This beautiful tapestry of traditional tales, history, folk arts, and dance offers you a glimpse into the living legacy of Mexican folklore. After an overview of Mexico's history from the Mesoamerican indigenous era to modern times, Vigil explores the fascinating traditions of Oaxacan wood carving, Huichol bead and yarn art, folk masks, folklorico dance costumes, and Mexican folklore. A collection of tales follows, including classic tales, pourquoi creation tales from native people of pre-Hispanic Mexico, and tales from the Spanish colonial era of Mexican history-trickster tales, adventure and wonder stories, and animal fables. Lively reading for older students and adults, the tales may also be used for read-alouds with younger students. With 15 of the 44 tales presented in Spanish as well as in English, this is an excellent resource for Spanish classes and for Spanish-speaking readers. The fascinating background material also makes the book an excellent source for reports and research. Color plates

A study of what lies behind the myth of the Aztec migration and the founding of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, and of its symbol.

A collection of traditional stories and legends from the eras of pre-Conquest indigenous Mexico and Spanish colonial Mexico.

A new approach to understanding the phenomenon of ritual cannibalism through a detailed examination of selected tribal societies demonstrates that the practice is closely linked to people's orientation to the world, and helps distinguish "cultural self."

Originally published: Salariya Book Co., 2004.

Places are today subject to contrary tendencies. They lose some functions, which may scale up to fewer more centralized places, or down to numerous more dispersed places, and they gain other functions, which are scaling up and down from other places. This prompts premature prophecies of the abolition of space and the obsolescence of place. At the same time, a growing literature testifies to the persistence of place as an incorrigible aspect of human experience, identity, and morality. Place is a common ground for thought and action, a community of experienced particulars that avoids solipsism and universalism. It draws us into the philosophy of the ordinary, into familiarity as a form of knowledge, into the wisdom of proximity. Each of these essays offers a philosophy of place, and reminds us that such philosophies ultimately decide how we make, use, and understand places, whether as accidents, instruments, or fields of care.

The history of San Pedro and its uses for healing, creativity, and conscious evolution • Includes interviews with practicing San Pedro shamans on their rituals, cactus preparations, and teachings on how San Pedro heals the mind and body • Contains accounts from people who have been healed by San Pedro • Includes chapters by Eve Bruce, M.D., and David Luke, Ph.D., on San Pedro’s effects on psychic abilities and its similarities to and differences from ayahuasca San Pedro, the legendary cactus of vision, has been used by the shamans of Peru for at least 3,500 years. Referring to St. Peter, who holds the keys to Heaven, its name is suggestive of the plant’s visionary power to open the gates between the visible and invisible worlds, allowing passage to an ecstatic realm where miraculous physical and spiritual healings occur, love and enthusiasm for life are rekindled, the future divined, and the soul’s purpose revealed. Exploring the history and shamanic uses of the San Pedro cactus, Ross Heaven interviews practicing San Pedro shamans about ancient and modern rituals, preparation of the visionary brew, experiences with the healing spirit of San Pedro, and their teachings on how the cactus works on the mind, body, and illness. He investigates the conditions treated by San Pedro as well as how it can enhance creativity, providing case studies from those who have been healed by the cactus and accounts from those who have been artistically and musically inspired through its use. Psychedelic researchers Eve Bruce, M.D., David Luke, Ph.D., and journalist Morgan Maher contribute chapters delving into San Pedro’s effects on conscious evolution and psychic abilities as well as its similarities to and differences from ayahuasca. Exploring plant communication and the vital role of music in San Pedro ceremonies, Heaven explains how healing songs are communicated by the sacred plants to the shamans working with them, much in the same way that other gifts of San Pedro--from healing to inspiration to expanded consciousness--are passed to those who commune with this ancient plant teacher.

Isaiah 40:28-31 (KJV) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint Man for many years have taken Eagles as a symbol of beauty, bravery, courage, honor, pride, determination and grace. What makes this bird so important and symbolic to humanity is its characteristics. These 7 important characteristics of the Eagle has been closely associated to leadership and is widely researched and the facts accepted globally. For centuries, these seemingly larger-than-life birds have fascinated and inspired us with their brilliant leadership characteristics. When eagles come to mind, people commonly imagine an enormous hunter soaring above wide-open spaces on out-sized wings. Indeed, eagles are among the world's largest birds of prey. We venerate them as living symbols of power, freedom, and transcendence. In some religions, these creatures are believed to touch the face of God. Legend holds that Mexico's Aztec civilizations so revered the birds that they built Tenochtitlan, their capital, at the spot where an eagle perched on a cactus. This bird is important and symbolic to humanity because of its characteristics. You that is reading this book right now might be one of these eagles being raised up by the Lord. Study this eagle analogy very carefully, as I believe the Lord is giving all of us a very powerful and profound insight.

In order to understand the course of economic and social disintegration in the Soviet Union, various questions were put to Soviet officials and economic and other policy advisors of the 1980s. This text assembles the analyses of key issues and turning points into a history of the systemic collapse.

The battle for the Alamo has become one of the most famous conflicts in American history. In 1836, General Santa Ana led troops in a battle to defend the Alamo, a Spanish-built mission in San Antonio. This battle escalated between American pioneers and Mexican troops into a fight for Texan Independence from Mexico. Author Roy Sorrels narrates the battle for control between Texans and Mexicans.