Discover with us the El Salvador Mythology. Get to know all its gods and its most fascinating popular horror stories.
El Salvador Mythology
The mythology of El Salvador is characterized for being full of beliefs in stories full of mystery and terror, that have their origin in the first Salvadoran settlers and that, even nowadays influence the culture, identity, traditions and daily life of El Salvador.
The myths of El Salvador are well known throughout Central America, having been passed down from generation to generation by the Salvadoran people. Their stories are made for different purposes, they contain a religious message, a moral message or simply a tale to scare children and adults on the night of the dead.
This mythology is characterized by its popular tales and although it is not very well known, many of the inhabitants of El Salvador assure that most of its stories are based on real life events and they have even had the experience of witnessing the protagonists of its myths and legends.
Gods of the mythology of El Salvador
Queton Tuzeus
He is the god of dullness, he is described as having a muscular appearance, dumb and deficient in brain mass. He had an uninspiring voice, much like a lisp. It is believed that the other gods called him “the automatic”; this was because every time Queton Tuzeus said something, it was simply to make a mistake.
Anona Frodita
She was identified as the absent goddess, because when her presence was needed, but Anona suspected that it would not be convenient for her to attend, she simply never made an appearance. She made the pension funds disappear along with her.
Huevonius
The god of laziness, he is described as having long arms and half-closed eyes. He was extremely careless and all he used to do was stretch all day, not paying attention to his duties.
Pereque
It was a kind of goblin that represented the setbacks. He was also called “Tuntunius”, which meant small annoyances or excuses and inconveniences. They usually appeared at night in the streets of El Salvador, extorting men and chasing women who were blonde.
Dechotus
Similar to the Greek and Roman gods Hermes and Mercury, Dechotus is the god of wit and commerce. Known for his great quality to excel in trades, however, it is believed that he failed because of his lack of enthusiasm for promotions.
Other gods
There are records of some explorers of the lands of El Salvador, where mention is made of other gods belonging to this mythology; such as: God cricket voice, goblin builder, God Pinochius and the fairy Mamola.
However, many of these records have not yet been fully translated and deciphered to know exactly the functions and characteristics of these other gods of the mythology of El Salvador.
Most popular myths of the mythology of El Salvador
Salvadoran myths have been an oral tradition that has passed from generation to generation. These beliefs have lasted until today in El Salvador; they are based on events of supernatural origin or natural phenomena that cannot be explained scientifically, but have greatly influenced the lives of Salvadorans.
The evil eye
This myth has become the most popular in El Salvador. There is a belief that there are people who have a spirit with a lot of strength and that when it sees another person intensely, it can“give them the evil eye”; especially to children who are more vulnerable.
The way to recognize if a person has the evil eye, is to present symptoms such as: vomiting, diarrhea and a feeling of exhaustion and listlessness throughout the body in general; even if it is not treated in time it could lead to death.
The only way to cure an evil eye is to visit a “curandero”. With the help of some herbs, alcohol and also tobacco, he makes a mixture that he smears all over the affected person’s body to ward off the evil eye.
The only way to avoid the evil eye, especially in infants, is to protect the wrist or ankle with a bracelet, which is made with red and black ribbons. Sometimes even deer’s eye seeds can be placed on it.
The soguilla
This myth has to do with coughing in dogs. It is believed that when a dog is attacked by a cough the only way to cure it so that it does not die is by making a collar called “soguilla”, it is made with ropes and corncobs. Only the corn cob is used without the corn kernels and it is placed around the dog’s neck.
The hiccups
Another of the most common beliefs of the Salvadoran people is that there are only two ways to get rid of the hiccups: scare the person or tell a lie to cause a feeling of sadness.
In the case of newborn children, the only way to remove the hiccups is for the mother to place a red thread moistened on the forehead and it will automatically be cured.
The hiccups
It is an eye disease, it causes irritation and inflammation of the entire eye area. In El Salvador they have a strong belief that the origin of this disease is due to observing the dogs when they are in their mating time. The way to cure the eyelid is to pass the tail of a black cat over the entire inflamed area.
The owl
In the towns of El Salvador it is very common the belief of the meaning of the song of the owl. When this animal appears at night in a house and makes its song, it is believed that one of the inhabitants of the home is about to die.
The Owl
The chillo is a very small bird but it has a very high-pitched and scandalous song; when the chillo stands on the facade of a home and makes its song, it means that there will be a special visitor that day.
Amate flower
The amate is a common tree in El Salvador, it does not bear any type of fruit or flowers. However, it is believed that this tree just at midnight, at the top of its crown is born a white flower that falls to the ground.
It is believed that whoever finds this amate flower, will be able to have everything he has always wanted; but not before passing tests to defeat the devil, since he is the true owner of the amate flower.
