Flood Legends (5 page)

The part of the story in which we are interested, "The Fish Story of Manu," is found in book III, chapter 185. It is told to the traveling Pāņdus as they wander about the land, exiled, in the years before the battle. The story is related to the other Pāņdus by Mārkaņdeya, a member of their company.

In the original Sanskrit, the poem makes up roughly seven volumes. In English, that length nearly triples to 19 volumes.
¹
The work is sprawling. It varies in vocabulary, grammar, style, and meter. It has been called a "literary monstrosity,"
²
and is an intellectual thicket of history and philosophy. Because of its sheer size and scope, we can hardly help but wonder how such an immense work came into being.

The origin of the
Mahābhārata
has been a point of debate for the last 200 years, when the work was first translated into English. The Sanskrit grammarian Pāņini offered an etymological description of the title sometime around 400 B.C. Most Sanskrit literature references the work and even quotes it, indicating just how influential the epic poem has been. There is, however, one exception to the rule: the Vedic literature.

The
Vedas
are a collection of religious hymns composed over a large period of time (the
Rig Veda
, mentioned above, is one of these). No one is precisely sure when they were begun, but we do know that they were finally completed sometime between 1800 B.C. and 1400 B.C. Because of their religious nature, they should surely have been influenced by the
Mahābhārata
. However, they are not. In fact, they do not reference the poem at all, leading most people to believe that the
Mahābhārata
was not in existence at that point. This is a reasonable idea. Because the work is referenced by 400 B.C., though not referenced in 1400 B.C., we can safely assume it was written sometime within that window. Any actual
date
given within that window is, at this point, merely conjecture.

Who wrote the
Mahābhārata
? Tradition claims that one man, a sage named Vyāsa, composed the epic poem single-handedly. However, outside of this basic tradition, there is no way to confirm the "historicity" of this "mythological figure."
³
In other words, history cannot, so far, even confirm the
existence
of Vyāsa, let alone that he composed one of Hinduism's greatest works. If we add to it the sheer size and scope of the epic poem, we find it even more difficult to believe that one man composed the
Mahābhārata
. It seems far more likely that the work was composed over several centuries, based on oral tradition and previously existing documents. Interestingly, the name "Vyāsa" actually
means
"arranger" and "distributor," and so may not even be intended to refer to an actual
author
but is merely used as an indication that the poem was compiled (or "arranged") from many sources. However, dismissing the idea of a single author outright
is
rather unfair. Besides, regardless of how it came about, the
Mahābhārata
is an impressive work.

This version of the Flood has been translated by the author. I selected the Sanskrit version for two reasons. First, I wanted a version that I could, personally, translate. From a purely linguistic standpoint, I wanted to see with my own eyes that at least
one
version did claim the Flood to be global. Many arguments
against
the Deluge follow the lines that we are misinterpreting the literature, and I wanted to lay
that
argument to rest in my own mind. Secondly, I selected this version because it is
not
well-known in this country. Few people in America are even familiar with Sanskrit literature at all, let alone a Sanskrit myth buried within a much larger work, as is the case with the Fish Story and the
Mahābhārata
. Since I am a firm believer in learning to understand other cultures — even if we, ultimately, disagree with these other cultures — introducing a little-known piece of literature just seems like the right thing to do.

The Torah: Genesis

The Jewish Bible was written over a thousand-year span, from around 1400 B.C. to 400 B.C. In scope, it deals with the personal relationship of God with His people, the Hebrews (or Israelites). This basic theology is in sharp contrast with the polytheistic view of the
Mahābhārata
. In the Hindu literature, the many gods only become involved in human affairs when it is of greatest profit to them, whereas the Hebrew God shows a continued and vested interest in the well-being of the people of earth. The general theme of the Jewish Bible is, more or less, as follows:

1. God creates people.
   
2. People rebel against God.
   
3. God punishes those people.
   
4. God promises to provide a way out of that punishment (both now and in the afterlife) by sending a chosen being, a person known in Hebrew as
   Messiah
   , to rescue the people of earth from the punishment of their sins.
   

The Bible is known to have numerous authors, and because some of the books do not have a clear authorship, finding a precise number of contributors has been a difficult task over the years. Tradition says that the first five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) were written by Moses around 1400 B.C., during the 40-year span in the desert immediately following the Exodus from Egypt. The Books of Moses — as they are often called — make up the portion of the Jewish Bible known as the
Torah
, or "The Law." It is generally believed that Moses penned the books based solely on existing oral traditions; however, many argue that Moses merely compiled already existing manuscripts when he wrote the Book of Genesis. Over the years, some have even gone so far as to suggest that, by the time of the Exodus, Genesis was, more or less, already complete, and Moses merely "polished" the manuscript. It should be noted that though none of these scenarios can be either confirmed or disputed, the New Testament always refers to Moses as the writer (John 5:46; 2 Cor. 3:15).

The Book of Genesis deals with
origins
. It begins with the origin of mankind through his creation by the supreme God. From there, it tells of the origin of suffering and selfishness, and the corruption of humanity that ensues. It tells of other origins, such as language, music, and metallurgy. Eventually — some would say ultimately — it tells of the origin of the Hebrews and the nation that would become Israel.

The point of interest for us, the Flood of Noah, is found in chapters 6–9 of Genesis, the first book of the
Torah
. At this point, it is said that man has been on the earth for some 1,700 years, and his sin is so great that "every plan devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time." Because of this consistent evil, God decides to destroy the earth, saving, of course, Noah, his three sons, and all four of the men's wives.

