Flood Myths of the Arekuna of Guyana

Shortly after people arrived on earth, all crops grew on a single tree. Makunaima and his four brothers cut down the tree, and water immediately poured from the stump, and with it came fish. One of the brothers made a basket to stop the water, but Makunaima wanted a few more fish for the rivers. When he lifted the basket just a little, water came out full force, flooding the earth. [Bierhorst]

In some Guyana and Venezuela tree and flood myths, the water from the stump merely forms rivers; in other versions, the entire earth is flooded, and survivors stay in canoes or climb tall palms until the waters subside. [Bierhorst]

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References: Bierhorst, John. The Mythology of South America, William Morrow, New York, 1988.