The Flood According to the Orinoco

Sigu was the son of Makunaima.  Sigu was in charge of all of the animals and the birds that were on earth after Makunaima created them.  This is true.  Now the Agouti knew of a secret tree that was created by Makunaima, and this tree was the first tree created, and so it grew all of the plants and food that we have today.  The tree was a secret because it was special, and so not even Sigu knew of it.  But the Agouti knew of it, and one day he was followed by Rat.  Once Rat saw the tree, he told everyone, even Sigu.  So Sigu decided to cut the tree down, and then take all of the branches from the tree and plant them in the ground, so that each branch would grow its own food, and there would be food everywhere.

Sigu asked Iwarrika the monkey to help, and sent him to bring water from the stream.  While Iwarriak was gone, Sigu cut down the tree, leaving the stump.  The stump was hollow, you see, and so it was filled with water, and in the water were all kinds of fish.  There were big fish and little fish, and they all swam around and around in the tree stump.  But the water, which was kept inside by the tree, was now overflowing, and the land was going to be flooded.  So Sigu took a basket and covered the stump to keep the water in, and then he left so he could begin to plant the tree branches.  While he was gone, Iwarrika came back, swa the basket, and believed that there was fruit under it.  He lifted the basket, but instead of fruit, there was water!  Let me tell you, there was water!  It flooded everything!  It covered the ground, and the trees, and would have killed all of the animals if Sigu had not acted quickly.

Here is what he did:  he took all of the birds and climbing animals, and put them in the tallest trees.  Then he took the other animals and put them in a cave.  He sealed the cave with wax, and told them that he would come get them when the water was gone.  Meanwhile, he sat in the tree with the birds, and waited for the water to go away.  It was very dark, and the storms were fierce, but eventually the water went away.  Sigu knew this because he dropped a seed, and he heard it hit the ground instead of splashing in the water.

When the sky grew light again, Sigu and the animals climbed down from the tree.  Then Sigu let out the animals that were in the cave.  So this is how it happened that the world was flooded.  This is also how it happened that monkeys are afraid of water.

-From the Orinoco Peoples of Middle America