How likely do the Yucatan in Amazonian Myths Represent Europeans?
1)Europeans generally are more hairy then Native Americans. In myths, the Yucatan sometimes disguise themselves as hairy people.
2)The Yucatan come from the sea like European sailors did.
3) Similar to the Yucatan, MAYBE Europeans have been worshipped as gods by the Amazonian people.
4)When a Yucatan and an indigenous Amazonian reproduce the child would sometimes become more Yucatan. Similarly, Castizos(75% European and 25% Native American) are sometimes as privileged as just pure Europeans.
The Quechua word Yacuruna (yacu-water; runa=people) is normally reported to identify "fish people" living in bodies of water. Photographs of Native folks depicting Yacuruna show various fish-like morphology (fins, scales, etc) and are described as frightening. They are thought to kidnap women & children through transformative disguises as handsome men and river dolphins. They may also benevolently reward fishers with success in capturing aquatic game. I am unaware of the characterization of them as hairy beings. It seems unlikely that these oral literature descriptions would have been derived from early encounters with Europeans.
@Rusty Greaves Hello Professor, Doctor and Director Greaves,
Here is a revised version of my discussion with more evidence: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Did_the_Yacuruna_represent_European_colonists
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