Martha Winona TraversShamanic Teachings of the Condor
Encounters with the Mystical Traditions of the Andes
Martha Winona Travers, Ph.D., is a writer, teacher, and Mama Iachak who apprenticed with Ecuadorian Kichwa elder Taita Alberto Taxo for 22 years, including 10 years visiting the Indigenous Kichwa in the Andes. She holds a doctorate in English literature from the University of Michigan where she teaches contemplative practices as well as teaching at the GilChrist Retreat Center and at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park. The author of The WayCard Oracle, she lives in Manchester, Michigan.
FOREWORD
By Julia Plevin Oliansky
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PREFACE
Welcome to the Iachak Fire
INTRODUCTION
Becoming a Iachak’s Apprentice
PART ONE
THE EAGLE VISITS THE CONDOR
ONE
Iachak Medicine: The Bird People
TWO
At the Foot of Cotopaxi
THREE
The Loving Earth
FOUR
The Sacred River
FIVE
The Speaking Wind
SIX
The Fire of Happiness
SEVEN
Timelessness
PART TWO
BECOMING A RUNA: PURIFICATION AND SACRED COMMUNION
EIGHT
The Path of the Runa
NINE
Purification and the Four Elements
TEN
Entering Sacred Communion
PART THREE
THE CONDOR VISITS THE EAGLE
ELEVEN
For the Young People
TWELVE
Learning to Walk Together
THIRTEEN
Right Timing
FOURTEEN
Receiving Gifts
Epilogue
Glossary of Kichwa Terms
Notes
Bibliography
Index