Myths and legends
All societies agree on one thing: they have myths and legends. Regardless of where you were born, if there is one thing that all human beings have in common, it is that they have all heard a myth or legend.
These narratives are traditional, no matter if they are mystery, horror or simply educational. Myths and legends form an important part of the culture of each nation. The most curious thing about this whole world is that societies have managed to transmit these stories throughout the generations.
While in modern times these stories are often dismissed as fanciful, when they were created, they truly represented reality for the population at the time. These stories were created to give logic to the events happening around them.
Even long before the Spanish language arrived in Latin America, cultures had already developed their own ancient stories. Mexico is a country that stands out for its vast cultural repertoire, full of quite famous stories. Therefore, in this article, you will discover the most popular myths and legends of this region.
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Myths and legends of Mexico
Both myths and legends are important stories that can be passed down from generation to generation. Although most have been passed down orally, a good portion has been recorded on paper so that their knowledge is not lost over the years.
There are various types of myths and legends. These narratives can vary greatly from each other, even if they share the same genre. From solved mysteries to heroic people, mythological creatures, supernatural animals, powerful gods and historical figures, there is a wide range of characters that star in these stories.
From a fantasy world, it is intended to explain everyday situations, natural events and even teach some moral basis. There is no specific author, the stories are so old that it is impossible to designate an author for them. They are ghost stories, which adapt and evolve over time, even though their main essence remains.
A society's stories are a key element in gaining insight into its culture. Below, we'll present 12 short myths and legends from Mexico, so you can learn about this nation's culture and beliefs.
The Llorona
From one of the darkest corners of the world, legend tells of a woman long ago who tried to take revenge on the man she had married. This man had broken her heart, so to hurt him, she murdered his three children in the river. However, when she realized what she had done, she regretted it deeply and committed suicide before the guilt consumed her.
From then on, the woman was condemned to wander the mortal world, roaming the streets of various cities when the clock strikes midnight. People can distinguish her from other ghosts because she tends to cry constantly, screaming hysterically for her children, which is how she earned her nickname "the weeping woman."
While it's true that this woman's motives vary depending on the version, the story always ends the same: the woman repents, but she had already committed the crime. Those who tell this story specify that La Llorona typically only appears to bad people and does so to punish them for whatever they've committed.
Popocatepetl and Iztaccihualt
In the center of Mexico it can be seen that there are two volcanoes named after Popocatepetl and IztaccihuatlBoth volcanoes were named after two important people: a famous Aztec warrior and the daughter of one of the chiefs. Popocatépetl (the warrior) had promised Iztaccíhuatl (the chief's daughter) that he would return when the war was over.
Although they loved each other very much, there was someone who wanted to prevent them from being together. Another warrior had heard their conversation, because he was also in love with Iztaccihuatl, he told him that he had died in combat, even though it was not true.
The young woman decided to take her own life, overcome by a terrible sadness. When Popocatépetl returned to the village, he found that his beloved had taken her own life, so he decided to do the same. The gods, having observed the love between these young people, gave them the opportunity to reunite, only instead of being mortals, they would be volcanoes, so they could be together for eternity.
The alley of the kiss
This story is a typical legend from a Mexican city called Guanajuato and tells how a jealous father prevented the relationship between his daughter Carmen and her lover. He hated their love so much that he promised Carmen to an older, richer man who would take her far away from the country.
Before her daughter and the other man were married, he locked the young woman in one of the rooms of the house; at that time, the houses were very similar to each other, as they had a very narrow alley between them. Carmen and her lover took advantage of the window in her room to see each other and kiss. The man she loved so much bought the house next door and saw how the two windows were aligned.
Unfortunately, this story doesn't have a happy ending. The father found the two lovers and, in a rage, stabbed his daughter in the chest with a knife. The man only managed to give his beloved a goodbye kiss. From then on, that alley was dubbed the Kiss alley And by tradition, when a couple passes by, they must kiss in front of the house's window. If you'd like to learn more about this place, you can read about the tradition associated with it.
the mayan hummingbird
Within the vast repertoire of Mexican myths and legends, you'll find the myth of the birth of the hummingbird. The story goes that during the creation of the world, the Mayan gods assigned a specific task to each animal that inhabited the earth. Once they completed the list, they noticed that someone was missing who could carry ideas, thoughts, and even desires among them.
