THE 6 MOST POPULAR YUCATAN LEGENDS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The legends of Yucatán are a set of myths, stories and worldviews that were developed in the Yucatán peninsula during the development of pre-Hispanic cultures; These legends especially encompass the stories of the Mayan culture, along with the beliefs of other small tribes.

When speaking of worldview, it refers to the way in which a person or a social group interprets the world or the reality that surrounds them. For this reason, it can be established that the Yucatan legends allow researchers to know how the ancient cultures of this region perceived and interpreted natural and social events.

Some of the Yucatan legends are still valid today. Source: KatyaMSL

On the other hand, the legends consist of a series of popular narratives that relate a fictional or real event, and that is usually adorned with wonderful or fantastic elements of folklore. In this case, they are adorned with pre-Hispanic traditions.

These stories are usually transmitted orally between generations, so they are subject to continuous changes.

Most popular legends of the Yucatan peninsula

As mentioned in previous paragraphs, through the legends and myths of a culture, interested parties can learn how that particular civilization perceived the world around it.

In addition, knowing the legends also allows scholars to establish how their social, economic and religious structure worked.

Below are some of the most popular legends produced and transmitted in the Yucatan peninsula during the development of pre-Hispanic civilizations.

-The legend of Huay Chivo

The legend of Huay Chivo is one of the most popular in Yucatán and tells the story of a sorcerer who had the ability to transform himself into a terrifying beast, half goat, half man. This happened after the sorcerer sold his soul to the Kisín, a Mayan expression that refers to the devil or demon.

This story of the Huay Chivo is very similar to another story developed in Central America known as the nahuales, according to which the transformation of certain people into different animals also occurs after performing an offering ritual.

In the most remote villages it was believed that, if a person crossed paths with this entity, they should look away; in this way the recipient would only feel cold and a bad smell. However, if he crossed glances with the beast, the subject would feel sick and feverish.

The story tells that the Huay Chivo fed on chickens and cattle belonging to the settlers; it was also believed that it inhabited the darkest places, such as certain mountains and forests. Today, anecdotes are still told about this terrifying entity.

-The legend of Nicté-Ha

This narrative mythically explains the origin of the aquatic plant known as nymph, water sun or water lily. It also seeks to justify the song of the cardinal birds during the mornings in the lakes where these plants grow.

According to Mayan belief, in ancient Nan Chan Kaan there lived a prince named Chaktzitzib, whose father had decided to make him marry a princess who lived in distant lands. However, Chaktzitzib had fallen in love with Nicté-Ha, who was the daughter of the guardian of the Sacred Cenote.

At that time no one was aware of this love. Both young people loved each other very much and they met secretly in the cenote, where the prince sang love songs to his beloved. On one occasion the young men were discovered by the high priest, who did not want their union; and therefore decided to eliminate Nicté-Ha.

The prince's caretaker noticed the high priest's bad intentions, so she decided to warn her lord. Chaktzitzib ordered her caretaker to bring Nicté-Ha to be married in secret; however, the priest realized the plan and murdered the prince's caretaker.

The prince, realizing that his caretaker did not return, decided to go in search of Nicté-Ha, who was waiting for him in the Cenote. Upon meeting, both lovers embraced each other in loving embrace.

Following the prince, the high priest approached where the young men were standing and shot a poisoned arrow at the maiden, killing her instantly.

Water lilies and cardinals explained

The young woman's body sank into the water of the Cenote, while the prince cried, begging the gods to take him away with her. The Lord of the Waters took pity on Chaktzitzib, so he turned his deceased beloved into a water lily. On the other hand, the Lord of the Birds decided to turn the prince into a red bird.

After this, every morning the cardinal approaches the ponds to continue singing love songs to Nicté-Ha, turned into a water flower.

-The legend of Sac Nicté

This legend tells in a fanciful way the events that occurred during the breakup of the Mayapán League, an alliance of Mayan states that developed in the post-classic Mesoamerican period. During this alliance, the Mayan culture was nourished by other civilizations such as the Toltec, which introduced new forms of knowledge.

According to legend, Sac-Nicté was the princess of Mayapán, belonging to the Cocomes people. When she was fifteen she fell in love with Prince Canek.

For his part, this prince caught a glimpse of the princess when he was 21 years old and was captivated by her beauty, so he wanted to marry her.

However, Sac-Nicté had been betrothed by her father to Prince Ulil, who was heir to the Uxmal; this union would take place after Canek was crowned. The messengers of Uxmal decided to invite the other rulers of the League, so Canek had to attend the ceremony.

During the wedding preparations, Sac-Nité wept with sadness as she did not want to marry Ulil. So far as the ceremony went, Canek (who was the new lord of Chichén Itzá) had not appeared, which surprised everyone present.

Abduction of the princess and abandonment of the city

At the time of making the marriage vows, Canek appeared with sixty of his soldiers, with whom he invaded the place and kidnapped the princess without any of the high lords being able to prevent it. Canek's feat was so swift that everyone present was stunned.

