Legends of the Flood – Part 3

Index of Legends of the Flood

Central American Legends

• Mexico:
  The deluge overwhelmed mankind. Only a man named Coxcox (some call him Teocipactli) and a woman named Xochiquetzal survived in a small bark. They landed on a mountain called Colhuacan and had many children. These children were all born dumb until a dove from a lofty tree gave them languages, but different languages so that they couldn't understand each other. [Gaster, p. 121]

• Tarahumara (N Mexico):
  People were once fighting among themselves, and Father G-d (Tata Dios) sent much rain, drowning everyone. After the flood, G-d sent three men and three women to repopulate the earth. They planted three kinds of corn which still grow in the country. [Gaster, p. 124]

• Michoacan (Mexico):
  When the flood waters began to rise, a man named Tezpi entered into a great vessel, taking with him his wife and children and diverse seeds and animals. When the waters abated, the man sent out a vulture, but the bird found plenty of corpses to eat and didn't return. Other birds also flew away and didn't return. Finally, he sent out a hummingbird, which returned with a green bough in its beak. [Gaster, p. 122]

• Toltec (Mexico):
  One of the Tezcatlipocas (sons of the original dual god) transformed himself into the Sun and created the first humans to show up his brothers. The other gods, angry at his audacity, had Quetzalcoatl destroy the people, which he did with a flood. The people became fish. [Leon-Portilla, p. 450]

• Mayan:
  The wooden people, an early version of humanity, were imperfect because there was nothing in their hearts and minds, and they did not remember Heart of Sky. So Heart of Sky destroyed them with a flood. He sent down a black rain of resin; animals came into their houses and attacked them; and even pots and stones crushed them. Today's monkeys are a sign of these people. [Tedlock, p. 83-86]

• Huichol (W Mexico):
  A man clearing fields found the trees regrown overnight. He found that his grandmother Nakawe, goddess of the earth, did this, and she told him that he was working in vain because a flood was coming in five days. Per her instructions, he built a box from the fig tree and entered it with five grains of corn and beans of each color, fire with five squash stems to feed it, and a black bitch. She closed him in and caulked the cracks, and he floated in the flood for five years, first floating south, then north, then west, then east, then rising upward on the flood. Finally the box came to rest on a mountain near Santa Cantarina, where it can still be seen. The world was still under water, but parrots and macaws pulled up mountains and created valleys to drain the water, and the land dried. The man lived with the bitch in a cave. Every evening he would return home from work to find meals prepared. He spied one day and found that the bitch took off her skin and became a woman to do the work. He threw her skin into the fire and bathed her in nixtamal water. They repopulated the earth. [Horcasitas, pp. 203-204; Gaster, pp. 122-123]

• Cora (E of the Huichols):
  In the Coras version of the Huichol myth, the man is bidden to take the woodpecker, sandpiper, and parrot with him, as well as the bitch. When the flood subsided, he sent out the sandpiper, which came back and cried, "Ee-wee-wee", indicating the earth was too wet to walk upon. He waited five days and sent out the woodpecker, which found the trees too soft and returned saying "Chu-ee, chu-ee!" He waited five days more and sent out the sandpiper, who reported back that the ground was hard, and the man ventured out. [Gaster, p. 124]

  Survivors of the flood escaped in a canoe. G-d sent the vulture out to see if the earth was dry enough, but the vulture didn't return because it was devouring the drowned corpses. G-d cursed the vulture and made it black, leaving its wingtips white to remind people of its former color. Next, G-d sent the ringdove, who reported that the land was dry but the rivers were in spate. So G-d commanded the animals to drink the rivers dry. All came and drank except the weeping dove, which today still goes to drink at nightfall because she is ashamed to be seen drinking by day. [Gaster, p. 124]

