observation reveals the qualities of the observer. We observers distinguish ourselves through the distinction of that which we apparently are not—that is to say, through the world” (Francisco Varela, 1975: 5–24) (Krieg, 1989, p. 12). The central focus of this thesis is an ethnography centered on aspects related to nocturnality, luminosity, and the feminine within a Wixarika kin-based ranch. Through the experiences of women, the study touches upon aspects of kinship, medical anthropology, territory, and ancestry; these elements weave together specific forms of experience that cut across—and intersect with—the modes of experience that are of particular interest to me. These modes relate to temporality, spatiality (*nanayari-Kirikuxata*: the gourd path), and agency—the intentionality of which is determined by the narratives, social dramas, and ritual actions that unfold within Wixarika collectives."

Read the full thesis here.