- The 7 main legends of the Ecuadorian coast
- 1- La Tacona
- 2- Tintin
- 3- The hill of the dead
- 4- The Chuzalongo
- 5- The cow bone
- 6- La Tunda
- 7- The orange tree of Chocotete
- Subject of interest
- References
Some of the best known legends of the Ecuadorian coast are La Tacona, El bone de vaca, El Tintín, El Chuzalongo, La Tunda, El cerro del muerto and El naranjo de Chocotete.
The Ecuadorian coast has traditions and popular beliefs that are quite different from the rest of the country. This cultural separation is due to a historical-political development based on the rivalry between Quito and Guayaquil, and its influence on the molding of the Ecuadorian identity.
The hill of the dead, scene of an Ecuadorian legend.
The importance of seaports for agricultural economic activities focused on large-scale export, allowed contact and mixing with many cultures in addition to the Spanish.
On the other hand, the cultural heritage of the Ecuadorian coast was more liberal in relation to the Catholic Church and its traditions.
All these factors helped to highlight a kind of coastal regionalism that is evident in its various urban legends, in which the fantastic, the human, the diabolical and nature are mixed.
The 7 main legends of the Ecuadorian coast
1- La Tacona
This legend from the city of Esmeralda tells of the ghost of a beautiful young woman who walks the streets and seduces men when there is a full moon. They die of fright when the woman's hideous skeletal corpse face is revealed to them.
According to the story, it was a woman who died after being raped one night in an alley. Her spirit did not know that she had died, so she decided to return home to bathe and put on makeup to remove the dirt and blood. She swore in front of the mirror never to let herself be hurt by anyone.
She decided to walk the streets and visit bars attracting malicious men with her red dress and very high heels.
Once a handsome man invited her to the beach, to which she decidedly accepted. Then he tried to abuse her, but when he looked at her face he was scared and started running.
The race accidentally took him to the cemetery, where he surprisingly reads the name of that woman. Years later the man visits the grave of the young woman bringing her a red rose. On his knees he is grateful that that night he made him change and he no longer uses women.
The man felt a slap on the shoulder and a voice said, "That was what I wanted to hear." As he turned around, a woman in a red dress was walking away.
2- Tintin
This is a character from Montubian mythology associated with the Devil. He is of medium height with large, pointed ears, and wears a jipijapa hat. In the coastal towns they describe his face as creepy and evil.
According to legend, he seeks to woo pregnant women using many tricks, and then leave them behind. You can make promises to them, declare words of love to them, sing to them with guitar in hand, or simply abuse them.
He hides in dangerous alleys and fields looking for pretty young women whom he chases home.
Some stories say that he sneaks through holes or goes through walls and hides under the bed. Once he gets the girl pregnant, he escapes and looks for another.
It was very typical in colonial times and later, when women did not usually go out on the street alone. If a young girl got pregnant in a house, it was considered a Tintin play.
3- The hill of the dead
The name comes from a set of rocky elevations in the area of Playas, via El Morro. According to the stories of the first navigators, they saw some hills from the sea that were shaped like a man lying with his hands on his chest.
From there legends were derived about how heavy and strange the place felt. It was believed that he was enchanted because in ancient times it was customary to bury the dead there in vessels made of clay, along with all their clothes.
It is said that the souls passed through the church at midnight to pray. There are also accounts of people from nearby towns who have heard a musical band playing at night.
4- The Chuzalongo
It is a dwarf creature with pale skin, blue or green eyes, large ears, a flattened nose, and misshapen features. Some accounts say that she has her feet in the opposite direction, backwards, so that it is confusing to keep track of her footprints.
He is used to attacking and killing women by dismembering them, leaving bloody scenes. She also seeks to fight men, but as a challenge of power.
The Chuzalongo walks naked. To get rid of it, men must remove a garment and throw it away. When the creature goes for the garment, it can run away.
5- The cow bone
This Manabí legend has its origin in the story of a very pretty and virtuous young woman who lived in a house called La Floresta, on the road from Chone to Canuto.
