Guarani Religion

Tupi-Guarani mythology is a set of narratives about the gods and spirits of the various Tupi-Guarani peoples, both ancient and contemporary. Mythology, cosmogony, stories of the origin of humanity, and ritual forms much of the religion of these peoples. The Guarani people live in the south-central part of South America, especially in Paraguay and adjacent areas of Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia. The Tupi people were one of the most populous indigenous ethnic groups in Brazil, living along the Atlantic coast of and deep in the Amazon. There are Tupi towns with no connection to the outside world. The Guarani language was not a written language until modern times, so their religious beliefs were passed down through word of mouth. Because of this, descriptions of the various gods and their related myths and legends usually differ from one locale to the next. Regional variations may be so extreme that they completely redefine the role a specific deity plays in the Guarani belief system. Despite the introduction of Christianity,  the myths and legends of the Tupi and Guarani continue to evolve to this day. he primary figure in most Guarani creation legends is Tupã, the supreme god of all creation. With the help of the moon goddess Arasy, Tupã descended upon the Earth in a location specified as a hill in the region of Areguá, and from that location created all that is found upon the face of the earth, including the ocean, forests, and the animals. This is also when the stars were placed in the sky. Tupã then created humanity in an elaborate ceremony, forming clay statues of man and woman with a mixture of various elements from nature. After breathing life into the human forms, he left them in the company of the spirits of good and evil and departed. The original humans created by Tupã were Rupave (Father of the people) and Sypave (Mother of the people). The pair had three sons and an unspecified number of daughters. The first son was Tumé Arandú, the wisest of men and a great prophet of the Guarani people. The second son was Marangatú, a benevolent and generous leader and the father of Kerana, the mother of the seven legendary monsters of Guarani myth. The third son was Japeusá, considered a liar, a thief, and a trickster from birth. Japeusá always did things backwards, mainly to confuse people so he could take advantage of them. He eventually drowned himself, but he was resurrected as a crab. Ever since then, all crabs are cursed to walk backwards, just as Japeusá did. Guaran, daughter of Marangatú, was captured by the personification or spirit of evil known as Tau. The couple had seven sons who were cursed by moon goddess Arasy. All but one of the seven were born as hideous monsters. The seven are, in order of their birth: (1) Teju Jagua, the god or spirit of caverns and fruits, (2) Mbói Tu'ĩ, god of waterways and aquatic creatures, (3) Moñái, god of the open fields who perished in a fire, along with his malevolent brothers because of the self-sacrifice of Porâsý. Porâsý was a beautiful woman who pretended to be in love with Moñái so that her fellow townspeople could gain an opportunity to put an end to the misdeeds of Moñái and his brothers), (4) Jasy Jatere, god of the yerba mate plant and also of the siesta, the only one of the seven brothers who was not physically repulsive, (5) Kurupi, god of sexuality and fertility, (6) Ao Ao, god of the hills and mountains, and (7) Luison, or Luisõ, god of death and everything related to death. In return for the noble sacrifice of Porâsý, the gods lifted her soul and changed it into a small, but intense point of light. The spirit of Porasy ignites the aurora as the morning star.