“If you like,” [answered God]. “But they come from very far away. You will hardly endure it [the trip], it costs much, there is cramp on the road, there is catarrh, there is custom. Gather yourselves together and we will go; I will show you.”
They went on their way until they arrived at the seat of a very great tree. God told them to climb up [the tree]; [when] he saw that they had already ascended, he went up behind them. The tree continued to grow, going very far up. Then he [God] stripped the bark from the tree, formed a lagoon at the base of the tree, and he, Our Father God, commanded that once for all they should remain there [in the tree] because they had behaved very badly to him. Then he [left and] arrived at his mother’s place.
“Where did you leave your brothers?” asked the mother.
“They come from far away,” [he answered].
“Who knows where you left them?” [she remarked].
“They remained there; I will go [with you] if you wish to see them.”
Our Mother arrived [there] and saw that they had become animals. “Liar,” she said. “These cannot be they. They of whom you speak are animals.”
She questioned [the animals]. “Is it you?” They shook the tree in reply. [They could not talk now because they were animals.] Then some refuse fell in her eye, and [in anger] she commanded that they should remain like animals for all time.
“Now you will eat the fruit of the tree,” [she ordered]. “You do not wish to be good.”
Then the kings [of the Jews] gathered together against Our Father God. They ran after him; he ran away. [On the way] there was a man working.
“What are you doing?” [asked God]. “What are you planting?”
“I am planting some stones.”
“Within three days these stones will become very large,” [said God]. “Some men are following me; if they question you, do not tell them that I passed by.”
“There was one who passed by when I was planting my stones sixty days ago,” [the man told the kings]. From there they followed God, with machete, with weapon, with lance. “Until we have killed him,” said the kings.
There was another man planting beans [on the route over which God was fleeing]. Our Father God asked, “What are you doing?”
“I am planting a little of my beans.”
“Within three days your beans will be dry,” [God told him]. “There are some men following me; if they question you, don’t tell them anything.”
“There was one who passed by when I was planting my beans about sixty days ago,” he told them [the kings].
He [God] now walked very little. The kings seized him and killed him. Then, when they had finished killing him, they, the kings, nailed him to the cross, opening his arms and putting nails through them. Then they went away.
He [God] placed a ladder on the cross and went away by means of this ladder. He arrived in heaven. Then began the light in the seat of heaven, the cock crowed, the beasts and the cattle howled. The world [that God formed] became clear, and then the sun lit up and the kings were burned.
—Morris Siegel. “The Creation Myth and Acculturation in Acatan, Guatemala.” Journal of American Folklore, 1943, 56, 121–124. Philadelphia: American Folklore Society.
INCA
Ordering the World The great Inca Empire succeeded a long series of prehistoric Peruvian cultures when it came to prominence c. 1200 A.D. and became powerful enough to take over neighboring tribes by force c. 1440. When Pizarro conquered the Inca in 1553, he found an Empire stretching from Quito, Ecuador, to the Rio Maule in Chile. It was a highly organized and disciplined socialist society, capable of monumental building projects, an extraordinary road system, and even a messenger service that could cover 150 miles a day. The upper class worshipped a high god with no name, who was most commonly referred to by one of his titles (“Wiraqoca” to the Inca, “Viracocha” to the Spanish). Perceived as the ground of being, the source of all power, this personification of the Holy had neither special function nor particular cult, and popular religious attention was therefore focused on his more immanent servants, the gods and goddesses of the sun, thunder, moon, sea, and the huacas, local sacred places and things.
This myth was recounted by one of the last Incas to Garcilaso de la Vega, the son of an Inca princess and a Spanish conquistador, around 1556 when he was a young man. It later became part of The Royal Commentaries Garcilaso wrote about the history of Peru. Appropriate to a culture so highly organized, the myth recalls the primitive animalistic state of people before “our father Sun” sent two of his children by the moon goddess to earth. The young Inca (emperor) and his sister-bride moved about until they found a place where they could easily plunge the golden rod their father had given them (that is, in mythological language, until they could find a place where Earth was properly receptive to sun’s fertilization; or, in agricultural language, until they could find rich soil and good climate.) There they stopped, organized all the local people, and eventually ruled an empire of such size and power it could reach out and conquer others. The social order was essential to the empire’s success: cities were divided into upper and lower halves; men and women were instructed in appropriate tasks. Thus the myth proclaims the divinity of all rulers descending from the first Inca and their divine sanction of the basic social structure.
“AT ONE TIME, all the land you see about you was nothing but mountains and desolate cliffs. The people lived like wild beasts, with neither order nor religion, neither villages nor houses, neither fields nor clothing, for they had no knowledge of their wool or cotton. Brought together haphazardly in groups of two and three, they lived in grottoes and caves and, like wild game, fed upon grass and roots, wild fruits, and even human flesh. They covered their nakedness with the bark and leaves of trees, or with the skins of animals. Some even went unclothed. And as for women, they possessed none who were recognized as their very own.
