Túpana, the Creator, descended from the world of the sky, reached into a hole at the center of the earth, and pulled men into being. When he saw that they were midgets, he blew through a tobacco leaf and made them big. Then, he taught them the ways of the world. The men did not appreciate his efforts and instead plotted to kill him. So Túpana created the goddess Yopinai, who gave women the power to enslave men.

The Puinave are a minority ethnic group of Colombian origins. Although little is known about how and when they arrived in Venezuela from the Inirida region of Colombia, they now live in settlements in the vicinity of Guasuripana and San Fernando de Atabapo. Although some scholars believe their language is independent, others think that it is part of a subgroup of various languages, including the Tucano and the Macú. In the past, the Puinave moved often, living in villages for short periods of time. Contact with the criollo population, however, has altered this nomadic way of life, and they now tend to live in permanent houses. Each village and its surrounding territory are owned collectively by the inhabitants. The Puinave have a rich ritual and religious life. The celebration of the Yurupary ceremony, for example, is an important rite designed to restore equilibrium to all beings and to re-establish ancestral connections. In this ceremony, the male participants are lashed with whips, made of a flexible rod and curagua cord. Elaborate food preparations are made for the ritual, including yaraque, a beverage made with cassava and water, and pai, made with fermented cassava and ñame. Like many other indigenous groups of the region, the Puinave maintain ecological balance in their surroundings by farming with a small-scale slash and burn method of agriculture. Although bitter yucca is the primary crop, they also cultivate secondary products in the conucos. To avoid depleting the soil, they only cultivate the land for a few years then abandon it. Farming provides both subsistence and income, as surpluses are sold on the market. For example, a woman working hard over the course of a month might produce the equivalent of forty baskets of manioc to sell. The Puinave fish all year. During the dry season, when water levels are low, they use bait, harpoons, and bows and arrows. During the rainy season, when they must be more efficient, they use ingeniously devised woven fishing traps, called nasas, as well as woven cacures. Fishing with barbasco and other toxic plants is a festive activity in which the women and children participate. They trap lapas and picures and hunt with blowguns equipped with "viewfinders" made from animal teeth. The blowguns shoot darts that are covered in curare, a poison, which they keep hidden in small clay containers. The Puinave also hunt with rifles, which makes them dependent on ammunition supplied to them by criollos. Subsistence activities like hunting and fishing are collective efforts and the surpluses are traditionally shared among the group. However, an increasing dependence on a non-traditional criollo economy has altered this basic sense of reciprocity and solidarity among the Puinave. Trade with criollos often involves a system of "advances" in which a Puinave member receives goods on credit. These goods, which have come to be seen as necessities, include motors for boats, gasoline, radios, sewing machines, soap, salt, and canned foods. In exchange, criollos are ensured access to inexpensive labor as well as profits from indigenous goods such as fibers, rubber, pendare, hides, and feathers. This system has collapsed the traditional indigenous economy, hurting trade relations with other indigenous groups, influencing the traditional timing and scheduling of work, and affecting both human and natural resources. Criollo influence is apparent among the Puinave who live in the Apure, Bolivar, and Amazonas regions of Venezuela. There the Puinave live very similarly to the general criollo population, whose language and style of dress they now share. All men wear shirts and pants, and the women wear cotton dresses. Many of their domestic goods also are of criollo origin. The hammock is perhaps the most important traditional domestic artifact. It is woven of moriche or cumare fibers in rustic looms that also are used to make child carriers. Although traditional ceramic containers have almost completely been replaced by aluminum and plastic, antique ceramic pans beautifully painted with anthropomorphic imagery can still be found. Also produced for commercial sale are carved wooden benches and stools. References G. Triana, "Efectos del contacto en la adaptación y patrones de subsistencia tradicionales: los puinave del Inírida," Boletín de Antropología 5, Medellín, 1983. Otto Zerries, "Algunas Noticias Etnológicas Acerca de los Indígenas Puinave," Boletín Indigenista Venezolano, 9 (1 - 4), Caracas, 1964/65. Theodor Koch-Grünberg, Vom Roraima zum Orinoko. Ergebnisse einer Reise in Nordbrasilien und Venezuela in den Jahren 1911 – 1913, Vol. 1 - 4, Stuttgart, 1923 (1928).