In a nearby ugly hut, smelling of sulfur, lived an old man with a very bad appearance, with a long beard and dressed in rags.
The old man had fallen in love with that girl named Dulce María, but he never said anything. One day the girl's parents went shopping to town, leaving her home alone. She went out to water and fix the flower garden.
Suddenly a black cow appeared out of nowhere and started chasing her everywhere. She ran into the farm until she tripped over some reeds and fell dead near a matapalo tree.
At the end of the day, her parents found the corpse of their daughter, accompanied by the black cow and a lot of sulfur smell. The house and garden also gave off that smell.
After several days it seemed strange to the people that they had not seen the neighbor of the hut again. They decided to enter the house and only found a cow bone; the old man was not.
In another version of the legend, the cow bone is found in the matapalo and the old man's house was empty.
6- La Tunda
La Tunda is an ugly, monstrous and evil woman who lives deep in the jungle of northern Esmeralda, where only blackness is visible. It has a grinder foot and a very small one, like a baby's.
Disobedient children, the unbaptized, unfaithful men and mischievous women are usually taken into the interior of the mountain, whom he keeps alive by giving them prawns and shrimp. You can deceive your victim by taking the form of an acquaintance.
One story tells that she turned into a white hen to lure a boy who left home to chase lost chickens. She is usually associated with the night and the darkness of the mountain, that is why she is represented as a woman with very black skin with a bad smell.
7- The orange tree of Chocotete
This is the legend of an orange tree in the Chocotete area of Manabí, which always bore fruit regardless of the season; but these fruits could only be eaten locally. No one knew why.
The story was common among the women of yesteryear who used to use the Chocotete springs to wash clothes and taste the fruit during the work.
One day a naughty boy wanted to take some oranges home. The way back magically changed to cactus, moyuyo and cherry trees, and he began to hear strange voices. Scared, the young man tries to return to the springs without being able to find them in their place.
The vegetation came to life, the animals made their sounds quickly, many birds flitted among the trees, gold fish leapt from a newly appeared lake. In the midst of the commotion, the boy managed to run down a small path between the mountains and reached the orange tree.
He is thrown to the ground exhausted and the oranges fall to the ground. Suddenly the landscape changes and is again as before.
He immediately manages to hear the washerwomen and runs towards them. The boy recounts what happened to the women and the branches of the orange tree let out a great laugh.
Subject of interest
Legends of Guayaquil.
Legends of Ecuador.
References
- Christopher Sacco. Ecuador's Coast. Ecuador Explorer. Recovered from ecuadorexplorer.com
- Ecuador.com. Enjoy the Pacific Coast's Pristine Beaches, Mangrove Forests and Seaside Resorts. Ecuador Channel. Recovered from ecuador.com
- LZ Marie (2013). Ecuador's Mythological Creatures. LZ Marie Fiction Flirts with Facts. Recovered from lzmarieauthor.com
- Scribd. Legends Costa Sierra Oriente (Online document). Recovered from es.scribd.com
- Manuel Zambrano (2013). Manabitas legends. Manabi land of charms. Recovered from tierrabellamanabi.blogspot.com
- The Universe (2014). Montubian mythology. Online newspaper El Universo. Recovered from eluniverso.com
- Whales Yes. The Cerro del Muerto (Myths and legends of Ecuador). Recovered from ballenitasi.org
- Guayaquil is my Destination. Cerro el Muerto. Recovered from guayaquilesmidestino.com
- Come to Manabi. Legends of Manabi. Recovered from manabigastronomia.blogspot.com
- DR Legends at home (2011). Ecuadorian legends. A Short Legend. Recovered from unaleyendacorta.com
- Lorena Orellana (2016). Legends of Esmeraldas. Recovered from leyendasdeesmeraldas.blogspot.com
- Horror legends. Legend of the Tunda. Recovered from legenddeterror.com
- Paranormal story community. Legends of Ecuador. Taringa. Recovered from taringa.net