Secrets of the Talking Jaguar

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.