Mad Jesus: The Final Testament of a Huichol Messiah from Northwest Mexico

21: Song of Evil

“Singing, singing, and singing, chanting over and over, Kieli, Kielisha, the Evil One, chanting, singing, calling. Down, down, make my way down, tripping falling down, down the rocks, accosted by rocks, stones, plants, earth, and leaves, the branches reached out. His things there, His things, His creatures, the snakes, the scorpions, the spiders, everywhere, on the branches, on the brambles, on the trees, on the vines, on the stones, on the boulders, on the path, on the twisted arms, the twisted roots, through the leaves, the brush, falling and crawling.Water everywhere ,dry water melted in rocks,leaves with arms and legs,lights I could see that blinded. Roots reached up trying to take me into the earth. Long tendrils, ropes lashed out, long sharp whips cracked on the rocks, striped me, made me stumble, reached for my arms, burned my eyes. The sharp sparks everywhere burst and made me fall in fire and water tumbling over not knowing where I was, or where I went. Drunk and falling, tumbling, unable to see, light and the darkness. Holding on to the earth and falling into it. Dragged down, pulled into the grass that beat me and made me roll in the leaves, the stones, the dirt. Teakata, the earth’s womb, the waters of our mothers, the stream of life, the place of joy, of satisfaction, the great member that stood erect from the earth.When I could see, I saw it, and when I could not, I still saw it.The organs of the earth, the engendering earth, the home of the Mothers and the Fathers, the invigorating holy waters of life and birth, the seed of man, the Mother’s womb.The great tall member, the shaft 122 | xxi Song of Evil of life, there stood erect over the womb, the womb of the earth ready to penetrate the moist darkness. I could see it above the canyon, at the edge of the earth.Sometimes it was there.Sometimes it was not.There, erect over the edge of the great deep canyon, the Chapalagana, standing , tall, stiff, engorged, excited, ready to plunge into the moistness, the darkness,Tuapuli showing me where the womb of earth was.The things of the earth, the stones, the dry streams, the gullies, the cliffs, the rocks, the great boulders conspired to keep me from our Mothers and our Fathers, the waters. Dry water everywhere. Only the waters of Teakata could let me reclaim myself, restore myself, give me life once more. Just to reach Teakata, just to arrive at that place, the Womb of the Earth, perhaps the singing, the chanting, the evil song would end. Grandfather’s evil things, the things I had placed there, the evil things, they kept singing, chanting, intoning that song, that evil song of His. I stumbled and fell to the great erect shaft,the sharp peak,the engendering axis. In a thousand directions I went, in every which way, all around, around, around, and around, everywhere and nowhere trying to keep in sight of the naval of the earth, the sugar-loaf peak, the shaft of our Fathers,Teakata.Through the gorge, up the other side, holding trees that reached out for me, rocks ran from under my feet. I reached the stream, the gorge, the gully before the Gate of Stone.The Gate was crashing open and shut. Giant jaws waiting to smash me, eat me, swallow me up, and take me into the belly of the earth there.At the Gate I fell, rested, waited, for the great jaws to finish their last meal.There was water, water everywhere, but none for me; my mouth was parched. I chewed my tongue until it bled,soft,salty blood,seeping into the throat. Water of our Mothers on the other side of the Gate. Stones, took stones, tossed them. Did not hit the Gate. Died, stones eaten, did not go through the Gate. Evil things of my grandfather still there where I had placed them, where I had put them. He kept singing, singing, singing, that was why he kept singing to me.Those evil things!The dark blue arrows,the black arrows,the black and red arrows.The singing was almost constant.The things that came from His mouth were venomous things, the snakes and the scorpions. I waited there at the Gate. XXI | A Song of Evil| 123 Finally, I...