G13. Humans ate rotten wood. .19. (.25.) .43.44. (.45.) .57.61.62.64.70.

Before the advent of cultivated plants, humans ate rotten or soft (Ceiba L., balsa Ochroma (Bombax) Sw.) wood; some people feed on rotten wood.

Lepers, (Manuvu), Chilkotin, Thompson, Ojibwa, (Iroquois), Yanomami, Aguaruna, Shuar, Sekoya, Uitoto, Shipaya, Urubu, Kayapo, Apinaye, Krajo, Ramkokamekra, Suya, Shawante

Melanesia. Lepers (or Pentecost) [some say that in the world of the dead, spirits don't eat anything; others say they eat nothing, some that they eat excess and rotten erythrina wood "]: Codrington 1891:288.

(Wed. Taiwan - Philippines. Manuva [when the sky was still close to the ground, people ate bark, cooked in the sun, made bamboo vessels; god Tumanod taught how to make ceramic vessels; the sky rose, food in the sun remained half-baked; then god Pamuligang taught how to get fire by friction and carving]: Eugenio 1994, No. 192:325-326).

The coast is the Plateau. Chilcotin [three young men hunt with two dogs; give their blind grandmother a rotten tree disguised as caribou liver; she witches, they can no longer descend from heaven; the elder tells them to cover themselves with blankets, don't look; they start to descend, but the youngest peeks, they turn into three stars (probably Orion's Belt); dogs and elk are also visible among the stars; the Morning Star is their grandmother holding in torch in his hands]: Farrand 1900, No. 15:31; Thompson [at the beginning of time, Coyote makes a son out of clay; he bathes, dissolves in water; from resin he melts in the sun; from white stone he lives, his name Nlixentem; Loon and Duck give him daughters as wives, one dark skinned, the other light; Coyote turns his excrement into eagle chicks, asks his son to climb a tree for them, tells the tree to rise tall, dressed and dressed as a son, he comes to his wives, takes a bright one, drives away a dark-skinned woman; N. walks along the heavenly plain, pulls out large edible rhizomes, the wind blows out of the holes, these rhizomes are stars; goes into an empty dugout, takes the basket, the baskets attack him; he puts the basket back, tells the baskets to become people's servants; the same episode in the dugout of mats; awls; combs; birch bark vessels; N. comes to two blind old women; they eat rotten wood, pass food to each other, N. intercepts it, old women quarrel, accusing each other; they feel the man, say he smells bad; N. turns them into two types of hazel grouses; comes to the spider spouses, they call themselves his grandfather and grandmother, they lower them to the ground in a basket; then see motif H20, "fish released"]: Teit 1898, No. 2:21-29.

The Midwest. Ojibwa [the deceased boy is walking along a dusty road, unable to catch up with the dead baby, who is struggling to carry the board to which he was tied on his back; the young man approaches the stormy river, through it a trembling log is laid; dogs guard this bridge on both sides; a vine with wild cucumbers hangs over the bridge; if you touch it, the fruits rattle, the dogs rush at the passer; the young man passes, not touching the fruit without waking up the dogs; he comes to the village of the dead, enters the teepee at a distance; the owner of the dead says that the young man has come here in the flesh, it is not time for him to die yet, let him return; explains that dogs push those who treated dogs badly during their lifetime; the dead are seen only at night; the young man sees his grandmother, she eats a rotten tree, offers him, he refuses; at night the dead they dance, some do not have a head, arm, leg, some upside down; those who lost arms, legs, etc. in the war remain so; on the way back, the young man does not meet the river; tries to talk to people he meets, she cannot grab them; he sees the fire, rushes at it, wakes up; tells his mother that the deceased grandmother explained to him that the northern lights are dancing the dead]: Jones 1919, No. 1:3-23.

(Wed. Northeast. Seneca [after the flood, people eat bark; Corn lives in the south, sends her daughter to people; she marries, fills the bins with grain, satisfies many people's hunger with only fish; her husband's brother refuses her bread, throws it into the fire; she returns to her mother, the corn disappears; the husband comes for her; she gives him corn seeds, beans, pumpkins; he brings them to people; his evil brother died from Hunger]: Curtin, Hewitt 1918, No. 121:636-642).

