Trail
of Feathers
In Search of the Birdmen of Peru
by Tahir Shah
Tahir
Shah was born into Afghan nobility in 1966 and grew up in England. He has
worked for the Institute of Cultural Research and with the Institute for
the Study of Human Knowledge and has written widely on the Middle East,
Central Asia, Africa, and South America. When not traveling, he lives in
London.
 |
"Trail of Feathers" is the very personal tale of the
adventure of a young a man that traveled to Peru with something
specific in mind. There, he encountered several interesting and
singular men, or to be clearer, they encountered him. This tale
also reveals the image of a country that a tourist might never
have the chance to experience in a seven days/six nights guided
tour.
Tahir Shah cleverly narrates occurrences in the Coast, the
Andes and Amazon of which many Peruvians may be unaware. He
also reproduces the conversations he had with the locals, using
key sentences in Spanish to enhance ideas, when the characters
explain what seems inexplicable. The story might be real or
fiction, but this is not relevant to its importance. |
Peru today, a pale reflection of its Incan and pre-Incan
past, is shrouded with veils of poverty, sand and the plastic of
modernization and progress. Spanish chronicles described green coastal
valleys and orchards irrigated by complex systems fed by distant Andean
glaciers. Today, the coast is a desert. By comparison, a tourist gets a
glimpse of what is left to be seen, the tip of an ancient unearthed
necropolis or something monumental, such as Machu Picchu. Peru is a
country of contrasts and extremes; it also is a country full of surprises.
Using a detailed narration, Tahir Shah unravels an amazing
story about the obsession of a man on his sojourn in a fantastically weird
country. Time in Peru is essential, but the concept of time and distance
belongs to an unfamiliar measure.
Smoothly navigating through distant cultures and diverse
geography, Shah takes pride in the unique perspective of a seasoned, 21st
century traveler and storyteller. He has the time to describe with similar
dedication well-known places, often using magic words to link a local
experience to an incredible story in ancient China or the Middle East. He
knows that the combination of imagination, knowledge and an eye for detail
is explosive. Texture and color fly: the truck is melon, the lake is
iridescent, a light bulb is of a fundamental nature to business. In the
Amazon, his ears become vigilant to "the noise of little wings
flying". Wisely balancing sophisticated culture and the humbleness of
a non-westerner, Shah crowns all these virtues with the kind of humor that
makes the reader laugh in a mischievous, albeit nervous, fashion.
Admirably, Shah makes the decision to travel to the Amazon
rain forest in the company of his uncertainties, fears and a peculiar
crew. Then, he finally takes the course of a small river north of the
Maraņon River, in search of the answers to his dreams.
Throughout his adventure, the writer suffers through a
number of difficulties and gets caught up in odd and potentially dangerous
situations, yet emerges untouched, as if he were protected by the Apus
(mountain gods). The book transcends the theme of protecting nature or
preserving native cultures. Rather, this book reveals the generosity of
not being judgmental in the encounter with peoples of other cultures and
respecting their values, no matter what the differences. Shah is Candide,
he is Peter Pan, he is the condor that flies to leave the illusion of this
world. He has become a man as brave as an ancient warrior
Lola Salas
Rumbosonline, New York
Available at
http://www.arcadepub.com
