Before the world of humans began, there was the world of the gods, made of fields, plains and gardens. Four brothers wandered this celestial realm. They had no family other than each other— they didn’t even know who their parents were. One of the brothers, Deminan, looked different from the others. His skin was covered in painful scabs, and he wondered why he alone had been marked with this affliction.
Pre sveta ljudi, postojao je svet bogova, sa poljima, ravnicama i vrtovima. Četvorica braće lutala su ovim nebeskim carstvom. Nisu imali porodicu, osim jedni druge - nisu čak ni znali ko su im roditelji. Jedan od braće, Deminan, izgledao je drugačije od ostalih. Koža mu je bila puna krasti koje su mu nanosile bol i pitao se zašto je samo on bio obeležen njima.
One day, while the supreme spirit Yaya was out in his gardens, Deminan and his brothers snuck into Yaya’s house. After feasting and exploring, they spotted a giant gourd hanging in the corner. But as they tried to look inside the gourd, they dropped it. The gourd broke apart, releasing a deluge that swept the brothers away, separating them from the celestial lands forever.
Jednog dana, dok je vrhovni duh Jaja bio u svojim vrtovima, Deminan i njegova braća ušunjali su se u Jajinu kuću. Nakon gozbe i istraživanja, uočili su ogromnu tikvu kako visi u ćošku. Međutim, kako su pokušali da vide šta se u njoj nalazi, ispustili su je. Tikva se raspala, oslobodivši potop koji je odneo braću, i tako ih zauvek odvojio od nebeskog carstva.
The waters from the gourd formed a new world. This realm was covered in seas, which didn’t exist in the gods’ world. The waters were full of fish and other creatures, and dotted with islands and caves. This world of seas was also cut off completely from the celestial realm, and the brothers wandered aimlessly, even more lost than they had been before.
Voda iz tikve stvorila je novi svet. Ovaj svet bio je pokriven morima, što nije bio slučaj sa svetom bogova. Mora su bila puna riba i drugih stvorenja, a bilo je i ostrva i pećina. Ovaj svet mora takođe je u potpunosti bio odvojen od nebeskog carstva i braća su besciljno lutala, još više izgubljeni nego ranije.
One day, three of the brothers stumbled upon a house. In the house lived an elder named Bayamanacao, and he invited them in. When Deminan caught up slightly later, he followed them into the house. Bayamanacao told the brothers he was their grandfather and gave them a gift of special cassava bread. He revealed their family lineage to them: their mother had been the Earth Mother Goddess Itibi Cahubaba and had died when they were born. The brothers were grateful for his hospitality and insight into their past.
Jednog dana, trojica braće naišla su na kuću. U kući je živeo starac po imenu Bajamanako koji ih je pozvao da uđu. Kada je Deminan stigao malo kasnije, ušao je za njima. Bajamanako je otkrio braći da je on njihov deda i poklonio im je poseban hleb od tapioke. Otkrio im je njihovo poreklo: njihova majka bila je majka boginja Itibi Kahubaba i umrla je kada su se oni rodili. Braća su bila zahvalna za gostoljubivost starca i uvid u njihovu prošlost.
But then Bayamanacao turned on Deminan, blowing tobacco spittle from his nose onto Deminan’s back. The spot where the spittle landed immediately began to swell and sting.
Međutim, Bajamanako se onda okomio na Deminana, izbacivši ispljuvak duvana iz nosa na Deminanova leđa. Mesto na koje je ispljuvak pao odmah je počelo da otiče i da peče.
Soon Deminan was delirious and his back was so swollen his brothers feared he would die. Not knowing what else to do, they cut open the welt. A turtle emerged from the wound and swam away, alternating easily between sea and land as she went.
Ubrzo, Deminan je pao u delirijum, a leđa su mu toliko otekla da su se braća uplašila da će umreti. Ne znajući šta drugo da urade, otvorili su mu ispupčenje. Kornjača je izašla iz rane i otplivala, lako prelazeći i more i zemlju na svom putu.
When Deminan recovered from his delirium, he finally understood what the curse of his disease meant: he was a caracaracol, able to communicate with the gods. He was the link between the celestial realm and the earthly realm.
Kada je Deminan izašao iz delirijuma, konačno je shvatio značenje kletve svoje bolesti: on je bio karakarakol, što je značilo da može da razgovara sa bogovima. On je bio veza između nebeskog i zemaljskog carstva.
Deminan was the first in a long lineage of caracaracols. The world of seas he and his brothers had created when they dropped the gourd became the world of humans, where the caracaracols who followed Deminan maintained the delicate balance between people and gods. But their unique power came at a price: Deminan and all the caracaracols who followed him continued to suffer from the illness that had first marked Deminan as special. Represented in Taino carvings and figurines with a swollen back and emaciated arms, the caracaracol is both cursed and blessed to be a conduit between worlds.
Deminan je bio prvi u dugoj lozi karakarakola. Svet mora koji su on i njegova braća stvorili kada su ispustili tikvu postao je svet ljudi, gde su karakarakoli, naslednici Deminana, održavali osetljivu ravnotežu između ljudi i bogova. Međutim, njihova jedinstvena moć imala je svoju cenu: Deminan, kao i svi karakarakoli posle njega, nastavili su da boluju od bolesti koja je na samom početku Deminana obeležila kao posebnog. Predstavljen u tainškim rezbarijama i figurinama oteklih leđa i mršavih ruku,