Southern Venezuela. Yanomami: Wilbert, Simoneau 1990b, No. 192 [(Cocco 1972:469-474); Jaguar Ira ate Poapoama, gave the baby from the womb to his grandmother Mamokori-yoma, who raised Omawë; his older brother was Yoawë; while fishing, he sees two girls in the river; the next day O. saw one girl, grabbed it, brought it home; she is the daughter of the water monster Rahara-riwë (looks like a cassava push-up bag); O. led He told her to pull out the root to the site, prepare a cassava; his wife did not eat, said that the real cassava was not like that; gave birth to a beautiful girl; asked Yarimi-riwë to marry her; her vagina his penis bit him, there was a fish; he turned into a monkey; O.'s wife took him and E. to her father, to the site, showed a real cassava; at this time her father sent a huge wave at them; O. and Ë ;. turned into crickets, hid under the roof of a house where air remained; both his wife O. and his wife returned home; decided to take revenge on R.; agreed in the Sun to dry the pond; for the first time, the dry season had come ; O. plunged his spear into the ground, the water poured out, everyone got drunk; some of the water rose to the sky, now pours out in the form of rain; the shamans threw the old woman into the water, the flood was over; O. ate dead fish, where he threw his bones, Rivers appeared; O. stole the daughter of a morokoto fish; then left with his family, his descendants were Europeans], 193 [(Lizot MS); Omawë and his older brother Yoawë, turning into various birds, caught the daughter of a waterman Rahararitawë monsters (first he saw her, couldn't catch her); at home, their son-in-law wanted to have sex with her first; she has fish in her vagina, his penis is bitten off, he became a monkey, and the bite mark is still visible; the brothers extracted the fish, had sex; wanted her to rub the roots of the seiba; she said that her father had the real cassava; they came to him, he brought them cassava himself, flooded everything, they escaped by becoming crickets; after planting cassava, they made the sun dry all the water; aquatic creatures are dying, thirsty], 194 [(Finkers 1986:30-32); starting as in (193); a woman calls Ë., when he tries to lure her in the guise of different birds; wants to catch O., who has become a beautiful bird; he becomes human, grabs her and takes her away; O.'s son-in-law wanted to be the first to have sex, is bitten by a fish, ran away (apparently became a monkey); the brothers took out the fish, had sex; the woman says that Seiba is not cassava, she went to her father for the real; he came with her, the wave covered everything, the brothers escaped as crickets; O. ordered Dry all the water with the sun; this is how the brothers found cassava]: 377-384, 385-388, 389-391.

Western Amazon. Aguaruna: Akutz Nugkai et al. 1977 (2) [balsa trees grew in gardens before cassava appeared]: 93; Guallart 1958 [before cultivated plants, people ate balsa bark]: 88; shuar [two sisters Ipiák (uruku) and Suá (genipa) got married, did not make cassava, but balsa wood, the husband turned one into a bird and the other into a toad; they became girls again, married Squirrel; he moved everything into the house, left his sisters outside; then after Pavo, he drove them away too; then for Nayap (Tyrannus forficatus, scissortail fly); he was ugly but a good fisherman; he said that on the path to him there will be parrot feathers, and on the path to his brother Tsuna, the feathers of another bird; C. changed their feathers; the sisters lay down with C., felt the stench, came to N.; only a few days later the smell of C. disappeared; N. gives little ones fish for wives, and big ones for mothers; wives bathe mother-in-law, she melted in hot water; they began to think what to turn into, S. became a big genipa tree, I. became an Uruku bush]: Rueda 1987, No. 22:118-120; sekoya [the dead eat big tree wood instead of cassava, probably Cipolletti]: Cipolletti 1992:164.

NW Amazon. Uitoto [Hitiruni girl ("black") rejected all suitors, including the Sun; Sikire ("bamboo") Buneima (aquatic mythical creatures) imperceptibly fertilizes her when she sits on the trough; is in the form of a young man, leads under water, sends them back; she gives birth to a boy who turns into a huge tree; all cultivated plants and roots are edible on its branches; the woman bakes them under her arms and under her knees, brings parents; people stop eating crushed stones, white clay and rotten wood, go to cut wood; Nofuyeni (one of the first ancestors) takes a toad ax, but the liver comes out from the blows from her mouth; gets a red parrot axe from her ancestor, knocks down a tree; throws chips into the water, they turn into fish; carves a woman out of one sliver, marries Hitoma (to the Sun); turns into a cat, flies to heaven]: Preuss 1921, No. 2:170-188.