• Nahua (Central Mexico):
  People in three previous ages were destroyed by being devoured by jaguars, turned into monkeys, and transformed into birds in a rain of fire. The sun of 4 Water lasted 676 years; then the heavens came down in one day, and the people were inundated and transformed into fish. In the next age, Titlacahuan (Tezcatlipoca) told a man known as "Our Father" and his consort Nene to hollow out a log and enter it during the vigil of Toçoztli, when the heavens would come crashing down. He sealed them in with a single ear of corn apiece to eat. When they had finished eating, they heard the water declining. They exited the log, found a fish, and made a fire to cook it. The gods Citlallinicue and Citlallatonac complained that someone was smoking up the heavens. Tezcatlipoca descended, struck off the people's heads, and reattached them over their buttocks; they became dogs. [Markman, pp. 132-133]

• Totonac (E Mexico):
  A man, warned by G-d, survived the flood in a tree he had hollowed out. After the deluge, he was hungry and built a fire. G-d smelled the smoke and sent buzzard down to investigate, but buzzard stayed to eat the dead animals, and G-d condemned him to eat only rotten flesh thereafter. G-d told Saint Michael to go down, and Saint Michael reversed the man's face and hind parts and turned him into a monkey. [Horcasitas, p. 184]

• Nicaragua:
  The world was once destroyed by a deluge. After its destruction, the gods created all things afresh. [Gaster, p. 121]

• Panama:
  One man, with his wife and children, escaped the flood in a canoe. Mankind are descended from them. [Gaster, p. 121]

South American Legends

• Muysca (Colombia):
  In olden times before the moon existed, the Muyscas lived as savages. A bearded old man with the names Botschika, Nemquetheba, Zuhe came and taught them agriculture, crafts, religion, and government. His wife, though, was malicious. To destroy the good works of her husband, she magically caused the river Funza (Rio Bogota) to flood the whole plateau. Only a few people escaped to the mountain tops. Botschika banished her from earth and changed her into the moon. Then he opened a pass, and the water poured down in the Tequendama waterfall. [Kelsen, p. 140]
  Offended by people's wickedness, Chibchachun, the tutelary G-d, sent a flood. The people appealed to the culture-hero Bocicha. Appearing as a rainbow, he struck the mountain with his staff and provided an outlet for the waters. Chibchachun was driven underground. [Gaster, p. 131]

• Tamanaque (Orinoco):
  In the time of the great flood, "the Age of Water," the sea broke against the Encamarada mountain chain, and people were forced into canoes. One man and one woman were saved on the high mountain called Tamanacu, on the banks of the Asiveru. After the flood, as they descended the mountain grieving the destruction of mankind, they heard a voice telling them to throw the fruits of the Mauritia palm over their heads behind them. People sprung from the kernels of these fruits, men from those thrown by the man, and women from those thrown by the woman. (This tradition occurs also in neighboring tribes.) [Gaster, p. 127]

• Makiritare (Venezuela):
  The Star people listened to Jaguar and killed and ate a woman. Kuamachi wanted to punish them, but they were too many and too powerful. He invited them to help in picking dewaka fruit. They came, and while they were eating fruit, Kuamachi dropped one fruit. Water came out of it, spread, and caused a flood. Kuamachi and his grandfather stayed in a canoe; they got bows and arrows and shot the people who were helpless in the trees. The people fell down into the water below, which was infested with dangerous animals. Kuamachi and his grandfather ran out of arrows before shooting Wlaha, the leader of the Star people. He had caught seven arrows. He shot them into heaven, making a ladder which he, the surviving Star people, and finally Kuamachi ascended to become stars. [de Civrieux, pp. 109-116]

• Yanomamo (S Venezuela):
  The son of Omauwa (one of the first beings) became very thirsty. Omauwa and his brother dug a hole for water, but they dug so deep that water gushed forth and covered the jungle. Many drowned. Some of the first beings survived by cutting down trees and floating on them. They became foreigners and floated away. The Yanomamo survived by climbing mountains. Raharariyoma painted red dots all over her body and plunged into the lake, causing it to recede. Omauwa then caused her to be changed into a rahara, a dangerous snake-like monster that lives in large rivers. [Chagnon, p. 47]

