Xik+akame Leaves His Home

Tatéi N+ariwame, Our Mother the Messenger of the Rains, lives with her two children in her divine house. One day, the youngest, Xik+akame (the squash boy), has a vision in which a rainbow-colored serpent reveals itself above his house and proposes to take him on a long journey. His mother, restless, sends her scond son, Xiráunime (lightning) to search for him. But Xik+akame transforms himself into a serpent and shoots streams of water onto his path. Finally, he arrives at the sacred region of Wirikuta, where he decides to rest.

Painting by Tutukila Carrillo Sandoval 1974

Explanation and Translation by Juan Negrín based on a tape-recorded conversation with the artist.