Eastern Amazon. Spiking [there were no cultivated plants, people ate rotten wood; hunters see a snake in the forest; touch it, showing where each piece sticks; the snake crawls with them into the river, people they eat piranhas; those who remain in the village find a snake in the forest, burn them; cassava, corn, sweet potatoes, etc. grow from the ashes.]: Nimuendaju 1920:1033-1034; urubu [the first people eat rotten wood, spew digested food through the mouth, women do not have a vagina; Anavira (originated from a walnut tree of the same name) pierces anuses and vaginas with a sharp stick; the penises were small, A. enlarged them; did not order copulate in public; showed how to clear a plot and plant cassava]: Huxley 1956:171

Eastern Brazil. Kayapo: Wilbert 1978, No. 76 [Metraux 1960:17-18; thunder Bepkororoti married Dozhd, they had a daughter Na-Kra ("rain" means "child"); her mother quarreled with her, beat her, and she went down to the land, the young man Ngodyure hid it in calebass, took it home; took it out at night to sleep with it; his mother-in-law opened the calebass, shaved her daughter-in-law's head, painted it with genipa and uruku; NC gave birth to a boy, who is forever hungry; people ate rotten wood and fruit; NK climbed a palm tree into the sky, brought sweet potatoes and bananas from the sky; her father told her son-in-law that NK would stay with him if he did not beat her; husband and wife planted cultivated plants], 77 [Banner 1957:40-41; there was no fruit, no fire, people ate rotten wood, lizards; rain rain came down from the sky, the young man saw her, she said her parents hurt her; the young man hid wife in a closed basket; her mother found, shaved the top of her head, painted her genipa and uruku, she was named Nhokpôkti; she ordered to clear the plot, brought bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes, yams from the sky; when her son grew up, returned to heaven forever], 127 [Metraux 1960:14-16; there was no corn, people ate wild fruits, avocados, wood and lizards; there was no fire, they dried meat in the sun; when they found out that the wife had a lover, a husband decided not to fight with him, but took his wife to two mountains; cleared the plot, planted corn, cassava, yams, bananas; turned into a snake with a man's head; hunted brought tapir, bakers, battleship; a lover came, his wife hid it under the roof; when he returned to the village, he told him what he saw; he also came to see it, but answered the serpent's question, who was there, the serpent ate it; the men killed the snake with arrows, burned down the house, took it cultivated plants; the snake's wife gave birth to snakes twice; people born in the village were killed, those born in the forest crept away; the mother told them to bite people because they killed their father]: 217-218, 219-220, 314-316; apinaye : Wilbert 1978, No. 74 [the young man's wife died; he cried as he looked at the sky; the star disappeared and was next to him on the plaza; after the fifth night, the young man agreed to marry her; hides his wife in calabass, sister finds, he announces his new marriage; people ate rotten wood, leaves, game and coconuts; the star ordered to prepare the site, brought yams, bananas, sweet potatoes, corn, rice, beans, peanuts, etc. from the sky. taught me how to cook all this, as well as how to weave mats and baskets; when she found her husband with an earthly girl, she returned to heaven; if this hadn't happened, the Star would have brought other valuables from heaven], 75 [the young man's wife died ; he looks at the sky, dreams of a star coming down to him; a frog jumps towards him, he throws it off, falls asleep; when he wakes up, a girl is next to him, she was a star and a frog; the next night brought yams and yams, people ate rotten wood at that time; he hides it in calebas; his younger brother finds her, she is ashamed; after that, the young man lives openly with her; she goes with her husband's mother, jumps to her three times on the shoulder in the form of an opossum; explains that he wants to point to the tree on which all varieties of corn grow so that people no longer feed on rotten wood; men cut down the tree when they moved away, cutting down thickets; boys were sent for the best axes, on the way they killed and ate the possum, turned into old people; the shaman poured water on them and restored their youth; people cut down a tree, the Star showed how to grow corn; after her husband's death, she returned to heaven]: 212-214, 215-216; crash: Wilbert 1978, No. 57 [Schultz 1950:72-74; fire only at Pud and Pudleré (Sun and Month), they rose to heaven; people they bake meat in the sun, eat puba wood; the husband of a ten-year-old boy's sister told him to climb a rock to get a mako parrot from the nest; removed the stairs and left; the