folklores, symbols, and culture
WOMEN IN LATIN AMERICAN MYTHS
CENTRAL MEXICO| CREATION MYTH OF THE AZTECS: GODDESS, WATER, AND HUMAN SACRIFICE
In the Aztecs mythology, everything on earth came from the body of a goddess who was torn apart by two creator gods, Quetzalcoatl(lightness) and Tezcatlipoc(darkness). The earth was once complete chaos, with nothing but water and a monster goddess...
Alison Qiu
CHILE| LOS TREMPULCAHUE:Â WHEN WHALES BECOME HUMANS
Los trempulcahue are mythical creatures in the form of 4 whales that live on the coast of present-day Chile. Their job is to escort the souls of the fishermen who died in the ocean to "Ngill chenmaywe" (a place where the dead reunite) to...
Alison Qiu
MEXICO| LA LLORONA: TEARS AND FAMILY ROLE
La Llorona is said to be a wailing ghost, wandering through the nights and stealing children to drown them (llorar means to cry in Spanish). There are different explanations as to how she has become a ghost. According to one version, la Llorona was once a woman...
Alison Qiu
ARGENTINA| EL LAGO ALUMINÉ: THE LAKE CREATED BY THE MOON
The god of los Mapuches, Nguenchén, ordered the sun and the moon (Antú and Cuyén) to marry each other. Together, they could bring light to the earth. In the beginning, the newlyweds were happy. As time went on, however, the sun became...
Alison Qiu