FINDING LOST CIVILIZATIONS This

Chapter 21A MYSTIC JOURNEYOne evening my father and I walked through theGuayabitos town square and saw Huichol Indiansselling colorful handcrafted dolls, beads, and handbags. Ihad seen these Indians almost every weekend when I was intown and always stopped to look at their artwork and commenton how beautiful they were. Also, I had bought severalknitted shoulder bags from them. They were a gentle andfriendly people and we always shared a laugh. Once whenI bargained with them I told them I was a poor gringo. Weall laughed and whenever we met they would say, ”poorgringo,” and we would all laugh again.I remember one time haggling with the Huichols aboutthe price of one of their colorful shoulder bags. They wantedtwo hundred pesos and I offered one hundred and fifty. Wecould not agree on a price and I did not buy the shoulderbag. Later that evening I walked by the town square andsaw the Huichols huddled up and preparing to sleep on theground in the square. When we saw each other we wavedand one of them yelled out, “poor gringo.” We all laughedand I walked up to them and asked if everything was okay.They said, no problem. As I walked away I thought of howI had haggled over the shoulder bag. Essentially, the fiftypesodifference was only about four dollars and fifty cents.As I was walking home to a warm and comfortable bed Ithought about the Huichols sleeping on the ground and Ifelt very humble and foolish for haggling over a few dollars.That evening my father and I gathered together severalpairs of shoes, clothes, and food that we would not takeback with us upon our return home. We then took all theseitems and presented them to the Huichols. I also paid thefull price they had asked for the shoulder bag. The Huicholswere very grateful for the clothing and in return offered me asmall Huichol shoulder bag as a sign of appreciation. We allshook hands and I felt a sense of kinship and solidarity withthese people. I have encountered this type of feeling andkinship with all peoples throughout my travels and experi-108