Desana and Tukano flood traditions of the Vaupés

Record summary

Ethnographies of Desana and related Tukanoan peoples record origin narratives involving ancestral journeys, transformations, rivers, and destructive or purifying waters. Some versions include a flood or watery restructuring of the world before the establishment of present social and ritual order. These traditions matter because they link catastrophe to waterways, clan origins, ritual knowledge, and inter-community relations rather than isolating it as a universal disaster. Exact story identities and wording vary by narrator and people, so the relevant ethnographic publication must be identified before comparison.