Chugúpẽredatei Chise Siqueré Diringai
What Big Bird discovered in the rainy season:
They say it was ‘Big Bird’ who found the rainy season long ago in the beginning of things. But with the rainy season ‘Big Bird’ discovered a new sprout of squash. And it also discovered sprouts of watermelons, sprouts of gourds, sprouts of corn, and sprouts of beans and then it was that Big Bird started clearing the land in order to plant these sprouts.
Then it was that he went to his field. And they claim that these things originated with Big Bird when he planted them in his field.
And so it was that the men of old saw these things and knew that it is the rainy season in which seed things come up. Our forefathers then told these stories about what happened in the rainy season so that the things they planted wouldn’t just stay in the ground, but would come up.
Things pertaining to spring come about because of rainy season, and because of the rainy season planting is not in vain.
Oidabiade – Campo Loro, Paraguay – 1988.
Transcribed and translated to English by: Maxine Morarie.
