Raised on a Native American reservation in New Mexico, Martin Prechtel wandered as a young man throughout the landscapes of Mexico and Guatemala. Drawn in his dreams to the traditional Mayan community of Santiago Atitlan, he carved a life for himself among the villagers. Though an outsider himself, Prechtel was adopted as an apprentice by a powerful ancient shaman. He married a Mayan woman and became a village chief and famous shaman in his own right - entrusted with the rich legacy of Atitlan's ancient Mayan heritage and its deepest spiritual traditions. In this text, Prechtel brings to life the sights, sounds, scents and colours of the village. In a tale filled with enchantment, danger, evocative cultural descriptions, shamanic rivalry and hope, Prechtel takes the reader into the heart of both untamed nature and intimate community life. He has recorded an insider's view of the Mayan spiritual and philosophical universe.