A

FOLK LITERATURE
of the CUim INDIANS

Ss

JOHANNES WILBERT and KARIN SIMONEAU

Editors

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS

Bernard Arcand
Walter Coppens
Isabel KenFrancisco Ortiz Gomez

UCLA LATIN AMERICAN CENTER PUBLICATIONS

University of California, Los Angeles

Contents
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS AND NARRATIVES
EDITORS' NOTE

xix
xxiii

INTRODUCTION

Johannes Wilbert

THE NARRATIVES
Etiological Narratives
1. Sun and Moon, p. 21
Ken
2. The Transformation and Murder of the Sun's Children, p.
23
Ken
3. Sun, p. 24
Ortiz
4. The Moon, p. 27
Coppens
5. Moon's Spots, p. 27
Ortiz
6. The Sun, p. 28
Kerr
7. The Origin of the Sun's Daily Cycle, p. 29
Arcand
8. Surepana, p. 30
Ortiz
9. Night, p. 31
Ortiz

viii

Contents
10. Namon Is Born from a Fish, p. 32
Ortiz
11. Suwari, p. 33
Ken
12. The Woman Who Married a Fish Called Suwari, p. 34
Ken
13. Nakuanu, p. 35
Ortiz
14. Namon Creates Human Beings, p. 35
Ortiz
15. Namun Makes People, p. 36
Ken
16. Namun and the Bows and the Digging Sticks, p. 37
Ken
17. Namon Creates Man, p. 38
Ortiz
18. The Creation of Human Beings, p. 39
Arcand
19. Namon, p. 40
Ken
20. Namona (Nakwone), p. 41
Coppens
21. The First Jiwi, p. 42
Coppens
22. The Origin of the Indians, p. 44
Ortiz
23. The Flood, p. 45
Ken
24. Namon Causes a Flood, p. 49
Ortiz
25. Namon Causes a Flood, p. 51
Ortiz
lib. The Flood, p. 53
Ortiz

Contents

ix

27. The Flood, p. 54

Arcand
28. Namon and the Flood, p. 55
Ken
29. Doinowaje, p. 56
Coppens
30. Namun Causes a Flood, p. 57
Ken
31. Namun Causes a Flood, p. 59
Ken
32. The Son of Namun, p. 59
Ken
33. Namun Mistreats His Son, p. 61
Ken
34. Namun Kills His Son, the Child of the Worm, p. 62
Ken
35. Worm-Woman's Son, p. 68
Ortiz
36. The Origin of White People, p. 73
Arcand
37. The Origin of White People, p. 74
Ortiz
38. The Emergence of Society from Underground, p. 75
Arcand
39. How People Emerged from Underground, p. 76
Kerr
40. How People Came up out of a Hole, p. 77
Kerr
41. Watsoin, or How People Were Born, p. 78
Kerr
42. When Our People Emerged from the Earth, p. 80
Ortiz
43. The Origin of the Forest, and the Migration to the East, p.
81
Arcand

Contents
44. Mare, and How We Came to Have Savanna, p. 82
Kerr
45. Mare, p. 84
Ortiz
46. How the Jaguar Named the Rivers, p. 85
Kerr
47. How the Rivers Were Named, p. 89
Kerr
48. Namun and the Firesticks, p. 90
Kerr
49. How People Acquired Fire, p. 96
Kerr
50. Fire, p. 98
Kerr
51. The Woodpecker Steals Fire from Namun, p. 100
Kerr
52. The Origin of Domestic Fire, p. 102
Arcand
53. Fire, p. 104
Ortiz
54. Fire, p. 106
Ortiz
55. The Acquisition of Dopa, p. 107
Kerr
56. Yopo, p. 108
Ortiz
57. The Origin of Yopo Snuff, p. 109
Arcand
58. The Origin of Yopo Snuff, p. 110
Arcand
59. The Origin of the Cuipa Drug, p. Ill
Arcand
60. The Stranger and the Snake: The Acquisition of Curare, p.
Ill
Kerr

