THE 9 MOST POPULAR LEGENDS AND MYTHS OF NICARAGUA - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Among the main legends and myths of Nicaragua, the cadejos, the coyota of El Viejo and the chief Diriangén stand out. Nicaraguans have a rich mythological culture that gives rise to the creation of Dantean tales and folk tales.

Many say that in Nicaragua there is not a single region in which a legend, myth or fantastic story is not known. Central America contains a black, magical, sorcerer, paranormal and ancestral imaginary that shapes the beliefs and superstitions of its inhabitants.

In Nicaragua, the transmission of legends and myths through oral narratives is very important, so talking about horror, souls and supernatural beings - good and bad - is already a habit of the population.

Central America is a funnel and place of convergence of a mestizo culture due to its strategic geographic location. Indians, Africans and Europeans have forged stories, tales, and mystical tales that refer to the indigenous-ancestral tradition of the region.

The 9 main legends and myths of Nicaragua

1- The headless father

Friars and religious are the protagonists of many terrifying tales originating in colonial times in Latin America.

In the city of León there was once a priest who defended the indigenous people. For this reason they beheaded him, approximately in 1550.

Since that day, the headless father has been around in pain at night. He makes his appearance when he meets people who are partying at dawn. These are attracted by a kind of spell and the father takes him to the church where he gives the mass in Latin.

Immediately afterwards, the father shows his wound resulting from the slaughter. They say that those who have been bewitched have spent weeks speechless.

2- The chief Diriangén

The Maribios are from western Nicaragua and worshiped the jaguar as a divine symbol of power. There is a legend about the death of the chief Diriagén that says that one day he climbed the Casitas hill at night to perform a ceremony that would make him become the Sun God.

The chief climbed to the top of the hill and dropped into the darkness. Mythology tells that the cacique died when he fell down the cliff, but that his spirit flew into the sky and always furrows to the west.

3- The irate serpent of Cathedral

They say that a giant snake lives under the waters of the Cathedral area. It is so large that its back is kept in the Sutiaba church, in the town of León.

The Virgin of Mercy is the one who holds this rebellious snake by a hair so that it does not destroy the city. They say that the snake is fierce and shakes, but the Virgin makes her best effort to control it.

When the snake manages to let go, the Earth will shake and the streets will be flooded so that it can rise to the surface.

4- The Golden Punch of the sutiabas

It is said that in the Sutiaba region there is a hidden treasure whose spirit materializes in a huge, shiny golden crab that comes out of the ocean and "lights up the beaches of Peneloya."

Indigenous mythology indicates that anyone who tries to grab the Punche de Oro will be speechless. And if anyone ever manages to catch it, the chief Anahuac will be disenchanted, whom the colonizers murdered on a tamarind tree stick that is still on display in Sutiaba.

The Punche de Oro also goes out for a sutiaba to grab, find the treasure and become rich.

5- La Cegua

This is an old night owl woman with the appearance of a witch who is frightening the womanizing men. She has a whistling from beyond the grave and her hair is waist-length.

His voice is hollow. When he attacks with other blinds, he hits, pinches and tears his victim's hair until he is unconscious in the open.

6- Los Cadejos

The legend of the Cadejo is known in several Central American countries. These are two red-eyed dogs, one black and one white, one bad and one good.

The good escort the honest men who must work at night. The bad guy scares those who stay up late for going on a spree.

When someone exclaims "Cadejo played it," it means that someone was left dying on the floor.

7- La Mocuana de Sébaco

According to the story, many Spaniards came to the lands of the chief of Sébaco, whom he treated with cordiality and gave them gold on one condition: that they leave his domain and never return.

As expected, the Spanish did the opposite and wanted to steal it. The chief, aware, hid all his fortune confiding the secret only to his daughter.

Years later, the chief's daughter fell in love with a Spaniard and fled the community. The European turned out to be a madman who locked her inside a cave, but the girl, knowing the place, managed to escape through a hole.

They say that this girl appears to passersby and invites them to follow her to the cave. No one has been able to see her face, but her long hair and slim figure have.

8- The Coyota of El Viejo

They say that Teodora Valdivieso, a coyota woman, lived in a town called El Viejo. After her husband fell asleep, she would go behind their ranch, utter the incantation "down with meat, down with meat," and transformed to go meet a herd.

One of those nights her husband spied on her and threw a fist of salt on her just before she spoke the spell to return to being human, an act that left her in her coyota form forever.

Some say that her wailing screams can still be heard and that she is sometimes seen moving across the plain accompanied by her cubs.

9- Chico Largo del Charco Verde

Near the waters of the Charco Verde lagoon, Chico Largo strolls.

They say that if people go into the lagoon on Thursday and Good Friday, they run the risk of being caught by the Long Boy and being imprisoned in his cave, a place from which they can only emerge transformed into cows that will later be sold to a slaughterhouse.

Themes of interest

Legends of Peru.

Venezuelan legends.

Mexican legends.

Legends of Guatemala.

Colombian legends.

Argentine legends.

Ecuadorian legends.

References

1. Peña Hernández, E. Folklore of Nicaragua. Editorial Union, Masaya, 1968.
2. Palma, M. Mythical trails of Nicaragua. Editorial Nueva América, Bogotá, 1987.
3. Cuadra, PA and Pérez Estrada, F. Sample of Nicaraguan folklore. Cultural Promotion Fund-Bank of America (Human Sciences series No. 9) Managua, 1978.
4. Zepeda Henríquez, E. Nicaraguan mythology. Editorial "Manolo Morales," Managua, 1987.