Stories and legends of terror in the mythology of El Salvador
What better than a good video to listen and live the 5 most terrifying myths and legends of El Salvador, hold on to your seat, turn off the light and look for company, because the following Salvadoran legends are no game
1.- El cadejo
This legend tells that when god observed all the evils that afflict the Salvadoran people, and created a creature that would serve to frighten the villagers but at the same time give them protection.
This creature is called “cadejo”, it has the appearance of a dog, with deep red eyes and white fur. But the demon, acting out of jealousy, created another black cadet, identical to the original white cadet but with scarlet eyes, to cause terror in the town.
The white cub, created by God, represents goodness and protects all those who are in his way. It is a being of light that protects the souls of people who believe in god, especially young children and newborns so that the devil does not take them away.
The black cadet, created by the devil, represents evil; attacking all those who are in his way. It hypnotizes them in order to steal their souls; the best way to keep the black cadet away is with the smoke of incense, which is commonly known in El Salvador as “sahumerio“.
2.- The siguanaba
This legend belongs to Salvadoran mythology; however, it is also very popular in Guatemalan mythology. It is also called “sihuehuet”, which means “beautiful woman” . According to legend, the sihuehuet became pregnant as a result of an affair she had with the son of the god Tlaloc.
But sihuehuet was a very bad mother, she always left her son alone and only cared about pleasing her lover. When the god Tlaloc found out about this, he cursed her by calling her siguanaba, which means “horrible woman”.
In this way, she would remain a beautiful woman; but the moment any man approached her she would become a horrible woman who would be abhorred. And to her son the cipitío, in reward for the suffering lived with his mother, the god Tlaloc granted him eternal youth.
The siguanaba was condemned by god to wander through the fields, she always comes out at night near the rivers of the Savior and appears to all men who travel alone at night; especially to the man Don Juan who boasts of his love affairs. All the men who look at her go crazy for her and the siguanaba bewitches them so that they jump into the ravines.
3.- The cipitio
He is also called cipit or cipitillo; he is the son of sihuehuet and the morning star god. The god Tlaloc condemned him not to grow and he remained eternally with the appearance of an eleven year old boy, who basically feeds on bananas and ashes.
Despite being the son of a god, the Cyptian has the appearance of a child of low income and physical deformities. He has upside down feet, a big belly, a pointed hat made of palm, wings on his back and has the ability to teleport.
This legend is entirely native to Salvadoran folklore, and the meaning of his name comes from the word “cipote”, which is the term used to name infants in El Salvador.
Despite being a harmless creature, it loves to harass people by playing pranks on them and then mocking them in their face with laughter. It is believed that the only way to scare the cipitio away is to eat in the bathroom in front of the toilet; the cipitio is disgusted by its bad habits and moves away.
4.- The squeaky cart
Legend has it that a witch cart appeared to Cirina. It had the appearance of an ordinary wagon, without oxen; but at the end of the stakes it had human caravels with quite grotesque expressions of different smiles.
This wagon carried as cargo, a pile of decapitated corpses still writhing in the wagon. It was called a screaming wagon, because the corpses were shouting the names of the lying and hypocritical people who lived in the town through which they passed.
Cirina was so curious that she could not resist the temptation to leave her house to observe the screaming cart; she was so frightened that she woke up dead in a pool of blood. This happened to Cirina for gossiping, lying, criticizing and judging.
5.- The headless father
The headless father appears in front of the gate of the church of the rosary every Friday at midnight. He makes a tour of the entire block surrounding the church, and returns to the central patio; sometimes he has been observed in the bell tower of the church.
There are many versions of this legend; however, the most common is the belief that it was a priest in pain who died committing a mortal sin that had no confession and lost his head because of a love affair. Besides being present in the mythology of El Salvador, this legend is common throughout Central America.
6.- The Elf
It is a spirit that falls in love with the young women of the town, pursues them and does not leave them alone until he leaves them unmarried.
The only way to make the goblin leave them alone is for them to do things like not bathing or any unhygienic action that seems unpleasant to the goblin causing him to move away from them leaving a very loud noise.
7.- The stark
This is a beautiful woman who appears on the highways asking for a ride, it was very easy for men to fall for her charms; she usually presents herself as a very sexy woman with a very flashy outfit.
Once men ride this mysterious woman in their cars, she begins to seduce them; when they kiss and touch her, her skin is torn to a skeleton. Men who have an encounter with the fleshless woman are traumatized for life.
Conclusion
The mythology of El Salvador is full of magic, mystery, terror and fantasy; with myths and legends of creatures and spirits that are intended to relate a mixture of fact and fiction.
These stories have a mixture of fantastic beings and the daily life of Salvadorans; they aim to leave a teaching or apply a lesson to correct the mistakes made by people but in a rather dark way.
Each story varies from one town to another within El Salvador, each one adjusts it to its own history; and their beliefs still have a strong influence today. Many of them have even reached all of Central America.
