MOST FAMOUS LEGENDS AND MYTHS OF SAVIOR

El Salvador has an incomparable exuberance in its traditions, one of them being its mythology. The myths of the savior are mostly oral stories referring to gods, heroes or magical characters, based on ancestral beliefs in supernatural events or phenomena.

Myths of the Savior: Gods, Myths and Horror Stories

The mythology of El Salvador is known for being filled with beliefs in legends of mystery and terror, which originated with the initial settlers of El Salvador and which currently exert great influence on the culture, identity, customs and daily life of the country.

Throughout Central America, the myths of the Savior are very popular, which have been passed down from father to son by the Salvadoran people. They are chronicles made for various purposes, they contain a religious, moralizing message or simply a story to scare children and adults on the night of the dead festival.

Popular Stories

Popular tales are characteristic of this mythology and although it is not a well-known fact, a large part of the inhabitants of El Salvador attest that most of their stories are based on real life events. They have even had the opportunity to meet the protagonists of such myths and legends.

In its fabulous stories, transmitted through oral tradition, the actions of creatures that figuratively embody natural forces, images of the human condition, etc. are told. In particular, they place greater emphasis on the narratives of what happened in the lives of the gods, exceptional beings and heroes of ancient times.

Gods of the Savior Myths

Below are brief descriptions of the typical deities of El Salvador, from which many of its myths have been built.

Queton Tuzeus

He is the deity of clumsiness, they describe him as having a muscular, stupid appearance and with insufficient brain mass. She had a half-hearted voice, much like a lisp. It is considered that the other deities called him “the automatic one,” since every time Chaeton Tuzeus pronounced something, he simply made a mistake.

Anona Frodite

She was recognized as the distant goddess, since when her presence was required, Anona sensed that it would not be convenient for her to show herself, so she simply never appeared. It causes the pension funds to disappear along with her.

Huevonius

The deity of laziness, they describe him with long arms and almost closed eyes. He was extremely negligent and the only thing he usually did was stretch out throughout the day, without paying attention to his duties.

Pereque

It was a variety of goblin that personified contradictions. He was also called “Tuntunius”, which meant small setbacks or excuses and impediments. He usually showed up late at night on the streets of El Salvador, blackmailing men and harassing blonde-haired women.

Dechotus

It retains a certain resemblance to the Greek and Roman gods Hermes and Mercury; Dechotus is the deity of talent and commerce. He is famous for his great ability to distinguish himself in the trades, however, it is believed that he was not successful because of his lack of passion in promotions.

Other Gods

It is known from records of certain explorers of the territories of El Salvador, in which other gods specific to this mythology are mentioned, such as: God Cricket’s Voice, Elf Builder, God Pinochius and the Fairy Mamola.

However, much of these records have not yet been fully translated and codified to accurately understand the occupations and characteristics of these other deities of the Savior mythology.

Short Myths of the Savior

Below we present a succession of brief myths of the savior, noting that more than legends in their ordinary meaning, they are rather popular beliefs regarding certain existential situations.

Myths of the Savior The Evil Eye

This myth has become the best known in El Salvador, since there is a conviction that there are people who have a very energetic spirit and that when they stare at another person they can “give them the evil eye”; particularly if they are very vulnerable children. If a person with a very powerful spirit visits a newborn and if she did not carry him or her in her arms, the boy or girl immediately begins to show health problems.

The symptoms presented by a person who is affected by the evil eye are: vomiting, stomach upset and a kind of general fatigue and listlessness. If treatment is not applied in time, this condition could lead to death.

It is said that the only way to cure this damage is to go to a “curandero”, who with the help of certain herbs, alcohol and also tobacco, makes a preparation that is smeared all over the patient’s body to distance the evil eye.

In the case of children, the only way to prevent the evil eye is to protect their wrist or ankle with a bracelet made of red and black ribbons, which acts as an amulet. On certain occasions you can even add some deer’s eye seeds.

The Soguilla

This myth is related to coughs in dogs, since it is considered that when a dog is affected by cough, the only way to cure it so that it does not perish is by making a collar called “soguilla”, which is made with ropes and cobs. Only the cob without the corn seeds is used and it is hung around the dog’s neck, with which the canine’s cough should disappear.

