Eons ago, when the Gods still walked among us, there was a warrior god named Auyán. He lived among the Pemón people of Canaima, and was the bravest of all the warriors the tribe had ever seen. He was strong, willful and determined, and loved his people above all. During this time, the Pemón people deeply feared the large tepuyes which they believed to be the house of the Arekuna gods, but most of all they feared the Auyántepuy, home of the Imawari, the evil spirits. They believed that whoever approached the Auyántepuy would be enchanted and taken away by the Imawari, so they avoided this area at all cost.
The warrior Auyán, wishing to help his people, decided to embark himself on a journey to the tepuy that bore his name. The elders of the tribe tried to warn him against it, but there was no convincing him. The tribe's shaman knew that there was nothing he could do to persuade Auyán not to risk his life so foolishly, so he decided to help him on his travels by giving him a way to survive the evils of the Imawari. The shaman game him a totuma filled with water that he had enchanted in the name of the Gods, so that Auyán could heal himself were he to be hurt during his travel.
Auyán gathered some provisions, took the totuma from the shaman, and saying one final goodbye to his people, began a journey that no man had dared to do before. He walked for days, even weeks, finding his way through the Amazon jungle and following along the Churún river, until he found himself at the base of the Auyántepuy. He observed his surroundings; it was quiet, suspiciously peaceful, not at all what he expected the home of the Imawari to be like. But these thoughts would have to wait, for the silence was interrupted by a sudden painful wail.
Auyán followed the sound, and there he came across a majestic bird the size of a grown man, with feathers of colors so vivid that it seemed to carry a rainbow in each strand. The bird cried for help, agonizing from poisonous arrows that had embedded themselves on one of its wings. Auyán pitied the bird, and without thinking about it twice, he took out his totuma and used some of the magic water to heal the poor bird's wing. Soon the bird was healed, happily soaring across the clouds. To thank Auyán for his help it offered to help him in any way he could, to which Auyán asked to be taken to the very top of the Auyántepuy. The bird immediately obliged, and carrying the warrior on his back, together they flew to the home of the Gods.
From the top of the tepuy, Auyán could see the entirety of the sabana, its tepuyes and rivers, the Amazon forest that seemed to never end. He slowly walked to the edge, captivated by the beauty of the sight before him, and in his trance, he failed to notice the large boulder that laid at his feet. Auyán suddenly tripped, only saved by his godly reflexes that allowed him to steady himself, but his totuma tipped over the edge, its magical waters falling deep to the core of the tepuy. From then on the water has flowed eternally, creating what now people know as the Angel Falls, but for the Pemón people that still remember its origin, it is called Kerepakupai Vená, water of the deepest place.
Author's Note: this is a legend told by the Pemón people that explains the origin of the Angel Falls according to their cultural and religious beliefs. Given that the original story is mostly of oral tradition, there aren't many details or sources to quote. In any case, the narrative always includes the warrior Auyán healing the bird with magic water and then spilling the water over the edge of the tepuy. The other details I added were taken from the meaning of the names in the Pemón language. For example, tepuy means house of the gods, and Auyántepuy means house of the devil or evil spirits. Since the original story did not give context to Auyán's travels, I used the cultural beliefs of the Pemón to provide an explanation as to why he started the journey and needed the magical water to protect himself.
I am aware that I used a lot of words that non-Venezuelan readers might not know, so I tried to provide links that explained each of the terms that I had not covered in my introduction. Since I did not find any English source for the word totuma, it is a traditional indigenous artifact used as a bowl and kitchen utensil made out of a calabash fruit.
Story Source: La Totuma Mágica, Auyántepuy
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