The 10 best Venezuelan Legends (and their meaning)

Venezuela, officially known as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country located in the north of South America that enjoys a rich history and natural wealth.

Despite the fact that it has recently been experiencing convulsive times, it is a town that has a culture and a tradition own, with multiple legends that descend from the different peoples that have inhabited the country since pre-Columbian In order to understand part of its idiosyncrasy, in this article we are going to see some of the best known Venezuelan legends.

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10 very interesting Venezuelan Legends

Below we show you a dozen Venezuelan legends, which tell us about topics such as the emergence of geographical elements such as some of the best-known peaks in the country, clouds, tradition and its rupture, love or the jealousy Some of them are typical of indigenous peoples, while others are from their mixture with the Catholic tradition..

1. Caribay and the five white eagles

“Many years ago the first of the women of the mirripuyes, Caribay, was born. Daughter of the Sun, Zuhé, and the Moon, Chíaher, she had one of the most beautiful voices in the world and was able to imitate any bird. One day the young Caribay, who was enjoying the contemplation and admiration of the forest and nature, saw in the sky five great white eagles with beautiful plumage.

Wishing to behold her beauty and even adorn herself with her feathers, she followed them. She chased the birds up into the mountains, up the highest cliffs, but she couldn't follow them any further. Saddened, she sang invoking Chia, causing the night to come and light up the earth. The sad song of Caribay impressed the animals including the five eagles, which descended until they settled motionless each on a cliff.

Caribay then went to the nearest cliff, where she tried to touch the first of the eagles. However, as she reached out her hand, she realized that the birds had frozen. Guilty and scared, Caribay fled. As she fled, Chia grew dark, causing the ice covering the eagles to melt. They woke up again, furious, shaking and scattering their white feathers.

The birds shook again and again, filling the place with white. His wings kicked up a cold breeze, and his squawks echoed. The young Caribay took refuge, but once she stopped hearing the birds she calmed down and could see how each of the five peaks had turned white."

this beautiful legend tells us about the origin of the snow in the Venezuelan peaks, as well as the squawking of the wind and the cold winds typical of the tops of the mountains. The song of Caribay also reminds us of the whistle of the wind, the element it represents.

2. the sayona

“A long time ago there was a young woman who lived with her husband, with whom she had recently had a baby. The young woman used to bathe in the river, but she was often spied on by a man from the village. One day she discovered the voyeur and asked what she was doing. The man, who had been surprised, she chose to lie to him by telling him that she was there to announce that her husband was unfaithful to her with another.

During the night, when the family was already at home, the husband whispered the name of his mother in his sleep. The woman, jealous and assuming that her own mother was her husband's lover, set fire to the house killing her husband and her baby. Then, with a knife in her hand, the young Ella went to her mother's house. After claiming an infidelity that her mother denied her, she stabbed her to death.

Her mother, with her last breath, told her that she had never been her husband's lover and she cursed her for the crimes she had committed. Since then, the sayona wanders eternally, chasing unfaithful men who fall for her seduction attempts to finish them off”.

One of the best-known horror legends in the country, the sayona (whose name comes from the garment she was wearing, a tunic) or the woman from the plain speaks of mistrust and jealousy, as well as the need to respect and care for mothers. It is said that the figure of the sayona seduces men with her beauty and then leads them to the plain. There she takes on her true form, with huge, razor-sharp fangs and claws and eyes the color of blood, often bringing death or madness to them.

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3. Mary Lionza

“Many years ago, at the time of the Spanish conquest, one of the leaders of the Caquetío Indians had a light-eyed daughter with a white woman. According to the beliefs of her village and the tribe's shaman, the light-eyed girl had to be sacrificed to the anaconda god or else she would bring misfortune to her village. The girl's father refused to sacrifice her and chose to lock her in a hut, with 22 warriors protecting her from her and keeping her in the home.

Years passed and the girl became a woman. One day and despite the fact that it was noon, all her guardians fell asleep, at which time the young woman took the opportunity to go to the river. There she was able to see her reflection for the first time. But she was also seen by the great god Anaconda, lord of the river, who fell in love with her little girl and ate her, wanting her for himself.

