Spirit of the Shuar

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Discover the thoughts, history, and customs of the Shuar of the Amazon, as told in their own words.* Tribe members explain their practices of shapeshifting and headhunting; the interdependence of humans and the environment; the role of ecstatic sex; their belief in war as a path to peace; and their faith in arutam, the life spirit.* By noted author and environmentalist John Perkins, Shuar member Mariano Chumpi, and author and publisher Ehud C. Sperling.Members of the Shuar of the Amazon -- a tribe reputed to be the only one in the Americas that has never been conquered -- have lived as warriors, hunters, and cultivators for generations. They are guided by their practice of shapeshifting, belief in dream change, and understanding that humans and nature are interdependent. They are not a people who have remained static, however; with each generation they have adapted and progressed, learning to use forest resources and delving deeper into the powers of healing herbs and hallucinogenic plants.More than three decades after first befriending members of the Shuar, author and environmentalist John Perkins and his publisher, Ehud Sperling, inspired Mariano Chumpi -- a Shuar who honored his warrior traditions by leading the elite Arutam Brigade in the 1995 jungle war between his country, Ecuador, and Peru -- to travel among his people and record their thoughts, history, and customs. The picture that develops from the first-person accounts in Spirit of the Shuar is that of a vital people determined to preserve their identity and belief systems in a world that not only contradicts these, but is in dire need of the wisdom and teachings that they can offer.