Overview

"Spirit, Symbols, and Change is more than a """"how to"""" manual--it is a celebration of how to relate to people with a vastly different culture, language, and set of values. It is an adventure that takes the reader into an Andean world very different from our own. As a missionary among the Aymara of Peru, Salazar initially tried to convince them to become strongly committed Catholics. However, the Aymara did not show much promise of accepting his mission, nor had they changed their way of life for the last five hundred years. As the author tried to get beyond this impasse, he became friends with Marcelino, a blind shaman, and through him entered a totally unfamiliar world--the mind and the spiritual history of the Aymara. From these insights, the author developed an understanding of their values and assisted them in making the needed changes that broke their isolation and exclusion from mainstream society in Peru."

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9781725293809

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Reviews

The story of Salazar's privileged encounter with the Aymara reveals what authentic interculturality might look like. At the same time, we get a glimpse of what Martin Buber describes as God experienced as the electricity present in all genuine encounters. . . . I highly recommend this book. --Raymond J. Finch, MM, Superior General, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers With deep anthropological insight and spiritual wisdom, Inocente Salazar tells how a Maryknoll missionary entered the religious world of the Aymara and how through this encounter both he and they attained a richer understanding of their faith. --Richard Madsen, Distinguished Professor of Sociology Emeritus, University of California, San Diego There is a pervasive spirit of openness and embrace of distinct spiritualities, faiths, and practices in Salazar's study. . . . This highly accessible book should be essential reading for anyone interested in Catholic mission, Aymara spirituality, and the US mission experience of Liberation Theology. --Susan Fitzpatrick Behrens, professor and chair, Department of History, California State University, Northridge This book is a true treasure chest. It contains a huge amount of detailed information on Aymara life and rituals, and an equally vast and deep explanation of how those practices come together to create an Aymara cultural identity. But more precious than even the factual data is Salazar's deep love and respect for the Aymara people. . . . Salazar successfully shares as much of this bounty as can be handed on to others. It is a real gem. --Frank McGourn, MM, founder of Instituto De Estudios Aymaras, Chucuito, Peru This is the story of a transformative journey of a Catholic missionary priest who shares the life, beliefs and customs of the indigenous Aymara people of the Altiplano of Peru. Sociologists, anthropologists, and students of comparative religion and human behavior will be enriched by it. --Gregorio Rienzo, missioner and student in Peru

"""The story of Salazar's privileged encounter with the Aymara reveals what authentic interculturality might look like. At the same time, we get a glimpse of what Martin Buber describes as God experienced as the electricity present in all genuine encounters. . . . I highly recommend this book."" --Raymond J. Finch, MM, Superior General, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers ""With deep anthropological insight and spiritual wisdom, Inocente Salazar tells how a Maryknoll missionary entered the religious world of the Aymara and how through this encounter both he and they attained a richer understanding of their faith."" --Richard Madsen, Distinguished Professor of Sociology Emeritus, University of California, San Diego ""There is a pervasive spirit of openness and embrace of distinct spiritualities, faiths, and practices in Salazar's study. . . . This highly accessible book should be essential reading for anyone interested in Catholic mission, Aymara spirituality, and the US mission experience of Liberation Theology."" --Susan Fitzpatrick Behrens, professor and chair, Department of History, California State University, Northridge ""This book is a true treasure chest. It contains a huge amount of detailed information on Aymara life and rituals, and an equally vast and deep explanation of how those practices come together to create an Aymara cultural identity. But more precious than even the factual data is Salazar's deep love and respect for the Aymara people. . . . Salazar successfully shares as much of this bounty as can be handed on to others. It is a real gem."" --Frank McGourn, MM, founder of Instituto De Estudios Aymaras, Chucuito, Peru ""This is the story of a transformative journey of a Catholic missionary priest who shares the life, beliefs and customs of the indigenous Aymara people of the Altiplano of Peru. Sociologists, anthropologists, and students of comparative religion and human behavior will be enriched by it."" --Gregorio Rienzo, missioner and student in Peru"

Author Information

Inocente Salazar, a former missionary, tending to the spiritual needs of the Aymara of southern Peru, sidestepped prejudices about the Aymara and embarked into a religious world unlike Catholicism. Without denying his Christian background and with the guidance of Marcelino, a blind shaman, he developed a program for social change. His work was documented in the Maryknoll film The Healer. He married an Aymara woman and settled in Arizona, where he taught philosophy and world religions.

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