false 62182554 171951 516064 0874779707 9780874779707 27 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175456886m/516064.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175456886s/516064.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/516064.Secrets_of_the_Talking_Jaguar 4.29 105 Rocky Mountain News)

Twenty-five years ago, a young musician and painter named Mart'n 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.

"The picture [Prechtel] creates of idyllic Indian life is so beautifully drawn that his delight in their culture becomes contagious, as does his grief when civil war creates havoc in their village." --Publishers Weekly]]> 209385 4.47 189 52 1998 4 0 false Sat Jul 04 23:38:07 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 04 23:38:15 -0700 2009