Dec 18 2009
La Mocuana
A sudden loss of innocence fell on her, colder and heavier than the darkness that shrouded the cave. The collapse of the stones at the entrance still echoed in the shell of her soul, like bells trying to warn her of the great mistake she had committed in the name of love. She silently meditated about the unfortunate time she had met the handsome white conqueror with his pale blue eyes like the sky of Sébaco Valley. The newcomer with his hair so blond as the gold that drove her fate and had made her a simple object of pleasure.
The young indigenous woman had just been buried alive by the man she loved. She had been cruelly deceived by her lover who had persuaded her to trust him. She had told him the secret of where her father kept the treasure that belonged to this region esteliana. Generous, she had guided him to the coveted place and when he finally obtained the treasure, he left.
His father had warned her. Spaniards were greedy. The golden gifts that he had given them when they arrived were not enough. He had noticed it in their eyes when they first saw the bright metal. He knew that before they left, they wanted all the precious metals they could find. The Chief had also seen the lust in their eyes at the sight of young women in the region.
Now, in her confinement, the beautiful woman was not afraid of the darkness and silence. She had grown up running in the hills, enjoying the fresh water from rivers and playing in the mountains. Find a way out of the cave was not a difficult task. It was another form of oxygen that she needed. The man she loved had betrayed the trust of his father. Worst of all, she had lost the tender light of those eyes she loved so much and suspected that in her womb a new life has beginning to beat.
Legend says that the attitude of her lover and her guilt caused her to lose her mind. Other versions of this story claim that it was her father who locked her on the mountain, condemning her to eternal punishment despite knowing of her pregnancy. Whatever the situation was, from that moment on, the beautiful girl became the infamous Mocuana Witch, a horrible apparition feared throughout the region. It is rumored that she lures men who travel the roads and invites them to follow her to the cave. They are attracted by her long black hair and beautiful body and cannot decline the invitation. Others say that Mocuana steals and kills babies, and as payment for her crime she leaves the child’s parents a few nuggets of gold as a macabre souvenir of her misfortune.
Written by Martha Isabel Arana