boy suffers from dirt in the nest; Jaguar sees his shadow, tells him to jump, catches him, brings him to him, washes, gives him food cooked on fire; his pregnant wife frightens the boy; the Jaguar gives him a bow, tells him to shoot if his wife threatens again; boy shoots her paws, runs home; people take fire from Jaguar], 70 [Schultz 1950:75-79; people had fire and meat but no cassava, they ate rotten wood with meat; female star Katxeré decided to go down to a lonely young man, give people food; she turned into a frog, the young man threw it away, she appeared as a girl, told her to be hidden in a calebass in the morning; in calabass she was a frog, opened it a girl; the young man's sister opened it, after which he did not hide his wife; she showed a tree by the water, where all varieties of corn and cobs fell into the water; people were afraid to eat, K. taught; others saw a piece of cake in a boy, a tree was cut down; K. showed wild edible fruits; while her husband was hunting, another man raped K.; she made a drink from bark, brought it to the square, everyone drank and died; K. returned to sky, cultivated plants left], 71 [Schultz 1950:80-83; boys aged 15-16 spend the night on the plaza; only one without a wife; a Star Girl was with him; she became young in the morning, he hid her in a calebass; A five-year-old sister opened it, after which the young man stopped hiding his wife; people ate rotten wood and termite nests; they planted corn but did not know that it was edible; the star collected the cobs and made cakes; brought cassava, watermelons, rice, sweet potatoes, yams, peanuts from the sky, planted everything; gave birth to a son; taught me how to harvest and cook], 72 [Schultz 1950:85-86; one young man is single, slept on the plaza; wiped off a frog, she became a girl, was a star descending from the sky; in the morning he hides his wife in a calebass; his little sister opened her, the young man announced that he was married; his wife told her to take her to swim in the river; there she saw a tree, who grew corn; told him to cut him down, collect the cobs, sow him; at night she brought yams, bananas, cassava and peanuts from the sky; taught him how to plant; while her husband was away, five young men raped her; she spat in their mouths they died; returned to heaven to their parents]: 160-163, 194-200, 201-205, 206-208; frame camera [there were no edible plants, rotten wood was eating meat; ugly young man Túkti looked at the star , a frog jumped to him, he wiped it off, she came back, turned into a girl; in the afternoon he hid his wife in a calebass, his younger brother opened it, his lovers stopped hiding; his wife asked to bring her to the water, she showed corn by the river, people did not know that it was possible to eat it, she baked cakes; they decided to clear the plot, the boy was sent for an ax, he saw the old man baking an opossum, tried it, and became old man; the star would have told other secrets, but T. insisted on copulation; she went to the square and sang, then went to heaven with her husband]: Wilbert 1978, No. 73:209-211; xavante [woman heard voices in the forest, saw corn cobs and parrot droppings under the tree; corn grew on the branches of the tree, the higher, the more cobs; the woman climbed, threw her cobs down, put large baskets on the bottom , small from above, showed only her father at home; people used to eat rotten wood, cassava; people saw a woman's children eating cakes; her father told others; cassava also grew up in the forest at that time; woman brought the men to the tree, they collected the cobs, brought them to the village, the parrots were left without food]: Wilbert, Simoneau 1984a, No. 45:137-145; hut: Frikel 1990 [people eat rotten wood; woman bathes in child river; The rat turns into a man, pulls corn, cassava and other cultivated plants out of the water, gives the woman (the origin of agriculture)]: 41-42; Wilbert, Simoneau 1984a, No. 37 (baiso de Pau) [husband the boy's sisters called him to get the mako chicks; he climbed the tree on the side pole; when asked what the feathers were, he replies that it was like the pubic hair of his uncle's wife; he threw away the pole and left; Jaguar asked for the chicks, the boy threw them off; the Jaguar brought him home, where there was fire; the boy returned to the village; the animal people went to get the fire; while the Jaguar and Jaguariha were sleeping, their eyes were waxed; carried a smoldering log; Nanda handed the Deer, the Frog, she dropped it into the water, the fire went out; but Toukan, Kirikiri, Socresta and Kurass, who now have red feathers on their throats, swallowed the coals, then spewed ; Tapir carried a log; everyone in the village got their share; they no longer ate rotten wood, they began to cook meat, fish, cassava]: 108-110.