THE 11 MOST POPULAR LEGENDS AND MYTHS OF HONDURAS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The main legends and myths of Honduras involve indigenous elements, diabolical creatures or celestial beings. The sinaguaba, the sisimite and the white cadejo are some of these manifestations.

In Honduras, tales, stories, legends and myths are traditions that are passed down from generation to generation.

Each story represents a fanciful and mysterious fact that many consider grandmother's inventions, but are perceived by others as chilling tales that will continue to be told throughout the years.

As in many places in Latin America, the fables and myths originate in rural areas with vestiges of indigenous stories. In these places ancestral mythological beliefs, superstition, black magic and sorcery are on the surface.

In Honduras, and throughout Central America, it is everyday to tell these stories and hear about diabolical, ghostly, or even heavenly entities.

It is no reason for surprise, because they are so mentioned that they are already part of the day-to-day life and traditions that nurture the country's folklore.

There are many stories and myths in Honduras, but the ones that are repeated the most have to do with terror and mysterious beings, with mythological and fantastic creatures that are rarely seen, and with diabolical or celestial entities that persecute humans.

The 11 main legends and myths of Honduras

1- The crushes of the Trujillo duende

They said of this goblin that he was a sweet angel who played the guitar and that he was expelled from heaven as a womanizer. When he fell to Earth, he became a goblin: a big-eared, pot-bellied man, with his head always covered by a giant hat.

They say that the goblin stole pretty young women. Today, when a woman thinks she has seen the goblin, she must say "remember the music from heaven" so that it is frightened and leaves.

The goblin intimidates a woman by throwing things at the window of her house. When the goblin takes the women, they are never heard from again.

2- La Sinaguaba

It is the story of a very pretty girl, who appears near a river at midnight before men who betray their wives or girlfriends. She enchants them and makes them fall in love with them, but when they accept her insinuations, she transforms into an ogre.

According to the legend, he only appears to men who are unfaithful to their wives and to young "donjuanes".

3- The Sisimite

The Sisimite is another version of the giant creatures that appear out of nowhere and disappear in the same way.

This monster is also called Ithacayo and it roams the high mountains looking for the most remote caverns to inhabit. These monsters kidnap women and take them to their caves. It is said that from this union ape-men are born.

This story is still used to scare young girls who go very far from their homes, although there is a story that tells that a woman managed to escape from the hiding place where the Sisimite had her prey.

4- The tongue eater

At one time, Honduran farmers began to complain about the loss of cattle. The cows were found dead lying on the pasture as if they had been attacked by a wild creature. Tongues were cut off by the roots and jaws split, dislocated.

There are photos of very rare animals that seem prehistoric and that were accused of being tongue eaters.

However, there is still no certainty that these animals existed, although in the 1940s, the time when most cases occurred, data on similar creatures were collected in Goias, Brazil.

5- The white cadejo

It is a mythical dog that only appears to people who roam the street late at night. According to the versions, the dog has two forms: one white, which is the good one; and another black one, which is the bad one.

The black dog is associated with evil and is said to haunt drunken people out of parties, carnivals or gambling and canteens.

The white dog protects those who are not addicted but who also had to roam the street at night for a different reason.

6- The Dirty

This story is very similar to that of La Llorona or La Sayona in the rest of Latin America. This was a very beautiful girl who had a fiancé, the love of her life.

However, the priest refused to perform the wedding because the young woman was not baptized. The marriage did not take place and she fell into a depression, which is why the groom left her.

When she found out that her ex-fiancé was going to marry another, shocked by the news, she fell into dementia and jumped off a cliff. That is why her spirit wanders along the banks of the rivers, emitting horrible screams and frightening men and young men.

7- The Christ of Santa Lucia

This is a story shared by the towns of Cedros and Santa Lucía. The inhabitants of those towns realized that the Christs of their main churches were exchanged and decided to return each one to its place of origin.

Both populations went in procession to Tegucigalpa, where the saints would be exchanged, but those from Santa Lucía could not arrive because the Christ began to get very heavy in a place called La Travesía, and they could not carry him any more in that direction. So the image returned to the church of Santa Lucia.

8- The shod mule

It is a terrifying tale about another beautiful young woman who died when she learned of her mother's death, caused by the blows that a "chúcara" mule had given her when she had left her alone.

The young woman was buried and on the third day she stood up from the grave turned into a black “shod” mule: half woman, half mule. They say that was the punishment for abandoning her mother.

Some say they saw her at midnight riding near a place where people of the bad life congregate, urging them to change their attitude.

9- The

It was an incredible meteorological phenomenon that occurred in the city of Yoro. It is a rain of fish that still happens between the months of May and July. According to the inhabitants of Yoro, this extraordinary event has happened for a century.

The superstitious origin of this phenomenon is due to the story of Father Subirana. This was a religious who visited Honduras between 1856 and 1864.

Finding many poor and hungry people, he prayed for three days and three nights asking God for a miracle that would help the poor to get food.

10- The witch lock

It is a smaller mountain that is located near the city of Tegucigalpa.

This legend is barely 40 years old to date. According to the oral record, the construction of a residence was planned at the top of the hill, which was not carried out because a giant man appeared on the spot while some people were working.

Could it have been the Sisimite? After this fact the work was paralyzed for fear that the giant would appear again. That is why they named the area as "El cerro brujo".

11- The Cyclops

The indigenous people of the Miskito jungle believe in the existence of a being similar to the Cyclops. According to one of the stories, in the middle of the 20th century, an Indian named Julián Velásquez did not want to be baptized.

He lived near the Seca lagoon, but traveled to the Atlantic coast in the company of a sorcerer. There he found a tribe of cannibals who possessed only one eye.

Julián was captured and was imprisoned along with three ladinos (white and mestizo) to be fattened. Julián Velásquez managed to escape from the infamous tribe. Such Cyclops have never been heard of again.

References

1. Toro Montalvo, C., Cueva Sevillano, A. and Cueva García, A. (2008). Myths, fables and legends of America. Lima: AFA Editores Importadores SA
2. Aguilar Paz, J. (1989). Traditions and legends of Honduras. 1st ed. Tegucigalpa: Museum of the Honduran Man.
3. Montenegro, J. (1972). Tales and legends of Honduras. Tegucigalpa.