Colombian folklore
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Colombian folklore are beliefs, customs and cultural traditions in Colombia.
Cultural influences
African and Native American cultures
.
Relevancy
These folkloric entities are present in
Nutibara hill. Legendary creatures have also been accepted into many facets of popular culture and the collective memory
. There are those who believe in their existence, claiming to have heard or even encountered them.
Legendary figures
- The doppelgangermonster woman
- The Latin American folkloreabout woman monsters from the jungle.
- The Boraro (The Pale Ones),Brazilian Folklore in the mythology of the Tucano people. Much like the "Curupira" it has backwards facing feet to confuse it's foes and is a protector of wildlife. Beyond its feet however, it is far more grotesque in appearance. It is very tall to the extent it is tree sized, pale skinned but covered in black fur, has large forward facing ears, fangs and huge pendulous genitals. It has no joints in its knees, so if it falls down it has great trouble getting up. It uses two main ways to kills its victims, first its urine is a lethal poison .[2] Secondly, if it catches a victim in its embrace it will crush them without breaking skin or bones, until their flesh is pulp. Then it drinks the pulp through a small hole made in the victims head, after which the victims empty skin is inflated like a balloon and are then sent home in a daze, where they subsequently die. It can be placated by tobacco, but to escape it one can either place their hands in its footprints which will cause its legs to stiffen and temporarily make the monster fall, or alternatively run backwards while facing it, which confuses the monster.[3]
- The Moan is a forest and river creature that protects the forests, steals women and disturbs fishing and hunting activities.
- The .
- The Madremonte (Mother Mountain/Mother of the forest) or Mistress of the Animals. She is described as a beautiful, tall woman, who has hair made of plants and glowing eyes.
- The St. Sebastian´s day to hunt human victims, much like the werewolf.
- The Mohana (La Mojana) Mother of water or Amazon river. The discography of Colombian folkloric singer Totó la Momposinaincludes works about the Mohana.
- The evil chicken ("pollo maligno") is an hunters, attracting them to the deepest forest in order to devour them.
- The Candileja is said to be the spirit of a vicious old woman, who was in charge of her grandchildren but neglected to teach them any moral principles, so they grew up as murderers and thieves. In the afterlife she was damned to travel around the world surrounded by flames. It is related to the Will-o'-the-wispphenomenon.
- The dark mule or Mula Retinta is an evil spirit that appears before arrieros as a pack animal, causing violent winds and storms that make people fall off the precipices at the side of the pathways.
- The Bracamonte is a creature who is unseen, yet its bellows are said to make cattle hide in fear. It is said that the only way to protect oneself from a Bracamonte is to nail a stake with a cow skull, as the Bracamonte was said to fear the bones of the cows it would eat.
- The Viruñas or Mandingas (the Evil One), is considered a representation of Satan, and appears as a handsome man who steals the souls of the people.
See also
- List of Reportedly Haunted Locations in Colombia
References
- ^ "Boraro mythical creature: Myth Beasts". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
- ^ ′′The Rainbow Serpent: AChromatic Piece′′-Ira R Buchler (1978)
- ^ ′′Latin American myths and legends′′-Javier Ocampo Lopez (2006), p.183