• Arekuna (Guyana):
  Shortly after people arrived on earth, all crops grew on a single tree. Makunaima and his four brothers cut down the tree, and water immediately poured from the stump, and with it came fish. One of the brothers made a basket to stop the water, but Makunaima wanted a few more fish for the rivers. When he lifted the basket just a little, water came out full force, flooding the earth. [Bierhorst, pp. 79-80]

  In some Guyana and Venezuela tree and flood myths, the water from the stump merely forms rivers; in other versions, the entire earth is flooded, and survivors stay in canoes or climb tall palms until the waters subside. [Bierhorst]

• Arawak (Guyana):
  Since its creation, the world has been destroyed twice, once by fire and once by flood, by the great G-d Aiomun Kondi because of the wickedness of mankind. The pious and wise chief Marerewana was informed of the coming of the flood and saved himself and his family in a large canoe. He tied the canoe to a tree with a long cable of bushrope to prevent drifting too far from his old home. [Gaster, p. 126]

• Pamary, Abedery, and Kataushy (E Peru):
  Once upon a time, people heard a rumbling above and below the ground; the sun and moon turned red, blue, and yellow; and wild beasts mingled fearlessly with man. A month later, they saw darkness ascending from the earth to the sky, accompanied by a roar and by thunder and heavy rain. Some people lost themselves. Some died without knowing why. Everything was in dreadful confusion. The water rose to cover the earth, and people took refuge in trees. There they perished from cold and hunger, for it continued to be dark and rainy. Only Uassu and his wife survived. When they came down after the flood, they could not find even a sign of a single corpse. Today, the Pamarys build their houses on the river, so that when the water rises, they may rise with it. [Gaster, pp. 125-126]

• Ipurina (Upper Amazon):
  Mayuruberu, chief of the storks, caused a flood by making a kettle of water boiling in the sun overflow. Mankind survived, but all plants were destroyed except the cassia. Mayuruberu appeared with many new plants, and the Ipurina began tilling their fields. Mayuruberu ate anyone who would not work. [Kelsen, p. 139]

• Coroado (S Brazil):
  A flood once covered the whole earth except for the top of the coastal range Serra do Mar. Members of the three tribes Coroados, Cayurucres, and Cames, swam for the mountains holding lighted torches between their teeth. The Cayurucres and Cames wearied and drowned, and their souls went to dwell in the heart of the mountain. The Coroados made it and stayed there, some on the ground and some in the branches of trees. Several days passed without food and without the water lowering. Then some saracuras, a species of waterfowl, flew to them with baskets of earth. The birds began throwing the earth into the water, and the water sank. The people urged the birds to hurry, so the birds called the ducks to help them. When the flood subsided, the Coroados descended, except for the ones which had climbed into trees, who became monkeys. The souls of the Cayurucres and Cames burrowed their way out of the mountain and kindled a fire. From the ashes of the fire, one of the Cayurucres molded jaguars, tapirs, ant-bears, bees, and many other animals; he made them live and told them what they should eat. But one of the Cames similarly made pumas, poisonous snakes, and wasps to fight the other animals. [Gaster, p. 125]

• Jivaro (E Ecuador):
  Two boys found that a snake had been stealing their food. They built a fire to drive the snake out of a hollow in a tree, where it lived. The snake fell in the fire, and one of the brothers ate some of its roasted flesh. He became very thirsty and went to the lake. He was transformed first into a frog, then a lizard, and finally into a snake, which grew rapidly; and the lake began to overflow. The snake told his brother that the lake would continue to grow and all the people would perish unless they made their escape. The brother told his people what was happening, but they didn't believe him. He fled to the top of a palm tree on the top of a mountain and returned many days later when the waters had subsided. Vultures were eating the dead people in the valley. He went to the lake and carried away his brother in a calabash. [Kelsen, pp. 140-141; also Roheim, p. 156]
  A great cloud fell from heaven, turned to rain, and killed all the inhabitants of earth. Only a man and his two sons were saved. One of the sons was cursed by his father; the Jivaros are descended from him. [Gaster, p. 126]
  In one version of the story, the two brothers went looking for food after the flood, and when they returned, found food set out for them. To find its source, one of the brothers hid himself and saw two parrots with the faces of women enter their hut and prepare the food. He jumped out, seized one of the birds, and married it. From this union came three boys and three girls from whom the Jivaros are descended. [Gaster, p. 126]

