Onderzoek naar de symbolische betekenis van de jaguar bij indianenstammen in Midden- en Zuid-Amerika in heden en verleden.

The name "The Jaguar People" is an honorary title given by the author to three Amazonian tribes who derive their inspiration and cultural traditions from the jaguar--the Marayonas, the Pirahas and the Ashanikas. Among these Amazonian tribes we can observe common survival characteristics such as fishing and hunting for their primary food sources. There are only a handful of Amazonian tribes the still practice this ancient way of life. An indeterminate number of cosmological levels constitute the indigenous universe of good and evil spirits. The primary ornamental facial designs of these three tribes, however, pay mystical homage to the jaguar and its incredible hunting skills. The revered jaguar personifies the power and courage exhibited by the tribal hunters in pursuit of their prey. This engaging numbered series book gives the reader a glimpse into the unique lives of three Amazonian tribes, some of which still live in a primary "state of nature." This real life illustrated book is recommended for the entire family, for elementary and middle schools, anthropologists, naturalists and collectors of The Amazon Exploration Series.

Mysteries of the Jaguar Shamans of the Northwest Amazon tells the life story of Mandu da Silva, the last living jaguar shaman among the Baniwa people in the northwest Amazon. In this original and engaging work, Robin M. Wright, who has known and worked with da Silva for more than thirty years, weaves the story of da Silva’s life together with the Baniwas’ society, history, mythology, cosmology, and jaguar shaman traditions. The jaguar shamans are key players in what Wright calls “a nexus of religious power and knowledge” in which healers, sorcerers, priestly chanters, and dance-leaders exercise complementary functions that link living specialists with the deities and great spirits of the cosmos. By exploring in depth the apprenticeship of the shaman, Wright shows how jaguar shamans acquire the knowledge and power of the deities in several stages of instruction and practice. This volume is the first mapping of the sacred geography (“mythscape”) of the Northern Arawak–speaking people of the northwest Amazon, demonstrating direct connections between petroglyphs and other inscriptions and Baniwa sacred narratives as a whole. In eloquent and inviting analytic prose, Wright links biographic and ethnographic elements in elevating anthropological writing to a new standard of theoretically aware storytelling and analytic power.

The Time of the Black Jaguar speaks to the times of change that we are now living in. The insights contained in the book originate from ancient indigenous cultures. According to what the author learned from his elders, human beings always have a choice between the path of competition and the path of cooperation. The healing of the earth depends on the healing of humanity and will only become possible as we return to a relationship of cooperation with all of life. In order to do this we first need to return to ourselves, remembering our original, inherent wisdom. Indigenous people believe that we humans have all the necessary talents to be caretakers of Mother Earth. This book reveals our true capacities in a strong and clear way, offering the reader not only information, but a real opportunity to participate in the work that needs to be done to save our planet.

"Journey to the extraordinary lands that make up South America..." Cover p. 4.

A novel on a West African street peddler in New York and the effect his emigration has on his wife back home. With the money he sends, she opens a store and becomes an independent woman. Nevertheless, she suffers from loneliness because he keeps delaying his return, having found girlfriends.