This version is taken from the
Tanakh
, the rabbinical version of the Torah translated by the Jewish Publication Society. I selected the story of Noah because it is the version with which most people are familiar, but it is also the most misunderstood version. For example, most people do not realize that the boat in this version is larger than 500 railway stock cars combined.
⁴
Many also forget that, in some cases, Noah was asked to bring, not 2 of each animal, but
14
.
⁵
Most of us probably remember that Noah brought the animals on "two by two." However, what many of us who grew up with the story have forgotten is that several of those animals came on "two by two, by two, by two, by two, by…." All of this is to say, in short, that despite its familiarity, most people do not know the details of the Hebrew version. I wanted to provide a study of it in order to clear up many of the misconceptions regarding it.

The Kariña Peoples

The Kariña people, also known as the Carib Indians, were indigenous to eastern Venezuela and were among the first people the Spanish settlers met upon arriving on the South American continent. At that time, they were fisherman, farmers, and sailors …but they were also warriors. They were fierce fighters, often eating their prisoners, and succeeded in all but wiping out the Arawaks, a neighboring tribe. In fact, it's believed that the term "cannibal" originated out of a corruption of their name.

According to their own traditions, the Kariña were created from the bones of an enormous snake (or in some versions, a dragon). Historically and anthropologically, it is believed that the Kariña moved southward from the northern coast of South America, passing through the region of the Lesser Antilles. Eventually they settled in the valley between the Orinoco River and the eastern shore of Venezuela.

The Kariña believe in four distinct deities. The first, Ioroska, is the god of earth. He rules over ignorance, darkness, and death. It is Ioroska who, at the request of the village shamans, cures illnesses. Akodumo, the water-god, rules with his serpent spirits and controls all aquatic life. Akodumo is the Kariña version of Neptune.

The Kariña believe that the mountains are the connection between earth and heaven, and it is the mountain-god, Mawari, who rules over this axis with his vulture spirits. The last — and supreme — god is Kaputano, the sky god. After ascending to the sky, Kaputano took the form of Orion, where he now reigns as the highest-ranking omnipotent being. In their version of the Flood, it is Kaputano who warns the Kariña about the coming Deluge.

By the time of the Spanish settlement, the story of the Flood was already an established myth for them, and was first recorded in Fray Cesáreo de Armellada's work,
Indigenous Venezuelan Literatures
.
⁶
As with most of their stories, the legend was told in a strictly oral fashion, and was merely one of numerous other stories told around campfires at night. Today, the Kariña, who number around 11,000 people, still hold many of their ancient beliefs, including the story of the Flood.

The Kariña version is based on the book
The Great Canoe
, by Maria Elena Maggi. I have taken a few liberties in retelling it, but the core of the story, and certainly most of the details, remain the same. Maggi's version, published by Douglas & McIntyre, can be found in most bookstores. This particular version of the myth appealed to me because it is so far removed, geographically, from the other two versions, and I felt it would be interesting to look at a version of the story that would be clearly uninfluenced by other similar tales. And, as I mentioned before, it's always a good idea to introduce ourselves to a culture with which we may not be familiar. If any culture fits that bill in North America, it's the Kariña culture.

At this point, it is suggested that you turn to appendix A. There you will find the full versions of all three primary sources. Read them, get a minimal working knowledge of their details, and
then
continue on. You may wish to read the different versions in appendix B, as well, though we will tend to cover the necessary information as needed. You may or may not also wish to flip back and forth between the text and the stories as you continue on in the book; that is entirely up to you. However, I
strongly
recommend being at least somewhat familiar with the three primary versions before going any further.

Endnotes

Chapter 5

The Flood: Traits of the Hero

Exceeding the brilliance of his own father and grandfather with vigor, splendor, fortune, and, above all, piety, Manu the king, standing in the garden of penance on one foot with his extensive arms raised, performed completely and passionately the greatest of all pious rituals, the tapas. So with his head hung down and his eyes unblinking, he performed this frightful penance for a thousand years, bearing wet clothes and matted hair.

—
Mahābhārata
, book III, chapter185, verses 3–6

The heroes in these stories all embody a rather intriguing mixture of human fallibility and divine perfection. We do not see the main characters revered as gods at any point in the stories. At the same time, we
do
see them presented with a "better-than-the-average-human" air. So which is it? Was the historical hero of the Flood a human or a demigod? Let's explore those questions in this chapter.

Genesis

Genesis dwells on the character of Noah for only a short while. In most translations, Noah is described in under 15 words. However, despite its brevity, the description is quite profound: "Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God."

Righteous …blameless….
These are Hebrew terms that mean "holy," or "perfect."

Picturing a model of perfection is quite difficult, as we have no real frame of reference. After all, we certainly do not see perfect people walking around today! Indeed, the Jewish — and Christian — Bible indicates that there is no such thing as a blameless person.
¹
The
Torah
's consistent theme, in fact, is that God alone is righteous. As if to emphasize this point, even in the Genesis version we later see Noah drunk and naked in his tent sometime after the Flood.
²
This is hardly "righteous" or "blameless" behavior. Since God is omniscient, would He not have known of Noah's indiscretion when He called Noah "blameless"? Could He, then, truly consider Noah blameless? If Noah wanders from righteousness — another word for
blamelessness
— then he cannot rightfully be
called
"blameless."