Contents

xi

61. How Our People Acquired Curare Poison, p. 113

Kerr
62. The Origin of Snakes, p. 115
Arcand
63. The Origin of Fish Poison, p. 116
Arcand
64. The Heron and the Hawk, and the Origin of the Fishhook,
p. 118
Kerr
65. The Osprey and the Heron, p. 120
Arcand
66. Osprey and Heron, p. 121
Ortiz
67. The Canoe, p. 122
Kerr
68. The Origin of the Canoe, p. 123
Ortiz
69. Kauri and Jaulikal, p. 123
Coppens
70. The Origin of Dyes, p. 124
Ortiz
71. The Origin of Beads, p. 125
Arcand
72. The Origin of Arrow Glue, p. 126
Arcand
73. How the Whites Obtain Their Clothes, p. 127
Arcand
74. The Origin of Clothing, p. 128
Ortiz
75. The Origin of Marriage, p. 128
Arcand
76. The Yaweiba Ritual, p. 129
Arcand
77. A Change in Exchange Practices, p. 131
Arcand

xii

Contents
78. The Creation of Plants and Animals, p. 132
Kerr
79. The First Tapirs, p. 133
Arcand
80. The Tapir, p. 134
Ortiz
81. Two Brothers, p. 135
Kerr
82. The First Armadillos, p. 136
Arcand
83. The First Giant Armadillo, p. 136
Arcand
84. The Giant Armadillo, p. 137
Ortiz
85. The First Otter, p. 138
Arcand
86. The Otter Woman, p. 140
Ortiz
87. The First Capybara, p. 142
Arcand
88. The First Vulture, p. 143
Arcand
89. The Vulture, p. 143
Ortiz
90. The Buzzard, p. 144
Kerr
91. The Origin of Mosquitoes, p. 145
Arcand
92. The Mosquito, p. 146
Ortiz
93. The Mosquitoes, p. 147
Ortiz
94. A Mosquito Story, p. 149
Kerr

Contents

xiii

95. The First Bee, p. 149

Arcand
96. The First Anacondas, p. 150
Arcand
97. The First Anacondas, p. 151
Arcand
98. The First Iguana, p. 151
Arcand
99. The Origin of the Design on the Backs of the Box Turtle
and the Matamata, p. 152
Arcand
100. The Gull Brings News for the Turtles, p. 153
Kerr
101. The Song of the Turtles, p. 156
Kerr
102. Why Turtles Are Found on the River Meta, p. 156
Arcand
103. Why People Eat the Large River Turtle, p. 157
Kerr
104. The Stars Turn into Turtles, p. 158
Ortiz
105. The Story of the Large River Turtle, p. 159
Kerr
106. How People Learned to Eat the Eggs of Turtles, p. 160
Arcand
107. Why Turtles Now Lay Fewer Eggs, p. 160
Arcand
108. Turtle's Eggs, p. 161
Ortiz
109. How to Cook Turtle Eggs, p. 162
Arcand
110. The Pot, p. 163
Ortiz
111. The First Stingray, p. 163
Arcand

xiv

Contents

112. The Naming of Edible Fish, p. 164

Arcand
113. The Food Tree, and a Man Named Kinkajou, p. 164
Kerr
114. The Food Tree, p. 170
Ortiz
115. The Origin of Vegetables and Pineapples, p. 174
Arcand
116. How We Acquired Our Plant Foods, p. 176
Kerr
117. Koyoweri, p. 177
Ortiz
118. The Origin of Honey, p. 178
Arcand

Extraordinary Creatures and Events

119. The Origin of the Monstrous Kotera, p. 179
Arcand
120. The Man Who Became a Cotsara, p. 180
Kerr
121. Kotsara, p. 182
Ortiz
122. The Man-Eating Condor, p. 183
Kerr
123. The Kotera and the Weungpihiwi, p. 184
Arcand
124. The Shaman and the Kotera, p. 186
Arcand
125. Two Girls Kidnapped by a Kayeri, p. 187
Arcand
126. Kayeri, p. 189
Ortiz
127. The Kayeri and the Rape of a Young Girl, p. 190
Arcand