They were out of clay and corn, the materials they had used to create everything else. The only thing left in their repertoire was a small jade stone, which they decided to carve into a bird. When they were finished, they blew on it and it flew away very quickly. This is how they created a new being, which they named x't unu'um What does hummingbird mean?
The mulatto girl from Córdoba
The mulatto woman from Córdoba is a true legend. She was a woman who died at the stake when she was condemned by the Holy Office, near the eastern coast of Mexico.
Several things were attributed to this woman and the stories of her death vary. The first version says that she had eternal youth and the second, she was the lawyer for impossible cases, she served unemployed workers and single women. She always spent her time surrounded by men and they fell in love with her because of her gifts, making her lose themselves along the path of her carnal desires.
She was arrested because the people said that she had a pact with the devil and that she worshiped him in her own home. She was arrested by the Court of the Holy Inquisition and accused of witchcraft. Condemned to die, she asked the guards for a sheet of paper and a piece of coal, with which she escaped from her cell, leaving a smell of sulfur that is still reported today.
The reality of the woman from Córdoba is that she died at the stake, along with many women who were convicted of the same crime, in times of witch hunts.
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The alley of the dead
In the city of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, there is a legend that tells of a man whose job was to light all the oil lamps in the city and who was killed while doing his job. It is said that he had already finished, however, he mysteriously died without lighting the last one.
The man appears at 9 p.m., walking through the alley of oil lamps to check that they're lit. Curiously, this Mexican legend is relatively new compared to others; despite this, it remains a significant cultural symbol.
The nahual
Since pre-Hispanic times, it was believed that there were several gods that possessed the ability to transform their human form into that of an animal. This fact is an important part of Mexican culture, where most of the gods are represented in both forms. This ability was also attributed to sorcerers, shamans and other characters with mystical powers.
Thanks to this, the legend is created that nahuales are mystical beings who appear to people transformed into common animals; most of these apparitions occur at midnight.
On the other hand, many Mexican traditions, including legends and myths, are influenced by pre-Hispanic folklore. These references have survived through time and impact many of the people's beliefs, even in modern times; the nahuales, or nagual, are a clear example of this.
Devil's alley
Located in Mexico City, there is an alley where the devil is reported to appear. As many people were skeptical, one brave man decided to check out that story and decided that he should walk down that alley to see if it was true.
The place was very frightening, as there were many trees blocking the moonlight from illuminating the street. He didn't even make it halfway across the street when he saw a shadow behind a tree; looking more closely, he could see the shadow taking the form of a man laughing intensely.
Very scared, the man tried to run away, but he felt the ground sink and wanted to trap him there. With what little strength he had left, he fought until he was able to run out of that alley. Once safe, he told everyone about his encounter with the devil.
Many locals say they leave offerings to the creature that appears in that tree so it won't harm them. The place has been dubbed Devil's Alley, and few brave souls dare to cross it.
the island of dolls
Even if the story behind the Island of the Dolls' existence isn't real, the site itself does exist. In Xochimilco, there is a large lake filled with dolls. This creation was thanks to Julián Santana, a man who dedicated himself to collecting abandoned dolls and placing them around the lake as offerings.
According to him, he did this to drive away the evil spirits that were in the lake. He offered the dolls as a symbol of peace, specifically for a girl who drowned in that lake. Don Julián died a few years ago, but the dolls are still standing and it is said that his soul is constantly taking care of the dolls and placing new ones.
Princess Donají
Some time ago, there was a legend that Princess Donají. This story tells of Cosijopi, the last governor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in southern Mexico. This man had as offspring a daughter whom he called Donají.
The Mixtecs and Zapotecs were at war; during that conflict, Donají was captured as a hostage and killed; the enemy had decapitated her. Her body was buried, but her head was never found, or at least not during that time.
