Quetzalcóatl tales are ancient legends from Mexico and Central America that have been passed down through the ages, primarily by oral tradition. A Quetzalcóatl Tale of Corn tells how Quetzalcóatl followed a trail of ants to the Mountain of Sustenance and stole maize from the gods to feed his people.
Describes how Maria Reiche, a German scientist living in Peru in the 1930s, observed the lines on the Nazca desert and was one of the first to realize that they formed the outlines of animals only visible from the air.
A retelling of the Chibcha Indian legend about how the treasure of El Dorado came to be.
This Miskito Indian legend set in seventeenth-century Nicaragua illustrates the impact of the first European traders on traditional life.
Surveys the civilization, history, and culture of the Incas, including studies of their government, religion, family life, agriculture, and architecture.
Amazonia is a book of Brazilian folk tales. Mermaids, serpents, tigers, snakes, flying men, witches — extraordinary creatures from the world’s most important jungle live on in these tales. The stories are fascinating, and sometimes startling, as protagonists are killed off or transformed into animals — or rise up precipitously into the heavens. More than just rollicking adventures, they offer a panorama of experience — conflict and death, love and seduction, greed and gluttony, hunting and fishing, cooking and caring for plants — and describe the origins of the natural world.
When his archaeologist parents go missing in Central America, 14-year-old Max embarks on a wild adventure through the Mayan underworld in search of the legendary Jaguar Stones, which enabled ancient Mayan kings to wield the powers of living gods. Includes cast of characters, glossary, facts about the Maya cosmos and calendar, and a recipe for chicken tamales.
The future of the Rain Forest of the Macaw depends on a scientist and a young Indian boy as they search for a nameless butterfly during one day in the rain forest.
Eight tales about heroes and sacrifice, love and family — all rooted in a land that is both challenging and abundant. Some of the stories strike a familiar chord. There is the tiny child, no bigger than a thumb, who outwits a giant; the poor farmer who cannot feed his children and leaves them abandoned in the forest; the princess who breaks an enchantment and releases a prince. Yet the tales are filled with the unexpected, too, as humans, monsters and the natural world transform and intersect.
A princess who is pursued by two kings from neighboring kingdoms sacrifices herself to keep peace in the land, and is transformed into a sea creature that will provide nourishment for all her people. A crying baby, ignored by his mother, turns into a bird, teaching villagers a valuable lesson. A jealous concubine poisons the king’s son so her own child can inherit the kingdom, only to find her son going off to search for his half-brother, never to return. A man traps the sun to stop it from setting, so that his family and fellow villagers will have enough time to gather food.
The stories are exceptionally relevant today, as they draw our attention to the value of the odd and the small, the preciousness of children and our natural resources, the need to not take our food for granted.
Gathered from oral sources and old collections written in Dutch and indigenous languages, these folktales are simply and evocatively told, accompanied by startling and vibrant images by Indonesian artist Hardiyono.
A traditional Huichol folktale of the magical time when animals had human characteristics and were first learning from the Spirits of Nature and each other to find their true homes and unique wisdom.