Nicaragua de mis recuerdos

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

La Mocuana – Spanish

“Nicaraguan newspapers report annually of school children afraid to attend class and farmers who flee ranches thanks to horrifying little duendes, who appear, laughing their dangerously contagious duende laugh, invisible to most, but completely visible and both repulsive and enticing, to a select few. Managua daily El Nuevo Diario on January 12 of this year reported of the widow Doña Fátima López who escaped the rock throwing duendes that attacked her home near Cuapa, Chontales; finding refuge in her father’s farm 90 km east, only to have the duendes follow her and steal her small son one night from bed and leave him asleep outside in a cattle trough. The same newspaper demonstrated on June 21, 2003 that duendes can even penetrate the nation’s sprawling capital city of Managua. Managua’s Colegio Nicarao (primary and secondary school) principle reported to the periodical that five students arrived to her office dazed, apparently under a “strange influence”. They then described to her contact with a yellow duende, who wore a green scarf and had long ears, blond hair, blue eyes, arching eyebrows, a wrinkled white face, red mouth was about a half-meter tall sporting pointy shoes and white socks….”

Paragraph is part of essay “Nicaraguan leprechauns” written by freelance photographer Richard Leonardi

Continuar leyendo artículo (inglés)

There are many versions of La Cegua.  She is supposed to be a very beautiful young lady with long black hair who appears to men in the country, on roads and up hills, by rivers, out of nowhere, and ask them to take her to the nearest town.   People say that no man can resist her plea.   The woman suddenly turns into something horrible.  She has the face of death, with eyes that cast fire.  Her laugh can be heard in lonely roads and freezes with fear those who are able to hear her in the distance.  Her main purpose is to chase womanizing or alcoholic men and punish them until they are almost dead, lying on the streets, all “played by cegua” or dumb.  (jugado ‘e cegua in spanish).  Some people say that ceguas are witches that have the ability to throw up their souls to become this dreadful apparition.

Other versions:

“The most terrifying of Nicaragua’s folkloric characters is La Cegua, a witch who resides in the woods. She takes on several facades.  At times she appears in a white corn leaf dress with a veil covering her face.  It is said that she has long black hair covering over her face.  She is also said to wear a Guarumo Tree leaf dress and her voice is made rasping and hollow by plantain leaves covering her teeth. Others say that her face is ghostly and that her eyes stare into her victim’s souls. Still another version says that she is believed to have the face of a horse. Nicaraguans also say that she walks through the woods and back roads naked, waiting for her next victim.  Men are drawn to her fantastical silhouette. The words she speaks to these men are so horrific that the victim goes insane instantaneously – something from which they never recover.  La Cegua is believed to have super-human abilities and is able to walk through solid objects, gravitate above ground and fly at extreme speeds in her efforts to lure men into her trap.  To save yourself from such an encounter you should carry mustard seeds and throw them before her.  She apparently will stop to try and pick up the magical seeds.  As with other myths in Nicaraguan folklore, the tale of La Cegua is believed to ensure that men come straight home after work.”  – Nicaragua.com

Other countries: Costa Rica legends, La Cegua

Photograph: ElNuevoDiario

The Mombacho, whose crest is always enshrouded by mists of clouds, is the guardian of the city of Granada and all the villages around it. The old ones tell that since ancient times the peasants who live around its base have known that a natural fountain of crystal clear water exists within the volcano’s crater.

Even though the people from the neighboring cities respect the enchanted fountain, there have been many who have disrespected it and have entered the “devil’s cauldron,” as the people often call the crater. But only those who know the secret of the enchantment can bear witness of the wonders which reside there. According to these testimonies, after climbing up the volcano’s flank and smelling the fresh air which pervades everything, one must search for a secret path which leads down into the crater.

Once you manage to reach the bottom, you will be surprised by a 200 square meter area where the most beautiful and exotic flowers and butterflies ever seen by human eyes grow. This place is called “the Pit” because it appears to be a hole in the middle of the crater. This garden is always perfectly clean as if tended by a superhuman hand, however, no one lives there. And there, from a rock in that garden, pours the pure waters of the enchanted fountain. All those who have ever drunk its water know that only a drop is required to quench even the thirst of a camel. People have been shocked to witness lions, tigers, monkeys, and all types of animals coming to drink at the same time without ever fighting or attacking each other. If someone tries to shoot these animals, they can fire as many bullets as they like at the animal and they will see it fall down and die. However, when they go to retrieve it, the animal will have disappeared leaving no trace that they were ever there. Similarly, the animals walk quite close to you so that they can be photographed, but when you put the camera to your eye they disappear.

Published on Native Legends

Info: Mombacho (Spanish)
Hiking on the Mombacho

“Late one Saturday afternoon, three brothers left the village of Ulwas an the Coco River in Nicaragua. They were going to hunt wari, the wild pig which is so delicious to eat. After walking an hour through the bush, they heard a voice. “Dar. Dar. Dar.” said the voice. The brothers stopped. They looked around, but there was nobody there. Then they heard the voice again. “Dar. Dar. Dar.” The voice came from a vine that was swinging from a tree in front of them…”  to continue reading this legend, beautifully illustraded in both English and Dutch follow this link -> The InvisibleHunters

An einem späten Samstag Nachmittag verließen drei Brüder das Dorf Ulwas am Fluß Coco in Nicaragua. Sie machten sich auf den Weg, um Wildschweine, die ein so köstlich schmeckendes Fleisch haben, zu jagen. Nachdem sie eine Stunde durch den Busch gelaufen waren, hörten sie eine Stimme. “Dar. Dar. Dar.” rief die Stimme. Die Brüder hielten an, schauten umher, konnten aber niemanden entdecken. Da hörten sie die Stimme erneut. “Dar. Dar. Dar.” Die Stimme kam von einer Ranke, die von einem Baum vor ihnen herunter hing. -> Die unsichtbaren Jäger