Secrets of the Talking Jaguar A Mayan Shamans Journey to the Heart of the Indigenous Soul

Prechtel's account of his 14-year love affair with a Tzutujil Mayan village on the shores of Guatemala's Lake Atitlan. Prechtel, who grew up on a Pueblo Indian reservation in New Mexico, wandered as a young man through Mexico & Guatemala. Drawn to the traditional Mayan community of Santiago Atitlan, he carved out a life for himself among the villagers. Though an outsider, he was adopted as an apprentice by a powerful, ancient shaman. He married a Mayan woman & became a village chief & a famous shaman in his own right, entrusted with the rich legacy of Atitlan's ancient Mayan heritage & its deepest cultural traditions. Here he explores the complexity & joy of contemporary Mayan village life -- a culture that is fast disappearing in the wake of modernism.Prechtel, Martin is the author of 'Secrets of the Talking Jaguar A Mayan Shamans Journey to the Heart of the Indigenous Soul' with ISBN 9780756765583 and ISBN 0756765587.