“Seeing the condition they were in, our father the Sun was ashamed for them, and he decided to send one of his sons and one of his daughters from heaven to earth, in order that they might teach men to adore him and acknowledge him as their god; to obey his laws and precepts as every reasonable creature must do; to build houses and assemble together in villages; to till the soil, sow the seed, raise cattle, and enjoy the fruits of their labors like human beings.
“Our father the Sun set his two children down at a place eighty leagues from here, on Lake Titicaca, and he gave them a rod of gold, a little shorter than a man’s arm and two fingers in thickness.
“‘Go where you will,’ he said to them, ‘and whenever you stop to eat or to sleep, plunge this rod into the earth. At the spot where, with one single thrust, it disappears entirely, there you must establish and hold your court. And the peoples whom you will have brought under your sway shall be maintained by you in a state of justice and reason, with piety, mercy, and mildness.
“‘To the entire world,’ added our father the Sun, ‘I give my light and my brilliance; I give men warmth when they are cold; I cause their fields to fructify and their cattle to multiply; each day that passes I go all around the world in order to have a better knowledge of men’s needs and to satisfy these needs: follow my example. Do unto all of them as a merciful father would do unto his well-beloved children; for I have sent you on earth for the good of men, that they might cease to live like wild animals. You shall be the kings and lords of all the peoples who accept our law and our rule.’
“Having thus declared his will to his two children, our father the Sun dismissed them. They then left Lake Titicaca and walked northwards, trying vainly each day to thrust their rod of gold into the earth. And so they came to a little shelter about seven or eight leagues from here. Day was breaking when they left it and that is why the Inca called this spot Caparec Tempu, which means: the Inn of Morning. Later, he filled it with people and, to this day, the inhabitants of that village take pride in this name that comes from our first king. From there, the Inca and his bride, our queen, entered into C
uzco valley which, at that time, was nothing but wild, mountainous country.
“The first halt they made in this valley,” my uncle said, “was at a place called Huanacauri, a half-day’s walk from here. There they tried their rod and not only did it sink into the earth, but it disappeared entirely. Then our Inca turned to his sister-bride:
“‘Our father the Sun,’ he said, ‘has commanded us to remain in this valley, to settle here and make it our home. You then go your way, and I shall go mine, to call together and assemble the inhabitants of these regions, in order that we might teach them good, as we have been ordered to do.’
“Now they left the hill of Huanacauri, each going his own way; and this spot being the first to have been trod on by their feet, you will understand,” my uncle said, “that we built a temple there, so that our father the Sun should be perpetually adored in recognition of the signal favor he showed us on that day. The prince set out for the north and the princess for the south. They explained to all whom they met that their father the Sun had sent them on earth to be the rulers and benefactors of this country, to teach them all how to live, how to clothe and feed themselves like men, instead of like animals.
“The savages to whom they spoke these promising words marveled as much at what they saw as at what they heard: for the Inca and his sister-bride were both arrayed in garments and ornaments that had been given to them by our father the Sun, and both of them had ears that were pierced and open the way we, their descendants, wear ours today. Never had the inhabitants of this region seen anything like it; therefore, they believed all that was told them, they worshiped our ancestors as the children of the Sun, and obeyed them as their kings. The news of this wonderful event began to spread from place to place and a great gathering of men and women was soon assembled about the two Incas, ready to follow them wherever they might lead.
“Our sovereigns then distributed the necessary tasks amongst this crowd of persons, ordering some to go seek food for all, whilst others, following their instructions, were to begin to build huts and houses. Thus our imperial city came into existence, and was divided into two halves: Hanan-Cuzco, or Upper-Cuzco, and Hurin-Cuzco, or Lower-Cuzco. Hanan-Cuzco was founded by our king and Hurin-Cuzco by our queen, and that is why the two parts were given these names, without the inhabitants of one possessing any superiority over those of the other, but simply to recall the fact that certain of them had been originally brought together by the king, and certain others by the queen. There existed only one single difference between them, a difference in accordance with the king’s desire, and that was, that the inhabitants of Upper-Cuzco were to be considered as the elder, and those of Lower-Cuzco as the younger brothers. Indeed, it was as it is in the case of a living body, in which there always exists a difference between the right and the left hands, for the reason that those from above had been brought together by the male, and those from below by the female element. All the cities and all the villages in our Empire were subsequently divided in this way into upper and lower lineages, as well as into upper and lower districts.
“While peopling the city, our Inca taught the male Indians the tasks that were to be theirs, such as selecting seeds and tilling the soil. He taught them how to make hoes, how to irrigate their fields by means of canals that connected natural streams, and even to make these same shoes that we still wear today. The queen, meanwhile, was teaching the women how to spin and weave wool and cotton, how to make clothing, as well as other domestic tasks.
“In short, our sovereigns, the Inca king, who was master of the men, and Queen Coya, who was mistress of the women, taught their subjects everything that had to do with human living.
“The first subjects of the Inca were soon well aware of the numerous benefits they derived from their new situation and they went immediately into the mountains to proclaim to all their neighbors the arrival on earth of the marvelous children of the Sun. In proof of their statements, they displayed their clothing and their foodstuffs, explaining that now they lived in houses, grouped together in villages. Soon, the savages began to marvel, too, and they came in droves to join the Inca and his sister, remaining to serve and obey them. After six or seven years, they had become so numerous that the Inca possessed armed troops for his defense and for subjugating those who did not come of their own accord. He had taught them to make bows, lances, arrows, and bludgeons.
