Topic Research: Venezuelan Indigenous Legends

In my topic brainstorm post, I mentioned that I was interested in doing a project based on Venezuelan legends, and this was the topic that I decided to research more about. I originally mentioned El Silbón and La Sayona as possible stories, however, as I researched more about Venezuelan folklore I realized that I was more interested in learning about new stories that I had not previously heard of. I, therefore, decided to focus on indigenous mythologies and folklore. I chose three stories coming from three different Venezuelan indigenous tribes, the Warao, the Timoto-Cuicas, and the Pemón. 

Pemón Legend: The Legend of the Makunaima

Personal picture of me and my brother with a Pemon shaman

The Pemón people of Venezuela believe they are the direct descendants of the Makunaima, the sons and daughters of the sun god, Wei. The myth says that Wei was the first Pemón, and one day he went to bathe himself in a stream where he found a woman, name Tuenkaróm. Wei grabbed her by her hair and she cried "Not me, not me! I will send you a woman to be your companion!" and so Wei let her go. She first sent her a pale white woman, Wei asked her to go get water but the woman dissolved into a pile of clay when she got wet. Wei complained to Tuenkarón who then sent her a dark black woman, she did not dissolve with water but when Wei asked her to light a fire she melted because she was made of wax. The next day Tuenkaroón sent another woman but Wei refused to talk to her as he was disappointed by the previous ones; finally, the woman convinced Wei to see her. He tested her fiercely and she passed all his tests thus quickly falling for her. The woman then went back to Tuenkarón to let her know she would be sleeping with Wei, and from then on they have lived together and raised their children, the Makunaimas. In addition to this story, there are two other legends about the Makunaima which explain the origin of all fruit and life, and the story of a great flood that created the Mount Roraima.

Timoto-Cuica Legend: Caribay and the Five White Eagles

Venezuelan Andes by Hendrick Sanchez

This legend explains the origin of the five mountain peaks of the Andean mountain range in Venezuela. The story begins with Caribay, the beautiful daughter of the Timoto-Cuicas chief, who loved to adorn herself with necklaces and feathers. One day she saw five massive white condors and immediately wished to adorn herself with her feathers; she chased them for hours hoping that they would tire from flying until she found herself on the peak of a mountain. She felt she was on the presence of Ches, the supreme being of her tribe, and as the sun (Zuhe) began to fall she felt cold and afraid. She screamed to Zuhe to help but her voice was lost in the wind, she then cried for Chia, the moon, who did listen and light up the mountains for her. The white condors then began flying towards the earth, clawing themselves on the mountains and freezing in place. The girl ran towards them to grab their feathers, but they had turned to stone and snow; Caribay cried, waking the condors who shook their feathers covering the mountains in snow. Caribay's spirit was lost that night, becoming the spirit of the Andes, and the eagles remained frozen becoming the five peaks of the Venezuelan Andes. Nowadays, when Caribay cries with the howl of a storm, the eagles shake their feathers covering the mountains once again with snow. 

Warao Legend: The Owner of the Sun

At the beginning of time, the sun and the moon did not shine over the world and mankind could only see using fire. A Warao man that lived near the Orinoco river discovered where Ya (the sun) was hidden, so he sent his older daughter to find it. The girl arrived to the owner of the sun's house and requested Ya, but he pretended not to hear her and laughed at her, but finding her pretty forced her to become his wife. The girl returned to her father who decided to send his second daughter. The girl went to the owner of the sun who also ignored her request and told her to leave, but the girl stood up to him and said "How dare you speak to me like that? Are you not going to release the Sun?" The man was surprised by her words, so she took this time to inspect where Ya was hidden; she noticed a large woven basket tied to the wooden posts. The man noticed her looking at the back and warned her not to touch it, thus the Warao girl knew that was where Ya was hiding. She ripped the bag open and threw at the sky where Ya became tied to the east and the woven basket flew to the West, becoming the moon. The Warao girl returned happily to her father, but the light soon disappeared from the sky, given that the sun moved too fast. The father thus told his daughter to gift a tortoise to the sun and tie it to him as to force the sun to move slowly.