The Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic by Martin Prechtel

The Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic by Martin Prechtel

Martin Prechtel's experiences growing up on a PuebloIndian reservation, his years of apprenticing to a Guatemalan shaman, and his flight from Guatemala's brutal civil war to life in the U.S. inform this lyrical blend of memoir, cultural commentary, and spiritual call to arms. The Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic is both an epic story and a cry to the heart of humanity based on the author's realization that human survival depends on keeping alive the seeds of our "original forgotten spiritual excellence."

Prechtel relates our current state of ecological crisis to the rapid disappearance of biodiversity, indigenous cultures, and shared human values. He demonstrates how real human culture is exterminated when real (not genetically modified) seeds are lost. Like plants that become extinct once their required conditions are no longer met, authentic, unmonetized human cultures can no longer survive in the modern world. To "keep the seeds alive"-both literally and metaphorically-they must be planted, harvested, and replanted, just as human culture must become truly engaging and meaningful to the soul, as necessary as food is to the body. The viable seeds of spirituality and culture that lie dormant within us need to "sprout" into broad daylight to create real sets of cultures welcome on Earth.

Martn Prechtel, a master of eloquence and original language, is a writer, artist, and teacher who seeks to promote the nuance, irony, and premodern energy contained in any live language through his written and spoken work. He fled New Mexico to live in the village of Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, as a half-blood Native American with a Pueblo Indian upbringing, later becoming a full member of the Tzutujil Mayan society there. He was a principal in that body of village leaders charged with teaching the young people the meanings of their ancient legends through adult rites of passage rituals for many years. Prechtel is back in New Mexico, where he teaches at Bolad's Kitchen, his international school. Prechtel's search for the Indigenous Soul uses song, ritual, farming, sacred building, old textiles, tools, and stories to assist individuals from all over the world remember their own sense of place in the daily sacred.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781583943601
ISBN 10	1583943609
Title	The Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic
Author	Martín Prechtel
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	North Atlantic Books,U.S.
Year published	2012-01-31
Number of pages	476
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.