Hiccups and How to Get Rid of It

We call non-deliberate contractions of the diaphragm hiccups, and it happens that when the contraction is made suddenly, air enters quickly, causing the vocal cords to close and produce that noise called hiccups.

To eliminate them, certain myths about the savior are known, such as, for example, that you should scare the person or in other cases, do something to them that makes them very afraid, makes them sad and that makes the hiccups disappear. Likewise, you can tell him a lie to make him feel disconsolate.

For newborn infants, the only way to eliminate hiccups is for the mother to put a moistened red thread on their forehead, which will make it heal automatically.

The Pispelo

It is an infection that appears as a lump on the edge of the eyelid, causing the nearby eye area to become irritated and swollen. In El Salvador there is a strong conviction that the origin of this condition is caused by seeing two dogs when they mate. You can only cure the pispel by passing the tail of a black cat over the entire inflamed area. It is also believed that it can be cured by placing and rubbing a gold ring above the eyelid.

The owl

Numerous myths have been created around the owl, one of which states that when its song is heard near a home or in the home itself, a person in the family circle, whether friends or relatives, will soon perish. It is also said that the owl is the spirit of a witch that wanders through the Central American sky at night, indicating that they seek to scare away her victims in dark places.

When a low whistle is heard in the sky, it is the owl that is flying, and if it is responded to with the same whistle, it descends to scratch the eyes of the interloper. The bearded owl is described, which is truly a variety that grows two enormous long feathers laterally to its beak. The elders relate that those bearded owls are witches who were perpetually transformed like this and that there are also secrets to scare them.

The Chillo

The screech is a very small bird but it has a very high-pitched and thunderous song. When a screech lands at the entrance of a home and begins to sing, it means that there will be an important visit that same day.

The Flower of Amate

The amate is a tree of great presence in El Salvador, which rises up to about 24 meters and does not provide any type of fruit or flowers. It is known to be located in the pastures where cattle rest or near sugar cane mills. It is considered that on this tree exactly at midnight, a white flower appears at the top of its crown and then falls to the ground.

The myth lies in the fact that it is thought that whoever gets this amate flower will be able to obtain everything they have always wanted, love, money and health. But first he will have to overcome tests to defeat the devil, since he is the true owner of the amate flower.

The Broken Mirror

This myth of the savior refers to the fact that when a person accidentally breaks a mirror, it is considered that according to tradition this is a sign of bad luck and therefore they will have seven years of misfortune.

Go Under a Ladder

This myth refers to the fact that if someone is riding a ladder, they should not walk under it, since this causes bad fortune for whoever does so.

See a Black Butterfly

Finding a black butterfly inside a house or in the place where the person is located, also means hard or difficult times.

Popular Myths of the Savior

Within the abundant presence of myths of the savior we have selected a few within this category of the most popular, knowing that we barely cover a tiny percentage of their total number.

The Cipitio

It is also called cipit or cipitillo; He is the son of Sihuehuet and the morning star god. The god Tlaloc sentenced him not to grow and he remained forever with the appearance of an eleven-year-old boy, whose food is mainly bananas and ashes.

Despite being the son of a god, the cipitius has the appearance of a child of moderate resources and with physical malformations. His feet are upside down, a large belly, a pointed hat made of palm, wings on his back and he has the ability to teleport.

This legend is completely original from the folklore of El Salvador, and what its name means comes from the term “cipote”, which is the word used to designate infants in El Salvador.

Although he is a peaceful creature, he likes to harass people by making jokes and then laughing in their faces. It is considered that the only way to scare away the cipitío is to eat in the bathroom in front of the toilet. The cipitius feels disgusted by his bad habits and goes away.

La Cuyancúa

Within the traditional stories of El Salvador that are transmitted from generation to generation, we can get the legend of Cuyancúa or Cuisnahuat. This story comes from the department of Sonsonate, particularly from the Izalco area, a municipality known for its chronicles of supernatural beings and magic.

Legend has it that the Cuyancúa is a being that is half a snake in the lower limbs (the tail) and half a pig in the upper limbs (the head and legs) and its size is similar to that of a small cow. Locals also report that it is a beast that is heard at night or in the early morning and that screams like a tunco when a storm approaches. Others…