The father and the people wanted to punish the spirit, but it began to swell until she caused the waters of the river to overflow causing a great flood. The tribe disappeared.

After the event and by not stopping expanding, her serpent burst, letting the young woman out again, Maria Lionza (also known as Yara). But she did not come out as a mortal, but she became a goddess and protector of the waters, fish, nature and love”.

Yara is an ancient protective goddess of the indigenous peoples of Venezuela and other South American countries that is linked to the protection of nature, love and peace. The arrival of Catholicism changed her name to María Lionza (María de la Onza del Prado de Talavera de Nivar), being a cult that is still in force and extended in part of the country.

4. the lost hatcher

“Once there was a woodcutter who wanted to work on his own coffin, for which he decided to go look for wood in the mountains. However, she made the decision to go on Good Friday. At the very moment she raised the ax to cut down the first tree, God struck her down. The axer was condemned ever since to roam the woods forever, attacking those hunters who wander into them."

This horror legend from Venezuela tries to push on the one hand to respect traditions, while on the other it is a reminder of the dangers of the forest, especially at night.

5. the mule woman

“Once upon a time there was a young woman who worked in a restaurant in Caracas. One day, the girl's mother, an old woman, came to the restaurant to order a plate of food. Her own daughter denied her the dish and later expelled her from the premises.

Once outside, hurt, the old woman she met a man who gave her a coin with a cross of Saint Andrew. The man instructed her to go back to the restaurant and eat with that money, but when her daughter turned it over, she told her to stay for the change to buy malojo.

The old woman did as the man told her, something caused the daughter who had expelled her to partially transform into a mule, whinnying and kicking until she fled the scene. Since then, the mule woman covers herself with a white cloak and appears in churches, praying."

A Venezuelan legend that tells us about the price and punishment of ingratitude, as well as the return of the evils that are done to others.

6. Guaraira Repano

“In ancient times, the mountain known today as Ávila did not exist, living the towns of the valley of Caracas in a plane that allowed to see until the sea. However, over time the actions of the citizens of the valley towards the spirits of nature offended the Goddess of the sea. This she, furious, summoned a great wave that devoured and destroyed everything in its path, throwing it against the earth.

Terrified, all the citizens fell to their knees and begged for forgiveness. When they looked up, they saw that just as the great wave began to descend on them it had turned to stone: the goddess had taken pity on her pleas and had transformed the water into the Ávila, formerly known as Guaraira Repano (approximately “the wave that came from afar”).

This ancient legend tells us the myth of how the mountain in whose valley is Caracas is formed, a gesture of compassion on the part of a deity and a reminder of the need to respect the nature.

7. Doctor Knoche and his mummies

“Legend has it that Dr. Knoche traveled from Germany to Venezuela to establish himself, building the Buena Vista farm in La Guaira. This doctor, who was present at the time of the Federal War, invented a formula that allowed corpses to be embalmed without the need to remove their organs. He took to his farm the bodies of those who nobody claimed to experiment with them, achieving his first success with the soldier José Pérez, whose uniformed mummy would be placed at the entrance of the house.

The doctor, together with his family and his employees, would work in a mausoleum that would later house them when they died, and throughout his investigations he was guarding each one of the mummies that he got.

Gossips say that in the beginning he also worked with the dying. In fact, it is said that one night one of the doctor's corpses broke free of his bonds, mounted a horse and fled, rolling down the mountain and never appearing again. The doctor himself prepared a dose to be applied to himself, as well as one for the only one of the nurses who survived him. Some say that it was administered to him against his will.”

This legend is actually a story largely based on true events. Gottfried Knoche was a German doctor who lived and worked as a doctor in Venezuela at the time of the war federal, being known for being a very humane and charitable doctor who did not even charge for his services. However, he also became famous for inventing and working on a chemical formula that would preserve corpses from decomposition.

For it she experimented with unclaimed soldier corpses, having them brought to his hacienda in Galipán, where he was successful in his endeavor, mummifying various bodies by injecting them with a specific formula (whose exact composition was lost with her death). Also real is the fact that she created a mausoleum (in fact, her farm is now a museum) and that she kept most of the mummies, including that of soldier Pérez. For this reason some of the surrounding citizens even considered him a vampire and insinuated that he worked with still-living subjects.

