african and south american animal representions

i have a selection o books detailing what different animals represent in native american beliefs. the trouble is that many of the animals who i feel connection to or drawn to (or who just keep recurring in my world) are not animals native to north america. if anyone can recommend some good source material on what different african, and south american animals represent to native cultures in these areas, i would be appreciative.

mostly, i've just been having to research the animal itself and draw my own interpretations. there is nothing wrong with this, but the added insight of peoples native to these areas would be helpful.

fyi _ one animal i've been working on for quite some time is the cheetah. any insight on this one would be absolutely wonderful.

 

Greetings,

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4076/index3.html

http://www.theearthangelconnection.com/Power Animals.htm

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/cgi-bin...myOperation=CustomerReviews&ItemId=1888767340

"Animal-Wise would come close to that kind of reference book

It lists animals that might be part of your animal totem -- usually not one of the animals you come across in your daily life, unless you're a zoo-keeper or you live in the jungles of Africa or in the Outback of Australia.

The list of mammals covered is: aardvark, apes & monkeys, arctic fox, baboons, beluga, boar, camel, capybara, caribou, cheetah, chimpanzee, chipmunk, dingo, eland, ferret, gazelle, gibbon, gorilla, guinea pig, hedgehog, hippopotamus, humpback whale, hyena, impala, jackal, jaguar, kangaroo, koala, lemur, llama, mole, musk ox, muskrat, orangutan, panda, polar bear, shrew, Siberian tiger, wallaby, walrus, wolverine and zebra."
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Hope these will be of some interest.

Namaste, Blessed Be & Bright Blessings

 

truely excellent. thankyou. some of the animals listed are definate influences so i will check out your recommendations.
btw, i do work at a zoo, but have been noticing these animals cropping up in my life for many years prior to my current job.

 

My son follows the Tokeloshe. Never quite got what he saw in a misplaced leprechaun, but hey, to each their own...

 

i was told by a shaman whom i consulted that my spirit animal guides are a lioness and an orca and strangely i have always felt connected to those animals my sunsign being leo and my thinking the killer whale (orca orcinus) is the most beautiful animal in the world. interesting that i have both a male and female totem but he claimed that was to achieve balance. cheetahs are beautiful but i have seen their babies being killed by lionesses (nat geo chan) because of the competition for food. those babies are incredibly cute man! just for a moment i hated the lionesses.... if we are to believe evolution and that all living things are connected, i think having animal guides are gr8! im sure i am guided in some way.

 

hmm... i've always really had a huge connection with buffalo. i don't really know why, but i just really like them. i went out to yellowstone over the summer and came really close to a lot of animals, but i still really feel this cool vibe when i'm near the buffalo. at first i was sort of afraid of them, but now i really like em.

 

well you've got to understand that generalizations are just that, and every culture had its own, rooted in where it was, in what the diversity of nature arround them IN THAT PLACE had to teach.

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