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About this book
An encyclopedic collaboration between award-winning Mexican American scholar Ilan Stavans and illustrator Eko, A Pre-Columbian Bestiary features lively and informative descriptions of forty-six religious, mythical, and imaginary creatures from the Nahua, Aztec, Maya, Tabasco, Inca, Aymara, and other cultures of Latin America.
From the siren-like Acuecuéyotl and the water animal Chaac to the class-conscious Oc and the god of light and darkness Xólotl, the magnificent entities in this volume belong to the same family of real and invented creatures imagined by Dante, Franz Kafka, C. S. Lewis, Jorge Luis Borges, Umberto Eco, and J. K. Rowling. They are mined from indigenous religious texts, like the Popol Vuh, and from chronicles, both real and fictional, of the Spanish conquest by Diego Durán, Bernal DÃaz del Castillo, and Fernando de Zarzamora, among others. In this playful compilation, Stavans distills imagery from the work of magic realist masters such as Juan Rulfo and Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez; from songs of protest in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru; and from aboriginal beasts in Jewish, Muslim, European, British, and other traditions. In the spirit of imaginative invention, even the bibliography is a mixture of authentic and concocted material.
An inspiring record of resistance and memory from a civilization whose superb pantheon of myths never ceases to amaze, A Pre-Columbian Bestiary will delight anyone interested in the history and culture of Latin America.
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Table of contents
- COVER Front
- Copyright Page
- Table of Contents
- Chapter 1: Acuecuéyotl
- Chapter 2: Amaru
- Chapter 3: Azcatl
- Chapter 4: Camazot Tzootz
- Chapter 5: Chaac
- Chapter 6: Chachalaca
- Chapter 7: ChapulÃn
- Chapter 8: Chicchán
- Chapter 9: Chuen
- Chapter 10: Colotl
- Chapter 11: Coyametl(co-ya-meh-tl, Aztec)
- Chapter 12: Cuetzpalin
- Chapter 13: Dzaby
- Chapter 14: Ehecatl
- Chapter 15: Hixx
- Chapter 16: Huexólotl
- Chapter 17: Huitzin
- Chapter 18: Iguana
- Chapter 19: Imix Cipactli
- Chapter 20: Itzpapalotl
- Chapter 21: Kay
- Chapter 22: Kuntur
- Chapter 23: Lama Glama
- Chapter 24: Lama Guanacoe
- Chapter 25: Mayahuel
- Chapter 26: Michin
- Chapter 27: Mictlantecuhtli
- Chapter 28: Montizon Puskat
- Chapter 29; Moyotl
- Chapter 30: Nahual
- Chapter 31: Oc
- Chapter 32: Ocelotl
- Chapter 33: OmecÃhuatl
- Chapter 34: Pauahtun
- Chapter 35: Tepeyólotl
- Chapter 36: Thiuime
- Chapter 37: TlalcÃhuatl Toad
- Chapter 38: Tochtli
- Chapter 39: Toci
- Chapter 40: Tonatiuh
- Chapter 41: Uturunku
- Chapter 43: Utzimengari
- Chapter 44: Xiuhtilán
- Chapter 45: Xólotl
- Chapter 46: Xtabay
- Chapter 47: Zulin
- Index