Secrets of the Talking Jaguar: Memoirs from the Living Heart of a Mayan Village

Secrets of the Talking Jaguar: Memoirs from the Living Heart of a Mayan VillageTwenty five years ago, a young musician and painter named Martin Prechtel wandered through the brilliant landscapes of Mexico and Guatemala. Arriving at Santiago Atitlan, a Tzutujil Mayan village on the breathtaking shores of Lake Atitlan, Prechtel met Nicolas Chiviliu Tacaxoy perhaps the most famous shaman in Tzutujil history who believed Prechtel was the new student he had asked the gods to provide. For the next thirteen years, Prechtel studied the

Twenty-five years ago, a young musician and painter named Martin Prechtel wandered through the brilliant landscapes of Mexico and Guatemala. Arriving at Santiago Atitlan, a Tzutujil Mayan village on the breathtaking shores of Lake Atitlan, Prechtel met Nicolas Chiviliu Tacaxoy--perhaps the most famous shaman in Tzutujil history--who believed Prechtel was the new student he had asked the gods to provide. For the next thirteen years, Prechtel studied the ancient Tzutujil culture and became a village chief and a famous shaman in his own right.In Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, Prechtel brings to vivid life the sights, sounds, scents, and colors of Santiago Atitlan: its magical personalities, its beauty, its material poverty and spiritual richness, its eight-hundred-year-old rituals juxtaposed with quintessential small-town gossip. The story of his education is a tale filled with enchantment, danger, passion, and hope.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Tarcherperigee
Published: 08/30/1999
ISBN: 9780874779707
Pages: 283
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.92h x 6.20w x 0.84d

Review Citations: Ingram Advance 08/01/1999 pg. 22