8. the soul alone

“Legend says that there is a soul in pain known as the soul alone, which wanders eternally being condemned to suffer the burning and thirst of the flames of Purgatory. During her lifetime, it belonged to Celestina Abdenago, who was condemned by God for refusing to give Jesus Christ water. she despite being the one in charge of giving water to those condemned to the cross. Although she gave it to Dimas and Gestas, she refused it to Jesus due to fear of the Jews who condemned him”.

This legend, which in other versions says that the woman gave Jesus vinegar when she asked for water while she carried the cross or that she is a woman who died during the war of independence, we let me see the importance given to the religious sphere in that country. Her beliefs regarding her can vary: there are versions that believe that she is a spirit that seeks redemption and others that she is a malicious being, capable of doing both good and evil.

9. the owner of the fire

“Legend says that near the source of the Orinoco River lived Babá, the king of alligators. This king, along with his wife, his frog, had a great secret kept in his throat: fire. The couple lived in a cave where no one could enter under threat of losing their lives except them, the kings of the waters. But one day the partridge mistakenly entered the cave, finding scorched caterpillars. She tried them and they loved the taste, and after that she ran to tell the hummingbird and the silly bird. Between the three of them they hatched a plan to discover how the alligator and the frog managed to cook the caterpillars..

The silly bird entered the cave and hid, unseen because it had dark plumage, and could see how flames came out of the alligator's mouth that cooked the caterpillars that the frog brought. Once they both fell asleep, the silly bird was able to come out and explain what had happened.

The three birds decided to steal the fire, opting to make him laugh when all the animals came to drink at the river. The goofy bird and the partridge took the opportunity to do somersaults to make everyone laugh, but King Baba did not. The silly bird took advantage of the frog queen's laughter to throw a ball at her, causing it to lodge in her jaw. Seeing their problems, the alligator began to laugh. The hummingbird took advantage of the moment to swoop down and steal the fire with its wings. But as he rose he set fire to a tree.

The alligator and the frog expressed that even if they had stolen the fire, it would be used by others and the rest of the animals would be burned to death, although the two of them would be immortal in the river. After that they submerged and disappeared. The birds and animals tried to use it, but they did not know how. However, the human being did learn to use it for cooking and providing warmth, light and security, and they began to venerate the three birds for having allowed them to do so."

A brief legend in the form of a fable that nevertheless allows us to see the outstanding role that the crocodile and birds were given in ancient times in indigenous mythology. It also establishes an origin for learning the use of fire, curiously similar to the Greek.

10. The eternal tears of Carú

“Legend says that at the time of the Spanish conquest, Princess Carú of the tribe of the dancers was going to marry the son of the chief of the Mocotíes. The girl was looking forward to the link, being near the time of the ceremony. However, shortly before this the lookouts shouted that strange beings clad in iron and mounted on beasts were approaching. The tribes prepared themselves for combat, as did the strange newcomers. What should have been a moment of joy turned into an all-out conflict with a large number of dead. Among them, Carú's fiancé, who fell in combat.

The young woman, broken with pain, hugged the body of her beloved. Surely the mountain god of life would restore her life. Thus she carried the body of her fiancé to take it to the top, where her deity lived, to ask him to bring the body back to life that he carried with her. On the third day of the trip, the young Carú could not take it anymore and lost her strength: embracing her lover, she cried, she fell asleep and finally died.

Moved, the god of the mountain collected Carú's tears and threw them into space so that all the inhabitants of the area could see and remember Carú, his love and his suffering. This is the origin of the Bailadores waterfall".

A beautiful but sad legend that tells us about the order of the Bailadores waterfall, in the Carú India Waterfall Park, in Mérida. He also speaks to us of love, suffering and sacrifice for those we care about.

Bibliographic references:

• Sahagun, Fray Bernardino's (2001). Early Juan Carlos, ed. General history of the things of New Spain (Chronicles of America volumes 1 and 2 edition). Madrid: Dastin History.