La Llorona, The Weeping Woman or The Cryer, is a popular Latin American legend about the ghost of a woman who steals children to drown them.
There are several versions of this tale
In the Southwestern United States, the tale of La Llorona is told to scare children into good behavior, sometimes specifically to deter children from playing near dangerous water.
They are also told her cries are heard as she walks around the street or near bodies of water to scare children from wandering around, resembling the stories of El Cucuy. (more on hime in a later post)
In Chumash mythology indigenous to Southern California, La Llorona is linked to the nunašɨš, a mythological creature with a cry similar to that of a newborn baby.
The legend of La Llorona is also deeply rooted in Mexican popular culture, her story told to children throghout the countery to encourage them not to wander off after dark, "La Cihuacoatle, Leyenda de la Llorona" is a yearly waterfront theatrical performance of the legend of La Llorona set in the Xochimilco borough of Mexico City, established in 1993 to coincide with the Day of the Dead.
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Standard version of the legend..
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After giving birth to, and
raising two sons, an aging wife felt that her husband fell out of love
with her and only loved their sons. After catching her husband cheating
on her with a younger woman she was consumed by grief and anger, so she
drowned her sons in a river to punish her husband, then drowned herself
as well. She was refused entry to Heaven and sent to Hell where she was tricked by Ramiel
that told her her son's souls were lost, but she would be granted entry
to Heaven if she found their lost souls and brought them to Heaven
where they belonged.
Ramiel knew that her son's souls were in Heaven, so
the woman would be stuck in the land of the living trying to find her
sons forever, crying constantly for the sins she committed. After having
spent a long time without finding her sons, her grief, and her
desperation to just be able to die and be at peace caused her to start
taking other children's souls by drowning them.
Another variation,
In a rural village in Mexico, there lived a
beautiful young woman named María. She came from a poor family but was
known around her village for her beauty and grace. One day, an extremely
wealthy nobleman was riding through her village and stopped in his
tracks. He had traveled all over the world and has never seen anyone as
beautiful as María. He was mesmerized by her. He knew that he had to win
her heart. María was easily charmed by him and he was charmed by her
beauty, so when he proposed to her, she immediately accepted.
Eventually, the two married, and María gave birth to two sons. Her
husband was always traveling and he stopped spending time with his
family.
When he came home, he only paid attention to the children and as
time passed María could tell that her husband was falling out of love
with her because she was getting old.
Then one day he returned to the village
with a younger woman, and bid his children farewell, ignoring María.
María, angry and hurt, took her children to a river and drowned
them in a blind rage. She realized what she had done and searched for
them, but the river had already carried them away. Days later, her
husband came back and asked about the children, but María started
weeping and said that she had drowned them. Her husband was furious and
said that she could not be with him unless she found their children.
Now she spends eternity looking for her lost children. She is
always heard weeping for her children, earning her the name "La
Llorona", which means "The Weeping Woman".
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OLDER VERIATIONS.
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The earliest documentation of La Llorona is traced back to 1550 in Mexico City, though there are theories that her story can be connected to specific mythologies of the Aztecs, including some creation stories.
The Aztec creation myth of “The Hungry Woman” includes a wailing woman constantly crying for food, which has been compared to La Llorona’s signature nocturnal wailing for her children.
The motherly nature of La Llorona’s tragedy has also been compared to Chihuacoatl, an Aztec goddess who was considered a deity of motherhood.
Her search for children to keep for herself is also significantly compared to that of Coatlicue, known as “Our Lady Mother” or Tonantsi
One of the first texts that mention a woman with the characteristics of La Llorona a be found in the Florentine Codex, also known as Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España.
The Florentine Codex is composed of twelve books and was put together in 1577 according to the Laurentian Library of Florence where it is currently located. Some of the text in its books, however, can be dated earlier. Book twelve was originally written in Náhuatl language in 1555 according to Fray Bernardino de Sahagún.
Mexican historian Miguel León-Portilla calls this section of the Florentine Codex, Testimonios de los informantes de Sahagún. Native students from Tlatelolco collected first-hand testimonies from native elders with the supervision of Sahagún.
In book twelve of the Florentine Codex, native elders stated that ten years prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, the Mexica (Aztecs) and in particular Motecuhzoma (Moctezuma II), began to witness a series of omens.
These prophecies signaled the arrival of men who waged war and the downfall of Tenochtitlan.
Omen number six states that a woman was heard crying and screaming at night many times, "My children, we now have to leave far away!" Other times she would say, "My children, where shall l take you?" The passage is accompanied by an illustration of the native woman, crying, barefooted, and clutching her hands.
The first and eighth books of the Florentine Codex state that the woman crying at night, worried for her children, is none other than the goddess Cihuacóatl, whose name means "serpent woman".
In chapter six of the first book, Sahagún narrates some apparitions by Cihuacóatl. He describes her attire as "white, with her hair as if she had horns crossed above her forehead." The original version of this passage, written in Náhuatl, states that Cihuacóatl was covered in “chalk” and would “appear at night dressed in white, walking and crying”.
Book eight of the Florentine Codex says that a terrible famine occurred for three years during Motecuhzoma's reign prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, and "the devil who is named Cihuacóatl would appear and go around crying through the streets of Mexico.” The Náhuatl version of this passage mentions that everyone would hear her crying and saying, "My beloved children, I'm going to leave you now."
The eighth book also states that during the sixth omen, a voice was heard crying and saying, "Oh, my children, we are about to be lost." The voice would also cry, "My children, where shall I take you?" At the beginning of the text describing the sixth omen, an illustration shows Cihuacóatl. She has the head of a woman, her hair combed like horns and the body of a snake.
Chapter two makes a terrifying assertion that took place after the conquest; Cihuacóatl ate a child that was in his crib in the town of "Azcaputzalco.
There are two other texts, also from the 16th century, which mention a woman with the characteristics of La Llorona and refer to a set of pre-colonial omens, The Durán Codex and La Historia de Tlaxcala. The Durán Codex, also known as Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e Islas de Tierra Firme, is dated 1579 according to the Biblioteca Nacional de España where it is currently located.
The text states that Motecuhzoma summoned all of the leaders of the "barrios" and asked them to tell all of the elders that from now on they are to report to him what they see in their dreams. Motecuhzoma also
asked the leaders to tell those who have a habit of wondering at night,
that if they were to run into "that woman whom people say wonders at
night crying and moaning, to ask her why she cries and moans.
La Historia de Tlaxcala, dated 1592 according to Dr. Francisco Ramírez Santacruz and Dr. Héctor Costilla Martínez, was written by a mestizo descendant
of Tlaxcaltecan nobility named Diego Muñoz Camargo. The text states
that during a sixth omen, many times and for many nights, you could hear
the voice of a woman crying and sobbing loudly, "Oh my children! We
will now lose everything..." and other times she would say, "Oh my
children, where can I take you and hide you
In short, be very careful after dark...stay away from rivers and don't talk to ghostly crying lady's
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