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The Great Canoe: A Kariña Legend
A long time ago, Kaputano, dweller of the heavens, warned that a great rain was coming. He urged the Karinas to help him build a canoe and gather seeds and animals, but only four couples agreed to help. Soon, the rains covered even the tallest trees. When the waters finally receded, Kaputano created a landscape of marshes, rivers, mountains, and trees to ensure that the tribe would prosper.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 6, 2022
The back of the book talks about the lengths that María Elena Maggi and the illustrator Gloria Calderón went through to be true to the legend, including visiting leading families among the Kariña people today in Cachama, Cerro Negro, Las Pocotas, and Tascabeña. This I sincerely appreciate. Reference literature for discovering the legend first came from Fray Cesáreo de Armdellada's book, Indigienous Venezuelan Literatures and additional versions were sourced from Marc de Civrieux's religion and Kariña Magic.
December 14, 2024
This is one tribe's traditional version of the flood story. The artwork is gripping, but there are a lot of deaths of people and animals. It's not gory, but it is a mature theme.
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June 29, 2016Title: The Great Canoe: A Karina Legend
Author: Maria Elena Maggi
Illustrator: Gloria Calderon
Genre: Legend
Theme(s): Native Americans, Legend
Opening line/sentence: A very long time ago, Kaputano, the Sky Dweller, arrived in the land of the Karina people.
Brief Book Summary: This story is very similar to Noah’s Ark. Kaputano comes to the Karina people and tells them that a huge storm is coming so they need to build a canoe. Four couples believed him and made the canoe, loaded animals and plants onto the canoe, and the rain came to wash out everything but the people in the canoe.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Noah's story finds a close parallel in this folktale of the Karina, an indigenous people from eastern Venezuela and parts of the Caribbean. When Kaputano the Sky Dweller arrives in Karina land, he warns the people of devastating floods, but only four couples believe him. Together, they construct an enormous canoe and load it with representatives of each animal and plant. The floods come, destroying all but the life on the boat, and the survivors stand on barren land. In an interesting variation on the biblical story, the Karina's god allows the people to help shape their new world: "How do you want the world to be?" Children will enjoy comparing this simple, well-told story with the more familiar tale, and they'll pore over the rich cultural details in the scratchboard-style illustrations, whose muted colors and small scale lend themselves best to lap sharing. An extensive author's note concludes.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Scholars of folklore, culture and religion will find this picture book a welcome addition to "deluge" stories. Recognizable to Bible experts as a "Noah's Ark" story, this Carib Indian (actually Karina) version comes from Venezuela. Kaputano, the father of the Karina, warns his people that great rains will come and cover the earth. Only four couples believe Kaputano and set about helping him construct a great canoe. After the canoe is loaded with two of every kind of animal, seeds from all the plants, and the few people who have helped him, the rains come and flood the earth. When the water recedes, Kaputano creates a new world for his children "...rich with marshes, rivers, mountains and many trees." In the afterward, information about the Karina, the numerous historical references used and the colored, scratchboard-style illustrations authenticate this concise retelling. Although the illustrations are tasteful and represent the flora and fauna of an historic NE Venezuela, problematic for some will be the few images of bare-breasted women. Of particular interest are the snake design endpapers (Karina believed their ancestors were created from the bones of a great snake) and the author's painstaking process of revising her writing to match the illustrations.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both of these reviews, state that it parallels the Bible story of Noah’s Ark, which is clear. One review says the illustrations are problematic due to shirtless women but when looking throughout the book there are very few cases of this and when their is you it hard to determine if they are men or women.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: I like how this book has quotes. Most picture books just explain the stories without any spoken words by the characters. With this addition to the story, it makes the story better.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This story could be used to create lessons about legends told by the Native Americans. Native Americans have many legends so this book could be one of the stories that is covered and each student/group could have a story that they have to do a project on and share to the class.
