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

Rating:
Summary: good stuff
Review: This book provides valuable information on Tzutujil Maya, their customs, and, especially, practices involved in training their shamans. Readers, interested in shamanism will find many gems... such as description of methods used for "stalking", cultivating the awareness with which one can track, and call to oneself, animals. One gets to marvel at the multi-dimensional properties of the Mayan language, with its different layers reserved for properly initiated youths, adults, elders and shamans - a language, where meaning is deeply embedded into the invisible landscape of spiritual forces which have shaped the history of the Tzutujil. Atitlan is a place, where those forces are still alive, because they are fed by constant acknowledgement based on gratitude and fear and, especially, beauty. The spirits are fed by beauty, says Prechtel, and by grounding our lives in the awareness of beauty surrounding us we support the benevolent unfolding of the universe. With the aid of this book one also gets to understand the importance of the ancestors and the importance of community for the Maya.Prechtel is also very poignant in describing the revolting habit of X-ian "missionaries" who are bent on destroying precious and age old connections between indigenous cultures and their environment. Don't these people have better things to do?

Rating:
Summary: good stuff
Review: This book provides valuable information on Tzutujil Maya, their customs, and, especially, practices involved in training their shamans. Readers, interested in shamanism will find many gems... such as description of methods used for "stalking", cultivating the awareness with which one can track, and call to oneself, animals. One gets to marvel at the multi-dimensional properties of the Mayan language, with its different layers reserved for properly initiated youths, adults, elders and shamans - a language, where meaning is deeply embedded into the invisible landscape of spiritual forces which have shaped the history of the Tzutujil. Atitlan is a place, where those forces are still alive, because they are fed by constant acknowledgement based on gratitude and fear and, especially, beauty. The spirits are fed by beauty, says Prechtel, and by grounding our lives in the awareness of beauty surrounding us we support the benevolent unfolding of the universe. With the aid of this book one also gets to understand the importance of the ancestors and the importance of community for the Maya.Prechtel is also very poignant in describing the revolting habit of X-ian "missionaries" who are bent on destroying precious and age old connections between indigenous cultures and their environment. Don't these people have better things to do?

Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: This is one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. I've always been interested in the Mayas and read lots of books on them, but I must say that I never felt this level of awareness before. Not only is this great ethnology at it's best, but its a very intimate sharing of the world view of these people through the magic-realism of Martin Prechtel. He is a wonderful storyteller who can impart a vision without telling all - there are no shaman secrets revealed here. One of those rare books where the prose matches the content - both thoroughly enjoyable!

Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: This is one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. I've always been interested in the Mayas and read lots of books on them, but I must say that I never felt this level of awareness before. Not only is this great ethnology at it's best, but its a very intimate sharing of the world view of these people through the magic-realism of Martin Prechtel. He is a wonderful storyteller who can impart a vision without telling all - there are no shaman secrets revealed here. One of those rare books where the prose matches the content - both thoroughly enjoyable!