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35th Translation Contest: "Once Upon a Myth" » English to Portuguese (BR) » Entry #39065

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Translation #39065

The Pima Indians of Arizona say that the father of all men and animals was the butterfly, Cherwit Make (earth-maker), who fluttered down from the clouds to the Blue Cliffs[…] and from his own sweat made men. As the people multiplied, they grew selfish and quarrelsome, so Cherwit Make was disgusted with his handiwork and resolved to drown them all.[…]

There was one Hauk, a devil of the mountains, who stole their daughters and slew their sons. […] He silently followed him into the Superstition Mountains; he drugged the cactus wine that his daughter was to serve to him; then, when he had drunk it, Suha emerged from his place of hiding and beat out the brains of the stupefied fiend. […]

So firmly do the Pimas rely on this prophecy that they will not cross the Superstition Mountains, for there sits Cherwit Make — awaiting the culmination of their wickedness to let loose on the earth a mighty sea that lies dammed behind the range.
Contam os pimas, povo indígena do Arizona, que o pai de todos os homens e animais era a borboleta Cherwit Make (“criador da terra”), que desceu das nuvens esvoaçando até os Penhascos Azuis […] e, do próprio suor, fez os homens. Quanto mais se multiplicavam, mais cresciam o egoísmo e a discórdia. Enojado com a própria obra, Cherwit Make resolveu afogá-los a todos. […]

Havia um certo Hauk, demônio das montanhas, que lhes raptava as filhas e matava os filhos. […] Seguiu-o em silêncio Montanhas da Superstição adentro e misturou um narcótico ao vinho de cacto que a filha serviria a Hauk. Depois que este bebeu, Suha saiu do esconderijo e, a pancadas, fez saltar os miolos do demônio entorpecido. […]

Tamanha é a fé dos pimas nessa profecia que se recusam a atravessar as Montanhas da Superstição, pois ali está sentado Cherwit Make — à espera de que a maldade deles chegue ao auge para soltar sobre a terra um imenso mar represado por trás da serra.