“In order to shorten this account of the exploits of our first king, we shall say simply that he extended his rule towards the east as far as the river which we call Paucartampu, that he conquered eight leagues of land to the west, as far as the great Apurimac river, and nine leagues to the south, as far as the Queque-sana. In this latter direction, he had more than one hundred villages built, the most important of which contained a hundred homes.
“Such then,” my uncle concluded, “were the beginnings of our city which, today, as you can see, is rich and populous: such were those of the great, illustrious Empire that your father and his companions [i.e., the Spaniards] took from us; and such were our first Incas, our first kings, those who came here during the first centuries of the world and from whom all our other kings are descended, in the same way that all of us, all your relatives, are. I am unable to say exactly at what date the Sun sent his first children down to earth, because that demands calculation that is beyond my memory; let us say that it was at least four hundred years ago. Our Inca’s name was Manco Capac and our Coya Mama, Occlo Huaco. They were brother and sister, as I explained to you before, the children of the Moon and the Sun.
“I believe now that I have answered all your questions and, in order not to make you weep, I have held back from my own eyes the tears of blood wrung from my heart by sorrow at the spectacle of our Inca’s downfall and our lost Empire.”
—Garcilaso de la Vega The Incas. Alain Gheerbrant, ed., Maria Jolas, trans. New York: Avon Books, 1964, pp. 43–47.
YARURO
Eight Versions of the Creation Legend The Yaruros live along the Rio Capanaparo in Venezuela and worship a mother goddess, Kuma, the consort or mother of the sun and source and establisher of all. Kuma came into being with her brothers Puana (the water serpent) and Itciai (the jaguar), who created water and earth respectively and who still serve as identifications of the two exogamous matrilineal moieties into which Yaruro society is divided.
Only the shamans among the Yaruros can contact Kuma now and visit her land of giants (a heaven in which perfect, huge forms of every creatures exist eternally) in the west. With a pole set up in front of him, the shaman enters a trance and describes his soul’s journey while people dance around him, men in one direction and women in another.
These eight short versions of the Yaruro myth show interesting variations (and structural similarities) within the central themes of creation, the descent of the culture hero, and the emergence of the people.
I At first there was nothing. Then Puana the Snake, who came first, created the world and everything in it, including the river courses, except the water. Itciai the Jaguar created the water. Kuma was the first person to people the land. Then the other people were created. Then came India Rosa from the east. The Guahibos were created last. That is the reason that they live in the forest
Horses and cattle were given to the Yaruros. However, they were so large that the Yaruros were afraid to mount them. The “Racionales” were not afraid, and so the horses were given to them.
The sun travels in a canoe from east to west. At night it goes to Kuma’s land. The stars are her children and they wander about at night. The moon, which is a sister to the sun, travels in a boat.
On the land of Kuma exists a large plant of each species. The plants which are cultivated by the Racionales were first given to the Yaruros. The Yaruros cut them down in such a way that the tops fell in the land of the Racionales. The roots remained in the land of the Yaruros, but the Racionales got the seed and that is why they have bananas, plantains, maize, tobacco, and the Yaruros have none of those things.
With Kuma sprang Puana and Itciai; Hatchawa is her grandson and Puana made a bow and arrow for him. Puana taught Hatchawa to hunt and fish. When Hatchawa saw the people at the bottom of a hole and wished to bring them to the top Puana made him a rope and a hook.
Another figure that sprang with Kuma was Kiberoh. She carried fire in her breast and at Kuma’s request gave it to the boy Hatchawa. But when the boy wanted to give it to the people Kuma refused and he cleverly threw live fish in the fire, spreading coals all about. The people seized the hot coals and ran away to start fires of their own. Everything was at first made and given to the boy and he passed it on to the people. Everybody sprang from Kuma, but she was not made pregnant in the ordinary way. It was not necessary.
III The first to appear was Kuma, the chief of all of us and the entire world. Itciai, Puana, and Kiberoh appeared with her. There was nothing then. Nothing had been created. Kuma was made pregnant. She wanted to be impregnated in the thumb but Puana told her that too much progeny would be produced that way. So she was made pregnant in the ordinary way. Hatchawa was born, grandchild (?) of Kuma, Puana, and Itciai. From then on the attention of the three was centered on the boy. Puana created the land; Itciai the water in the rivers. Hatchawa was very small, but soon grew to a very large size. Kuma and Puana took care of his education, though Puana took more care of him. Puana made a bow and arrow for him and told him to hunt and fish. Hatchawa found a hole in the ground one day and looked into it. He saw many people. He went back to his grandparents to ask them to get some of the people out. Kuma did not want to let the people come out, but Hatchawa insisted on it. Puana made a thin rope and hook and dropped it into the hole. The people came out, just as many men as women. Finally a pregnant woman tried to come out and she broke the thin rope in getting out. That is the reason there are few people.
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