• Shuar (Andes):
  In a tobacco-induced dream, a hunter was told by the daughter of the water spirit Tsunki to return to a river. He did so, met the woman, followed her to her father's house, and became her husband. When he returned to his home on earth, she took the form of a snake. Once while he was off hunting, though, his two earthly wives tormented her, and she returned to her father. Tsunki, in a rage, flooded the earth, drowning everyone but the hunter and one of his daughters, who escaped to a mountaintop. These two repopulated the world. [Bierhorst, p. 218]

• Quechua:
  The world wanted to come to an end. A llama, knowing this, was depressed. When its human owner complained that it wouldn't eat, the llama told him of the imminent flood and suggested they go to Villca Coto mountain. They arrived there to find the peak already filled with all kinds of animals. The flood came as soon as they arrived and lasted five days. Afterwards, the man began to multiply once more. [Salomon & Urioste, pp. 51-52]

• Inca (Peru):
  The water rose above the highest mountain in the world. All created things perished, except for a man and woman who floated in a box. When the flood subsided, the box was taken by the wind to Tiahuanacu, about 200 miles from Cuzco. [Gaster, p. 127]

• Chiriguano (SE Bolivia):
  The evil supernatural being Aguara-Tunpa declared war against the G-d Tunpaete, Creator of the Chiriguanos. He set fire to the prairies, destroying all the plants and land animals. The people nearly died of hunger, but they retreated to the banks of rivers and survived on fish. Seeing people still surviving, Aguara-Tunpa caused a torrential rain. Acting on a hint given them by Tunpaete, the Chiriguanos placed two babies, a boy and a girl, on a large mate leaf and set it afloat on the water. The flood rose, covering the land and killing the rest of the Chiriguanos, but the two babies survived and eventually landed on solid ground when the flood sank. There, they found fish to eat, but they had no way to cook it. Fortunately, before the flood, a frog had taken some hot coals in his mouth, and it kept them alight during the flood by blowing on them. He gave the fire to the children, and they were able to roast their fish. In time, they grew up, and the Chiriguanos are descended from them. [Gaster, pp. 127-128]

• Chorote (E Paraguay):
  In a former time when there were a great many people, the earth sank. Then water began to seep out. It kept rising until it became a flood. Some boys were saved by a white bird; all other people drowned. [Bierhorst, p. 142]

• Toba (N Argentina):
  Rainbow does not like menstruating women to enter the water, or even to drink from it. One day a young woman broke this taboo because her mother and sisters didn't leave her any drinking water when they left for the day. Driven by thirst, she went to the lagoon. When she had returned, Rainbow, full of anger, caused a strong wind, accompanied by whirlwinds and heavy rain. All were drowned in the ensuing flood. [Bierhorst, pp. 142-143]

• Yamana (Tierra del Fuego):
  Lexuwakipa, the rusty brown spectacled ibis, felt offended by the people, so she let it snow so much that ice came to cover the entire earth. When it melted, it rapidly flooded all the earth except five mountaintops, on which a few people escaped. Signs of the floodwaters still show up on those mountains. [Wilbert, p. 27-28]
  In another version, the moon-woman Hanuxa caused the flood because she was full of hatred against the people, especially the men, who had taken over the women's secret kina ceremony and made it their own. A few people survived on five mountaintops. [Wilbert, p.29]