Contents

.
',
I
I

I
I

xv

128. A Story about Cayeri, p. 191

Kerr
129. The Man Who Was Swallowed by an Oyoyoto, p. 193
Kerr
130. The Man Who Was Swallowed by the Oyoyoto, p. 195
Arcand
131. Jofiombia, Rainbow, p. 197
Ortiz
132. The Killing of the Kori, p. 197
Arcand
133. Jurujuri, p. 199
Ortiz
134. The Evil Spirits Jurujuri, p. 200
Kerr
135. The Waco Animal, p. 201
Kerr
136. Wako, p. 202
Ortiz
137. Muna, p. 203
Ortiz
138. Aiwone in the Land of the Cannibals, p. 204
Arcand
139. A Man and His Wife Who Were Pursued by Evil Spirits, p.

207

Kerr

| 140. The Toboyaiwi People, p. 208

I
Arcand
| 141. A Man's Visit to the Land of the Great Blue Herons, p. 209
|
Arcand
I' 142. When Pathithi Climbed Down on the Mitomitori Tree, p. 212
I
Ortiz
I 143. The Jabiru Stork, and a Visit to the Sky, p. 214
Kerr
144. The Woman Who Came Back, p. 215
Kerr

xvi

Contents

145. The Woman Who Came Alive Again, p. 215

Kerr
146. The Woman Who Died and Came Back, p. 216
Kerr
147. A Dead Mother Returns, p. 216
Kerr
148. Koutewayo, p. 217
Arcand
149. Kutheiwayo, p. 219
Ortiz
150. Carawatsin, p. 220
Kerr
151. Carawatsin, p. 221
Kerr
152. The Man Who Married a Tapir, p. 223
Arcand
153. The Young Man and the Tapir, p. 225
Ortiz
154. The Tapir, p. 227
Kerr
155. The Woman Who Was a Victim of the Agouti, p. 229
Arcand
156. The Woman and the Caiman, p. 229
Ortiz
157. The Shaman, the Jaguar, and the Caiman, p. 230
\
Arcand
158. An Imbiber of Yopo Turns into a Jaguar, p. 233
Ortiz
159. The Shaman, the Gourd, and the Rattlesnake, p. 235
Arcand
160. The Murder of Yoho and the Battle of the Shamans, p. 236
Arcand
161. The Yaruro, p. 237
Ortiz

Contents

xvii

162. The Jaguar, p. 238

Ortiz

Animals
163. The Jaguar and the Deer, p. 239
Kerr
164. Jaguar
aguar and Deer, p. 241
Ortiz
165. The Jaguar and the Deer, p. 242
Arrnnri
Arcand
Arcand
166. The Jaguar and the Anteater, p. 243
Arcand
167. The Turkey and the Alligator, p. 243
Kerr
168. The Caiman and the Curassow, p. 245
Arcand
169. The Howler Monkey and the Squirrel, p. 245
Arcand
170. The Mouse and the Opossum, p. 246

Unclassified Narratives
171. The Evil Amorua, p. 247
Arcand
172. The Man Who Married His Own Daughter, p. 249
Arcand
173. A Story of Incest, p. 250
Kerr
174. Lizard, p. 251
Ortiz
175. The Story of Bosin, p. 252
Kerr
176. How the Mayarehi Catch Ducks, p. 252
Arcand
177. Curassow, p. 253
"' Ortiz

xviii

Contents

THE MOTIF INDICES

MOTIF DISTRIBUTION BY NARRATIVE

257

TOPICAL MOTIF INDEX

262

ALPHABETICAL MOTIF INDEX

293

MOTIF DISTRIBUTION BY MOTIF GROUP

333

GLOSSARY

339

BIBLIOGRAPHY

345