Dibe Chuchẽ́re Oyídode Gai
They hid all the fish long ago:
Fox, it’s said, let the fish go free. Truly there were many fish in the world, but they had all been hidden before Fox let them out. There was a mountain with much water inside and someone had shut it up so the water couldn’t get out, but Fox opened it up and when the water poured out upon the earth, all the fish came out with it. No one knows who shut it in. According to the men who lived long ago, the fox were wise and could reveal the things they discovered.
The other animals tried to kill Fox:
When the other animals tried to kill Fox, it ran from them. They looked for dear Fox at the top of a large bottle tree. When they found Fox, they threw him down into the jungle below. They threw him far from the tree. They wanted to punish Fox and that is why they threw him down, but later, they brought dear Fox back to life again.
This is how they brought Fox back to life:
One of them spit on the ground, and his spit was like ropes. He cleared his throat in order to spit, and it sounded like this: ¡quẽ́eeera! And when he did this, Fox rose from the ground alive again. I don’t remember, but I think it was Lizard who brought Fox back to life. Yes, I’m sure of it, it was Lizard. He brought Fox back to life with his saliva. Those who have this kind of power forbid their saliva to others to prevent others from doing what they can do.
In many ways the men of old were crafty, deceitful, and abusive. Their wiles were clever.
Manuelne – Tobité, Bolivia – 1965.
Transcribed by: Joyce Davis Buchegger.
Translated to English by: Maxine Morarie.