After this, Ulil and Hunacc Ceel (Sac-Nité's father) joined forces to attack Chichén Itzá in order to recover the kidnapped princess and to punish Canek. However, when they reached the city they realized that it had been abandoned not only by the lovers, but by all the inhabitants.

Consequently, the Cocomes and Ulil soldiers looted and destroyed Chichén Itzá, which explains the abandonment of this great city.

-The Legend of Xtabay

According to the collected texts, it can be established that Xtabay was an evil spirit in the form of a woman who bewitched men to kill them or lead them to perdition.

Two different women

The story of Xtabay begins with two women from the town: Xkeban, a prostitute or woman given to illicit love; and Utz-Colel, a decent and clean lady.

Xkeban was sick with passion, so she gave her body to every man who asked. Instead, Utz-Colel was virtuous and kind; Furthermore, she had never committed a loving sin.

Despite Xkeban's slips, this woman had a good heart, as she liked to help the poor and the animals; She even made generous donations with the gifts her lovers gave her.

For his part, Utz-Colel detested animals and the poor; besides, she was hard-hearted and cold. One day the people of the village did not see Xkeban leave anymore, so they began to wonder what had happened to the young woman.

The death of Xkeban

After several days, a delicate smell of flowers began to be perceived throughout the village, so a group of people decided to follow the smell; this led them to the corpse of Xkeban.

Utz-Colel assured that that pleasant perfume could not come from Xkeban, since she had been a corrupt and vile woman, so that only pestilence could come from her body. Utz-Colel assured that that perfumed smell must be the work of evil spirits, who tried to deceive and provoke men.

Likewise, Utz-Colel affirmed that, when she died, she would spread a pleasant perfume due to her virtues practiced in life.

After burying Xkeban, his grave began to give off a pleasant smell; Furthermore, the land of it was filled with beautiful flowers. When Utz-Colel died, the entire town attended his funeral; however, the smell that his body exhaled was not pleasant, but rather nauseating and intolerable.

From the tomb of Xkeban a beautiful flower called xtabentún was born, which grows on fences and roads. Instead, from Utz-Colel's grave came a tzacam, which is a cactus flower that has many thorns and does not have any perfume.

The end of Utz-Colel

After turning into this flower, Utz-Colel wished Xkeban luck, so she decided to indulge in illicit love with evil spirits. What Utz-Coel did not realize is that Xkeban gave herself to men out of natural and generous love, while she did so out of malice and self-interest.

With the help of the evil spirits, Utz-Colel managed to return to the world of the living whenever she wanted, but she did so as a woman in order to deceive men with nefarious love, since the hardness of her heart did not allow another kind of love.

This bad woman became the spirit of Xtebay, who returned in her human form to seduce men and then murder them during a hellish love affair.

-The legend of the Alux or the aluxes

For the Mayan imagination, the aluxes are the equivalent of the Germanic elf or goblin, since they consist of a series of creatures that are dedicated to doing all kinds of evils such as stealing children and livestock, along with other terrible antics.

Regarding their appearance, aluxes were considered to be small, reaching up to the knees of an average person. Despite this, their appearance was similar to that of humans, so they looked like miniature people. As for their clothing, these beings wore typical Mayan costumes.

Generally the aluxes were invisible, although they could assume some physical forms in order to communicate or to frighten the human beings; they also changed their appearance to blend in with each other.

It is said that these creatures used to appear in forests, jungles, caves and even on some stones. Its description is very similar to that of mythological beings from other cultures, such as the Celtic Leprachaun.

At present, the existence of aluxes is still believed in some towns in Mexico and Central America.

-The legend of balam

This name means "jaguar" in the Mayan language. The word is also used to refer to mythological beings similar to geniuses, who had the duty to protect crops and fields. The Mayan culture worshiped them even before knowing the sowing, so it is one of the oldest legends of this pre-Hispanic culture.

The balames are also known as the nukuch-uinik, which means "big man." According to popular tradition (especially the Yucatecan), these entities also protected the men and the cornfields. It is said that there were four of these beings, since each of them was located in a specific cardinal point.

Regarding their physical appearance, it was believed that they were old men with very long beards; Furthermore, although they were dedicated to doing good, their faces were unpleasant, so no one could keep their eyes on them.

His wardrobe consisted of a wide-brimmed hat made of palm, along with sandals made of fur and a floating tunic. In their spare time, the balames liked to inhale tobacco, so it was believed that shooting stars came from their butts.

References

1. Espinosa, R. (2013) Mayans of the Yucatan Peninsula. Retrieved on June 12, 2019 from UNAM Repository: ru.iis.sociales.unam.mx
2. Naranjo, A. (nd) A Mayan legend. Retrieved on June 12, 2019 from Dialnet: Dialnet.com
3. Rosado, L. (nd) Between the stone and the flower: Mayan and Yucatecan legends. Retrieved on June 12, 2019 from Academia: academia.edu
4. A. (sf) Legends of Yucatán. Retrieved on June 12, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
5. A. (sf) Mayan Legends. Retrieved on June 12, 2019 from In Yucatán: en-yucatán.com.mx