The Pima's Story of the Flood

Publication Date: October 15, 2010

Chapter: American Literature to 1700

More fun with the Pima. Their story of the flood is weird. There's this chick, and her father has her wear some cactus in her hair. When she tries to bone her boyfriend, he gets pricked and they swap genders. Then the girl that used to be a guy gets pregnant out of nowhere, which is actually a recurring theme in Native American mythology. Man-Girl has the baby, but drops it. Upon trying to pick the baby back up again, they both turn into snipes, which a footnote helpfully tells me will help them fly away when the flood comes.

And then everyone dies.

What's cool, however, is that Pima mythology is all based in Arizona, which is something I can actually connect with. I've never been to Greece, Scotland or Mt. Sinai, but when this legend says that people fled the flood by climbing the Superstition Mountains, it generates a very real image in my mind. I live near those mountains. I've actually been to them before. They house the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine!

This may sound ridiculous to most of you, but it's just really cool for me. This is the first time since I started this project that I've been able to relate to any of the literature on a personal level. I mean, yeah, this story is completely insane, but the fact that I could hop into the car right now and drive to where this story takes place is just awesome. It's like walking in the footsteps of history.

Author: The Pima (or Akimel O'odham) • Info: Sacred Texts

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About The Comic

Lit Brick is a comic started by Jodie Troutman in an effort to read the entire Norton Anthology of English Literature. Having eventually succeeded in that goal, it now features comics about all manner of random literature. For more of Jodie's work, visit longtalljodie.com!