Author: Maria Elena Maggi
Illustrator: Gloria Calderon
Genre: Legend
Theme(s): Native Americans, Legend
Opening line/sentence: A very long time ago, Kaputano, the Sky Dweller, arrived in the land of the Karina people.
Brief Book Summary: This story is very similar to Noah’s Ark. Kaputano comes to the Karina people and tells them that a huge storm is coming so they need to build a canoe. Four couples believed him and made the canoe, loaded animals and plants onto the canoe, and the rain came to wash out everything but the people in the canoe.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Noah's story finds a close parallel in this folktale of the Karina, an indigenous people from eastern Venezuela and parts of the Caribbean. When Kaputano the Sky Dweller arrives in Karina land, he warns the people of devastating floods, but only four couples believe him. Together, they construct an enormous canoe and load it with representatives of each animal and plant. The floods come, destroying all but the life on the boat, and the survivors stand on barren land. In an interesting variation on the biblical story, the Karina's god allows the people to help shape their new world: "How do you want the world to be?" Children will enjoy comparing this simple, well-told story with the more familiar tale, and they'll pore over the rich cultural details in the scratchboard-style illustrations, whose muted colors and small scale lend themselves best to lap sharing. An extensive author's note concludes.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Scholars of folklore, culture and religion will find this picture book a welcome addition to "deluge" stories. Recognizable to Bible experts as a "Noah's Ark" story, this Carib Indian (actually Karina) version comes from Venezuela. Kaputano, the father of the Karina, warns his people that great rains will come and cover the earth. Only four couples believe Kaputano and set about helping him construct a great canoe. After the canoe is loaded with two of every kind of animal, seeds from all the plants, and the few people who have helped him, the rains come and flood the earth. When the water recedes, Kaputano creates a new world for his children "...rich with marshes, rivers, mountains and many trees." In the afterward, information about the Karina, the numerous historical references used and the colored, scratchboard-style illustrations authenticate this concise retelling. Although the illustrations are tasteful and represent the flora and fauna of an historic NE Venezuela, problematic for some will be the few images of bare-breasted women. Of particular interest are the snake design endpapers (Karina believed their ancestors were created from the bones of a great snake) and the author's painstaking process of revising her writing to match the illustrations.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both of these reviews, state that it parallels the Bible story of Noah’s Ark, which is clear. One review says the illustrations are problematic due to shirtless women but when looking throughout the book there are very few cases of this and when their is you it hard to determine if they are men or women.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: I like how this book has quotes. Most picture books just explain the stories without any spoken words by the characters. With this addition to the story, it makes the story better.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This story could be used to create lessons about legends told by the Native Americans. Native Americans have many legends so this book could be one of the stories that is covered and each student/group could have a story that they have to do a project on and share to the class.
May 9, 2014
• This story fuses the legend of Noah’s Ark with historical Karina folklore. Karina people are descendants of an indigenous nation in Venezuela prior to being occupied by Spain. There are documented versions of this story in Karina records, a culture that is absent from many American textbooks. The paintings use high color contrast to focus the reader’s attention on certain images. To gain a better understanding of how to portray the Karians accurately, both Maggi and the illustrator traveled to Venezuela and spent time living in Karinan communities completely isolated form the rest of the world.
• This book is an ideal introduction to a social studies unit for 2-3 graders about indigenous nations. Elements of Karinan culture are evident in the story such as punishment and religion. Although these topics may be complex for younger students, understanding how cultures and groups of people disappear when they are conquered is crucial in history.
• This book is an ideal introduction to a social studies unit for 2-3 graders about indigenous nations. Elements of Karinan culture are evident in the story such as punishment and religion. Although these topics may be complex for younger students, understanding how cultures and groups of people disappear when they are conquered is crucial in history.
January 26, 2012
A nice story about the deluge of a world....reminds me of another great flood me thinks! Liked the illustrations.
August 2, 2015
Read this as trad. literature for children's lit. Gorgeous art, but was very underwhelmed by the story.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews