“After man was created near the Verde and Salt Rivers by the Great Butterfly, the Earth Maker became mad at man’s behavior and decided he might drown them. He decided to warn them through voices in the wind and called out to Suha, a Pima Shaman. The North Wind came to him first, telling the people to change their ways or else they would be destroyed by floods. He warned his people but they didn’t change their ways. The East Wind came next with its warning but Suha was unable to change his people. The North and South Winds later came, but with no avail. The South Wind then warned Suha and his wife to gather spruce gum and stock it with nuts, water, and deer meat to nourish them when the food would come, for he and his wife were obedient to the warnings. A flood later came, destroying the valley due to the people’s selfishness. He and his wife crawled into their gum ball and closed the door tightly, waiting for the floods to subside. Finally, the rains subsided and they landed upon Superstition mountain and descended onto the valley where they created a new people that prospered there for thousands of years.”

            When I visited my family in Arizona over spring break, my aunt told me this story after taking a hike through the Superstition Mountains. She has always been fascinated by Native American legends and myths, especially those of the Navajo, Anazazi, Pima, and Hopi for whom Arizona was called home. My aunt was born in California but moved to Arizona with my uncle in the 90’s due to his job. She had been a stay at home mom, but after my cousin grew up she decided to take a job as a librarian and read several books about Native American folklore, learning hundreds of stories about the origins of man and the creation of the earth.

I found this myth particularly interesting because its not the first time I’ve heard a version of it. It sounds almost identical to that of Noah and the Ark, though with different motifs. Water is a universal symbol for purification, so it’s no surprise that it is the medium of choice across cultures when retelling the cleansing of the earth. The Epic of Gilgamesh from Mesopotamia is also another similar story I can think of that too utilizes a great flood. It’s fascinating to see that both the New and Old World came up with almost identical stories to describe the history of earth and its people despite lacking contact until the 1500’s.