A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Brett’s Arawidi is explicitly headed a fragment. The sun, called Adaili, bears the name Arawidi while on earth in human form. He builds a fishing weir and wants the stream to retain its fish between his visits from the sky. Otters break the structure, so he appoints a woodpecker to watch it. Hearing the bird’s tapping from above, he descends and finds an alligator there.

Arawidi seizes and strikes the reptile, which begs for its life and promises him a bride. It calls on water spirits, who supply a beautiful woman. The alligator’s injuries heal, but the marks on its head and notches along its tail remain as evidence within the tale. The short published episode reaches that explanation, while the surrounding text says further stories of the sun’s children followed in performance. Those unpreserved stories are not reconstructed here.

Solar human formWoodpecker lookoutAlligator markings explained
01

Origins & earliest records

William Henry Brett’s Legends and Myths of the Aboriginal Indians of British Guiana is catalogued as 1880. Its missionary author rewrote selected traditions in English verse and commentary; his colonial judgments and claims of religious replacement are not adopted as historical conclusions.

02

Records & interpretation

Arawidi (A Fragment), pp.26–28; complete printed fragment and opening explanatory note. No individual narrator named.

In the literature

“His fashion—that of man.”
William Henry Brett, collector and English literary adapter · Legends and Myths of the Aboriginal Indians of British Guiana
Arawidi (A Fragment), printed p.27 · William Henry Brett (English literary adaptation; source-language transcript not retained here)

Brett’s fragment identifies Arawidi as the sun Adaili when visiting earth in human form. He builds a fishing weir that otters break, then makes a woodpecker its watchman. Hearing its tapping from the sky, he descends and attacks an alligator with a club. The alligator offers a bride to stop the beating; water sprites supply a beautiful maiden. The reptile’s wounds heal, but the marks remain on head and tail. The frame closes with further tales at a three-day gathering.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Legends and Myths of the Aboriginal Indians of British Guiana

    William Henry Brett, collector and literary adapter · 1880

    Arawidi (A Fragment), pp.26–28; complete printed fragment and opening explanatory note. No individual narrator named.

  2. 02

    Legends and Myths of the Aboriginal Indians of British Guiana — Arawidi (A Fragment)

    William Henry Brett, collector and English literary adapter · 1880

    London: William Wells Gardner, catalogue1880. Actual original title image read: year is a bracketed handwritten1880, not a printed imprint date. Preface explicitly describes Brett’s metrical adaptation. Cornell scan text with selected complete episode and notes read; no whole-book claim. Printed excerpt folio visually checked. Selected complete printed Arawidi (A Fragment), pp.26–28.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Legends and Myths of the Aboriginal Indians of British Guiana

London: William Wells Gardner, catalogue1880. Actual original title image read: year is a bracketed handwritten1880, not a printed imprint date. Preface explicitly describes Brett’s metrical adaptation. Cornell scan text with selected complete episode and notes read; no whole-book claim. Printed excerpt folio visually checked. Selected complete printed Arawidi (A Fragment), pp.26–28.

  1. Brett’s fragment identifies Arawidi as the sun Adaili when visiting earth in human form. He builds a fishing weir that otters break, then makes a woodpecker its watchman. Hearing its tapping from the sky, he descends and attacks an alligator with a club. The alligator offers a bride to stop the beating; water sprites supply a beautiful maiden. The reptile’s wounds heal, but the marks remain on head and tail. The frame closes with further tales at a three-day gathering.

    Arawidi (A Fragment), complete printed pp.26–28; prefacev–vi

Unnamed Arawak oral antecedent; Brett’s English verse is a literary rendering, not an independently retained verbatim indigenous-language transcript. The fragment is explicitly incomplete within a larger chain; attached royal-vulture outline is a separate story. No offspring of Arawidi or bride name supplied.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textBrett: Arawidi (A Fragment), pp.26–28; complete printed fragment and opening explanatory note. No individual narrator named.Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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