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Secrets of the Talking Jaguar
 
 
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Secrets of the Talking Jaguar (Paperback)

~ Martin Prechtel (Author) "Two furry little heads bounced and turned to survey the tumult of old basaltic walls and village huts rushing by, as they jostled along, safe..." (more)
Key Phrases: talking jaguar, indigenous soul, village hierarchy, Holy Boy, Earth Fruit, Santiago Atitlán (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

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This powerful memoir of an American who was adopted by a shaman and allowed to study the secrets of a Tzutujil Mayan village in deepest Guatemala "offers readers a privileged and rare glimpse into [the village's] complex and spiritually rich life." (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

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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Novel: A Journey to the Navel of the Earth, July 24, 2000
Let me begin with: WOW, what a book. Prechtel and Bly's collaboration on this wonderful insight into the soul of the Mayan people is so much more useful than an anthropological study of the Maya. Prechtel's perspective is that of an insider and reading this book is like reading primary source material. I doubt there is a comparable work available (at least not among the books and articles I have read). From Prechtel's mentor Chiv to his vivid descriptions of Mayan folklore, there is a thread binding the observations in this book that made the reading of it a real and emotional experience. I lived in Guatemala for 2 years as a child and for me reading this book was also a reminder of myself. Far from a dry, rigid, academic piece, The Secrets of the Talking Jaguar is for everyone with an interest in Guatemala, the Maya, justice and spirituality. Thank you Martin Prechtel.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing cultural and religious insights of Atitlan, October 17, 1999
Having traveled to Guatemala 5 times, and having lectured on the devastating civil war that caused untold economic hardship, destruction of cultural identity and hundreds of thousands of dead and disappeared, I read Martin Prechtel's book with interest. I have visited Santiago Atitlan 3 times, once with students, and felt I had a small grasp of the religious practices. But I was wrong. Prechtel's account of his life with the shaman and the spiritual hierarchy of the village is an incredible revelation. The Maya tendency to keep their important beliefs secret, was much deeper and more significant to their culture than I could have guessed. Reading this book is a fascinating and up to now unavailable look at a culture that sees itself as an integral, unseparable part of nature and the universe. The connectedness experienced by the atitecos is something that we in our materialistic, compartmentalized culture have lost, or perhaps never have had. Prechtel offers us the chance to glimpse the underpinnings of the Maya belief system. His writing, that once in while seems overly flowerly, sets the scene to guide us into this magical world. His fascination with his own learning there does not lead him to idealize these indigenous people. There are sharp doses of reality in this book; of diseases and death, and hunger and feuds. To gain an amazing perspective into the lives of a fascinating people, I highly recommend Secrets of the Talking Jaguar.
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27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a superbly written work, December 22, 1999
By David Abram (Western U.S.) - See all my reviews
I'm astonished that this book is not better known. Perhaps it's 'cause the title makes it sound like yet another addition to the awful genre of new-age pop shamanism garbage. But nothing could be further from the case! This is easily the finest work written on Meso-American shamanic practice -- and surely the most significant work on the topic since Mr. Castaneda's earliest books. But The Talking Jaguar is a thousand times more grounded, detailed and genuine than Castaneda's problematic work, since it is written from a position deeply within the particular tradition that it is translating for us. Perhaps most remarkable is the luminous eloquence of Prechtel's language -- the book is written in a style that carries something of the flavor of the indigenous oral tradition, a style worthy of the reverence accorded by most oral peoples to the beauty of living language. That so many experiences and insights rooted in indigenous, participatory, oral modes of awareness managed to be translated onto the written page, without losing their ancestral wildness, is something of a wonder. It's a landmark text, a kind of talisman filled with clues for those working on behalf of the wild, more-than-human earth. Don't miss it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brings the Reader deep within the village truths
An amazing book, filled with insights and deeply wise. I particularly appreciated the honesty that allowed us to grow in understanding through following Prechtel's errors and... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Lynetta Anne

4.0 out of 5 stars Secrets of the Talking Jaguar
This is a great story. You would think that it can't possibly be true because it is so fantastic but the book is supposedly an account of the author's real life experiences... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Megan L. S. Powers

1.0 out of 5 stars No Stars
If you liked Don Jaun, this is for you. A total fabrication. Even the references to geographic locations are wrong. A literary mess on top of that. Read more
Published on April 11, 2007 by John S. Lands

1.0 out of 5 stars Secrets of What?
Martin Prechtel paints a magic world that we all at some points of the book wish we could live in. But I feel that the book is far from in the truth as any sci-fi book I have read... Read more
Published on March 13, 2007 by Heather E. Riggs

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVED THIS BOOK!
Martin is a great storyteller and transmitter of wisdom. I could not put this book down.
Published on February 16, 2007 by Robert A. Roskind

5.0 out of 5 stars Secrets of the Talking Jaguar
This book is such a pleasure to read and reread.... lots of food for thought about modern culture and alternative ways of living, about aging, about wisdom, about Mayan culture,... Read more
Published on March 19, 2006 by A. Hooke

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful & intelligent book
I give this book as a gift to everyone I know who has read Marlo Morgan's appalling book of lies about the Australian aborigines. Read more
Published on November 18, 2005 by G. Miller

1.0 out of 5 stars Don Juan wearing jaguar skins
As genuine Guatemalan scholars have written, "a self-puffing volume without any scholarly basis whatsoever". Read more
Published on November 3, 2005 by J. Burton

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening and Entertaining
This review refers to "Secrets of the Talking Jaguar" by Martin Pretchel...

This book is a rare treat. Read more
Published on October 2, 2005 by L. Shirley

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Thing
This book is a very straight forward (if it's possible to use that term in connection with shamanism) story of the experiences of a young American who lived in a Mayan village and... Read more
Published on September 18, 2005 by D. Wolff

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