 Guarani
Mythology
Guaraní
Mythology refers to the beliefs of the Guarani people of the
south-central part of South America, especially the native
peoples of Paraguay and parts of the surrounding areas of
Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia.
Overview
There
exist no written records of the ancient myths and legends
associated with the Guarani people. The Guarani language was
not a written language until modern times, and as such the
entirety of their religious beliefs is passed down through
word of mouth only. As such accounts of the various gods and
related myths and legends can vary from one locale to the
next, and the regional differences may be so extreme as to
completely redefine the role a specific deity plays in the
Guarani belief system.
Although
a large number of the indigenous Guarani people have largely
been assimilated into modern society and their belief system
altered or replaced by Christianity (due in large part to
the work of Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century),
several of the core beliefs are still active in many rural
areas in the Guarani region. As a result, the myths and
legends continue to evolve to this day.
Guaraní
Creation Myth
The
primary figure in most Guarani creation legends is Tupa, the
supreme god of all creation. With the help of the moon
goddess Arasy, Tupa decended upon the Earth in a location
specified as a hill in the region of Aregúa, Paraguay, and
from that location created all that is found upon the face
of the earth, including the ocean, forests, and the animals.
It is also said that the stars were placed in the sky at
this point.
Tupa
then created humanity (according to most Guarani myths, the
Guarani were naturally the first race of people to be made,
with every other civilization being born from it) in an
elaborate ceremony, forming clay statues of man and woman
with a mixture of various elements from nature. After
breathing life into the human forms, he left them with the
spirits of good and evil and departed.
Early
Humanity
The
original humans created by Tupa were Rupave and Sypave,
whose names mean "Father of the people" and
"Mother of the people", respectively. The pair had
three sons and a large but unspecified number of daughters.
The first of their sons was Tumé Arandú, considered to be
the wisest of men and the great prophet of the Guarani
people. Second of their sons was Marangatú, a benevolant
and generous leader of his people, and father of Kerana, the
mother of the seven legendary monsters of Guarani myth (see
below). Their third son was Japeusá, who was from birth
considered a liar, a thief and a trickster, always doing
things backwards to confuse people and take advantage of
them. He eventually committed suicide, drowning himself in
the water, but he was resurrected as a crab, and since then
all crabs are cursed to walk backwards much as Japeusá did.
Among
the daughters of the Rupave and Supave was Porâsý, notable
for sacrificing her own life in order to rid the world of
one of the seven legendary monsters, diminishing their power
(and thus the power of evil as a whole).
Several
of the first humans were considered to have ascended upon
their deaths and become minor deities.
The
Seven Legendary Monsters
Kerana,
the beautiful daughter of Marangatú, was captured by the
personification or spirit of evil called Tau. Together the
two had seven sons who were cursed of the high goddess Arasy,
and all but one were born as hideous monsters. The seven are
considered primary figures in Guarani mythology, and while
several of the lesser gods or even the original humans are
forgotten in the verbal tradition of some areas, these seven
were generally maintained in the legends. Some of them are
even believed in down to modern times in some rural areas.
The seven sons of Tau and Kerana are, in order of their
births:
- Teju
Jagua, god or spirit of caverns and fruits
- Mboi
Tu'i, god of waterways and aquatic creatures
- Moñai,
god of the open fields. He was defeated by the sacrifice
of Porâsý
- Jasy
Jaterei, god of the siesta, only of the seven to not
appear as a monster
- Kurupi,
god of sexuality and fertility
- Ao
Ao, god of hills and mountains
- Luison,
god of death and all things related to it
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