WANADI, THE CREATORCreation myth of the Yekuhana (Makiritare)

Source: Marc de Civireux’s Watunna: An Orinoco Creation Cycle

YEKUHANA

Indigenous people of Venezuela; remote areas

Name means ‘log-water-people’; canoes

True descendants of Wanadi

Nomadic farmers, no domesticated animals

No stone or metal

WATUNNA

Sacred text

Recited orally by shamans

Very secretive, known to select few

Secular text

Read by families

Tales of how to live

WANADI OVERVIEW

Creation of the Earth from the Sky

Temptation of people by evil forces

Foretells the end of the world

Tells people what and what not to do

THINGS TO LOOK FOR

Struggle of good versus evil

Gods & humans living together in “golden age”

Resurrection

Birds are important to the gods

Trinity/three faces of same god

Oral retelling; repetition is everywhere

THE BEGINNING: SKY WANADI

Sun (male) has wiriki, or magic crystals, and blows on them

Wanadi, the Creator, or Sky Wanadi is produced

Sky Wanadi creates Sky People, with houses, food, and life

Earth and Sky are one, all is happy

Constant daylight

HESIODGolden Age of Man

WANADI I & ODOSHA

Sky Wanadi wants good people on Earth

Sent Wanadi the Wise (Wanadi I)

Cuts his own navel cord, buries it; this rots

From the rot comes evil, Odosha

Ugly, hairy (animalistic)

WANADI I & ODOSHA

And so it came to pass that Wanadi sat down to think. He sat silent and still, with his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees. And he thought. And he dreamed. And while he thought and dreamed, he smoked his tobacco. And he sang to the accompaniment of his maraca.

WANADI I & ODOSHA

Creates Earth People

Odosha gets jealous; wants power and dominion over Earth

Whispers evils to the people; turns them to kill their fisherman

Wanadi I punishes them by turning them to animals

Leaves to live in Sky

WANADI II & HIS MOTHER

Wanadi II created in same fashion, with wiriki

Has same mission, but wants to preempt Odosha

Decices to show that death is merely a trick of Odosha

Creates his mother (!?)

WANADI II & HIS MOTHER

So it came to pass that Wanadi II sat down to think. He sat silent and still, with his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees. And he thought. And he dreamed. And while he thought and he dreamed, he smoked his tobacco. And he sang to the accompaniment of maraca. And he dreamed that his mother was born.

WANADI II & HIS MOTHER

“Now I must make you die.”

Kills his mother, brings her back to life

Kills his mother, brings her back to life

She was symbol of his power

Death is not real; only a trick

ISIS & HORUSHorus kills his own mother, Isis.

WANADI II & THE HUEHANNA

Huehanna: great big, extremely thick egg filled with happy people

Doesn’t want it to open until Odosha is gone for good

When his mother rises again, the Huehanna will open

If Odosha kills them, he will resurrect them

Assigns orange-winged parrot to alert him upon his mother’s rebirth

Nephew (Iarakaru) comes out of nowhere, also guards Huehanna

WANADI II & THE HUEHANNA

Wanadi II goes to hunt, but accidentally leaves his chakara

Magic herbs, plants, tobacco, wiriki, and darkness of the night

Odosha discovers this, tempts Iarakaru to open it

Darkness spreads, Odosha claims it, creates dwarf to guard grave

Equally hairy and ugly version of Odosha, but smaller

ANDVARIFrom Sigurd the Volsung; turns

himself into a fish at will, curses gold.

WANADI II & THE HUEHANNA

Poison urine: Odosha pees in gourd to throw on the mother

Parrot alerts Wanadi II, who starts to run back

Lizard throws urine, burns her to bones

Odosha goes to break open the Huehanna, fails (too thick)

Iarakaru is blinded, freaks out, runs away

Wanadi II arrives to much dismay, punishes Iarakaru (white monkey)

Returns to Sky with remains of mother, revives her

WANADI III: HOUSE WANADI

Creates stars, sun, moon, to light the sky

Animals turn into people, praise him, ask for help against Odosha

Curses Iarakaru, who is really thin, to remain thin (along with his descendants)

Goes to Sky, speaks to Yucca Mistress for food (cassava)

People grow evil once more, Wanadi III learns his lesson

DEMETERAnd many many others

WANADI III: HOUSE WANADI

Turns into red-headed woodpecker, pecks out wood for house

Builds on Mount Wana, makes houses for his future followers

Second wave of Earth People live in these houses

12 men get knowledge and strength

Odosha builds house in front of Wanadi III

Tries to dream up food, but is thwarted by Odosha

WANADI III: HOUSE WANADI

Move to Wade’s cave at foot of tallest mountain

Rebuild, re-farm, settle in, live well

Wanadi III goes to hunt, nearly gets killed by a Spirit Cougar

Tells his followers, they suggest it’s Odosha

Also suggest he wear a disguise to trick him

Next time, Odosha sees old man out hunting; Wanadi III disguised

ODINHis old man disguise seems to work

really well, too

WANADI III: HOUSE WANADI

Wanadi III plays dumb, tricks Odosha

Does this for a really long time; followers trick Odosha too

More and more people created; Food Master teaches farming, forestry, brings first rain

Takes form as chief of the birds

WANADI III & WANADI IV?

Wanadi III foretells his death; makes man and woman from clay

These two are grandparents of Yekuhana

Taught everything from farming to hunting to living well

Farm Wade’s land; others live on Mount Kushamakari

Wanadi III tells about the end days and the next coming

WANADI III & WANADI IV?

Odosha will die, evil will disappear

Sun, moon, stars fall from sky

Darkness will disappear

New Earth will take over, joined with Sky

People will see greatness of Sky Wanadi, source of light

Wanadi IV (of the New Earth) will be master of Earth

Will find Huehanna inside Mt. Waruma and open it

Happy people inside will settle on new Earth

RAGNARÖKGreat epic battle, ‘end of the world’,

reinventing the earth

WANADI III & THE 12

Wanadi III’s 12 followers will live on Mount Kushamakari forever

Guarded by mountains, rapids, anacondas, and a giant bat

Shamans will visit, seek advice, but never see the 12

Non-shamans will never even see the house where the 12 are

WANADI III’S ESCAPE

Sings, dances until dawn with headdress on; even woos Odosha

Odosha chases him to river, both singing and dancing

Wanadi III hops in canoe, Odosha in hot pursuit

Turns Odosha’s dog attackers into jaguar, grinds their bones into mosquitoes and gnats

Creates butterflies who lie to Odosha about Wanadi III’s death

Tell him to cut his stomach out

WANADI III’S ESCAPE

Butterflies become Columbians; wealthy and friendly

Wanadi III makes clear water, then heads for Sky

Odosha puts on bird wings and flies around; never finds Wanadi III

Story concludes with reminding people of what is coming