num_pages: 304
description: 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.
language: English
title: Secrets of the Talking Jaguar
publisher: TarcherPerigee