Totonac

(map)

This story shows an example of how myths can combine. It begins with a version of the ark story and continues with an indigenous myth.

Before the deluge, God told a man to make an ark. To see if the earth was dry when the waters had subsided, the man sent forth a dove, which came back. Later, he sent it out again; it returned with muddy feet, and the man left the ark.

The man happened upon a house and decided to live there. Ants brought him corn. Every day when he returned to the house, he found food prepared for him. He watched his dog and one day found her, skinless, preparing corn. He threw her skin in the fire, and she began to weep. The couple lived together and had a baby. One day, the man told his wife to make tamales out of the "tender one," and the wife, misunderstanding, cooked their child. When the man found out, he scolded his wife and ate the tamales anyway.

Horcasitas, 1953, 205-206.