After several years, a shepherd walking through the Oaxacan mountains decided to pull a lily from the ground. Upon doing so, he discovered that beneath the lily was buried a head that appeared to be human. The shepherd rescued it and took it to be buried with his body in the temple of Cuilapam.
Once both extremities were together, Princess Donají's soul could finally rest in peace.
The Vampire Tree of Guadalajara
Vampire tales don't only appear in Romania; there's even a Mexican version. This tale, from many years ago, tells of a stranger from Europe who arrived in a town in Guadalajara, Mexico. This man was very strange, quiet, and reserved, but since he didn't really pose a problem, people left him alone.
After a while, they realized that some strange events had been happening since the arrival of that man. The animals of the town appeared lifeless overnight. After a while, bodies of small children also began to appear. All these corpses had a common focal point, none had blood on the body.
The villagers grew weary and decided to search for the stranger. At night, they mustered up their courage and confronted the man, believing him to be the culprit. When they found this young man, they realized he had tried to kill another man, so they arrested him and drove a wooden stake through his chest.
They decided to bury his body in the center of town, covering his grave with bricks. Over the years, a tree managed to grow between the bricks; the townspeople claim that if you try to cut a branch, you'll see the blood of the victims of the Guadalajara vampire spill out.
The legend of Tepoztecatl
Tepoztécatl is a recurring character in the legends of the Mexican region, specifically of the Morelos people. It is said that he was the son of a princess who became pregnant by a spell from a bird that she had perched on her shoulder. Because the woman was not married, the girl's parents were enraged and forced her to separate from her baby when it was born.
This little boy begins his story when he is abandoned in the forest and some ants decide to help him and raise him. The ants befriended the bees and asked them to give them some honey to feed the child. After a few months, the ants decided to leave the baby next to an agave tree, which decided to feed him with sap. Of course, the agave also abandoned Tepoztécatl after a few months and placed him on some pieces of wood to travel along the river.
Curiously, the little boy managed to navigate the river until he reached the home of an elderly couple; these people decided to take Tepoztécatl in and adopt him as part of their family. Much later, when he was already a strong and intelligent adult, a snake-like monster appeared in the village, frightening the residents.
The old man who had adopted Tepoztécatl was chosen to fight the creature. However, he was in no condition to do so, so his adopted son decided to go in his place and killed the beast using the edge of an obsidian crystal; thus, he became the hero of the people.
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Importance of the myths and legends of Mexico
Regardless of where you were born, it is impossible not to know some kind of legend or myth. All civilizations, both ancient and modern, have their own stories that tell about their origins and beliefs. The set of these cultural narratives is what we all know as a myth.
These stories, without an original author, are traditions of societies that have been maintained over the years. Myths, as we mentioned earlier, represent a narrative that attempts to explain a natural or social event, and many of them also attempt to teach a moral attitude or value.
Myths and legends are valued not only for the reality of their facts, but also for what they represent culturally. Even when we know they're a fantasy story, it's impossible not to appreciate their cultural impact. The main characters in these stories aren't ordinary humans, which actually entertains people even more than it alienates them.
Today they are fantasy stories, in the past they were reality for a people. Researchers of the ancient world have come to the conclusion that the myths lost their force when the human being began to take the first steps towards a more scientific world.
The myths and legends of Mexico and science
A common theme among myths was the explanation of natural events, which, in human reasoning, had to be explained. Due to the lack of study, the creation of myths enabled humanity of that time to understand what was happening.
Modernly, logic tells us a scientific process to explain these natural phenomena, then we no longer need or believe in the invented explanation. Mythology was then recognized as an irrational discourse that had no place in the logic of a more modern time.
Despite this, the myth did not abandon humanity. While it was no longer an absolute reality, it still revealed the vestiges of a society, which is of utmost importance on a cultural level. This resulted in society clinging to the stories and continuing to tell them as part of its traditions.
Myths and legends live on in the present. Literature, film, and art use these ancient stories as a reference to keep that memory alive. Appreciating the cultural value these texts convey is very important for continuing to function properly in society.
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