Sacred ground on Lake Chapala’s Isla de los Alacranes is finally in the process of being identified as an official site of Jalisco’s cultural and historical patrimony.
In a meeting held Friday, January 22 at Chapala’s Centro Cultural Antigua Presidencia, governors of four Wixárika (Huichol) communities joined state Minister of Culture Myriam Vachez Plagnol in formalizing a petition to record of the tangible and intangible heritage of the island high point referred to as Xapawiyemeta. The effort represents a first step towards a formal declaration giving it protected status to guard against adverse economic, political and tourist interests.
Xapawiyemeta is one of five ceremonial centers recognized by the Wixárika people as sanctuaries for communing with their ancestors and the divinity. Tribe members make pilgrimages to the island to deposit offerings at the cardinal point where they believe life began.
The Wixárika have sought government commitment to safeguard the ritual site since 1994. The other sacred cardinal points are located in Nayarit, Mezquitic, Durango and San Luis Potosi. In their worldview, the existence of the world, humanity and life depend upon respect and reverence for these places.