Category Archives: Legends

Narratives about belief.

Oaxacan Legend

TEXT: “Una vez, en mi pueblo, había una niña bonita y joven. Tenia como dieciséis anos. Ella se enamoro de un hombre muy viejo. El hombre tenia como cincuenta y estaba todo gastado por la vida. Todos en el pueblo le dijeron que no salga con el pero ella deicidio vivir con el. Despise de un tiempo, la niña se empezó a very muy vieja. Le salieron arrugas y su pelo se hizo feo y seco. Empiezo a actuar amargada y cansada. A cambio, el hombre salía y cada día se veía mejor. Empiezo a caminar mas derecho, su piel resaltaba y su pelo se oscurezco. Tenia mas humor y actuaba mas joven.”

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION:

CONTEXT: Female, 42, Oaxacan

ANALYSIS: This woman is from a pueblo in Oaxaca. We were discussing a relationship between a woman and man with a very large age gap. She then told me this myth. I asked about the origin and validity and discovered it was a myth that is told to girls when they want to date older men. It is used to discourage inappropriate relationships but also to point out the psychological occurrence of chameleonizing within a relationship. She said her aunt told this to her when she was young and an older man was courting her in her village. It worked and she decided not to go out with him.

TRANSLATION: “Once, in my village, there was a pretty and young girl. She was about sixteen years old. She fell in love with a very old man. The man was about fifty and was all worn out by life. Everyone in town told her not to go out with him but she decided to live with him. After a while, the girl started to get very very old. She got wrinkles and her hair became ugly and dry. She start to act bitter and tired. In return, the man went out and looked better every day. He began to walk more straight, his skin stood out and his hair darkened. He had more humor and acted younger.”

THOUGHTS: I think this myth obviously very dated and I can see the tactics used to instill fear or a bias around taboo relationships. While I think we now live in a modern world where nothing is as rigid and there is room for experimentation I do understand the psychological aspect portrayed here and can see why its use would be employed.

Aztec Legend-Mexican Flag Origin

TEXT: “El pueblo Azteca recibió un mensaje de uno de sus dioses, Huitzilopochtli, que les dijo que se asentaran en las tierras donde encontraran una águila en un islote, sobre un nopal comiéndose una víbora.”

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION: Male, 58, Mexican

CONTEXT: This Aztec legend is incredibly integral to Mexican culture. The man told me this is something everyone knows. It is so important to the foundation of the Mexican people and state. He says it is the essence of what is Mexican even without the Aztec roots. He knew about this legend his whole life, but believes he learned it from his parents and then again in school growing up as a young boy. It is symbolic of Mexican heritage and it is what was incorporated into the creation of the Mexican flag. The flag depicts the exact setting. He says everything is symbolic, the cactus that everyone eats in Mexico, the eagle as a powerful bird and a symbol of strength, He says it is a very nationalistic emblem and it is as symbolic and important as the Queen of England he says. It is even on the coin.

TRANSLATION: The Aztec people received a message from one of their gods, Huitzilopochtli, telling them that they need to settle in the lands where they come across or find an eagle atop a small island, sitting on top of a cactus eating a snake. 

THOUGHTS: I also grew up and learned this legend as a child. I always recognized it on the flag and the story was ingrained in my mind. It is such a symbol of nationalism and is rooted in culture. 

Magic Horse Legend Variation

TEXT: “One day a rabbi went to visit a small stable owner. He saw one of horses and liked it very much. He asked him if he could have the horse as a gift. The owner replied that that was his favorite horse and was able to the work of three horses combined, so he said no. The rabbi left and upon his leaving the horse dropped dead right then and there.”

INFORMANT DESCRIPTION: Male, 83, Polish, Jewish

CONTEXT: This legend has many variations, some other are called The Magic Horse. But this man told me that this variation has a different purpose and message. He said he learned it from his dad who was trying to make him understand that God works in mysterious ways. He wanted him to be charitable but also loyal to his religion. The man says he never liked the legend because he doubted that it ever happened and didn’t like the message it gives. He said it made him feel like he could not say no to his rabbi or something bad would happen to him. But he understands the charitable aspect of the legend and will always remember it. He says that other variations of the legend are also interesting and have many different meanings. 

THOUGHTS: I thought this was a very interesting legend that definitely had some aspect of charity but also duty to the religion. I find it a bit exaggerated but I also think it isn’t supposed to be so literal. Really just about sharing and being able to give things up for the benefit of others.

LINKS TO OTHER VERSIONS: https://culture.pl/en/article/hasidic-tales-7-intriguing-polish-jewish-legends

Krampus

Description (From Transcript): “It was the mention of a Christmas creature. Have you ever heard of the Krampus?  Yes, okay, a Christmas legend. It was always since my childhood, like instead of the coal– You know the whole coal story? Like “Oh, if you act or your kid acts bad, you’ll get coal?– We’re told stories about the Krampus, and like there was a book, I remember, 

when I was younger. But outside of that, my dad would tell us stories that I don’t remember specifically, because I was little but there were so many. I remember always knowing about the Krampus, and that being a scary part. If you acted out or something, instantly the Krampus would come and basically kidnap you. It was very dark. It reminds me of the Grim stories because it was very much dark fairy tales.Then, as an older kid one, there was this one scary movie that came out called Krampus that I was like, “Oh, I’ve been told about that since Iwas a little”. We’re Just seeing it now, more in popular culture. But when I was told that it was just like word of mouth. It would always come up every single year around Christmas. So I guess it was kind of a tradition, in a way, too, for my family. The purpose of the story is definitely to get kids to not act out, not be bad. If you disrespect your parents, or talk back, stuff like that. It was used to try and get your kids to act well behaved. I feel like it was usually always like older, or like adult or parental figures, like grandparent figures telling the little kids to scare them into being well behaved.”. 

Context: T.M. is a second year student at USC. She is part Ecuadorian and part Native Alaskan. She is originally from Juno, Alaska. Even though she grew up hearing this story in Alaska, she believes it’s European because she once went to Chicago and saw a Christmas Krampus market during the holidays. At the market, vendors sold Krampus masks and other souvenirs. However, she is not sure exactly where in Europe the legend comes from. She doesn’t know how it ended up reaching people in cities like Chicago and Juno, she just recalls hearing it from her dad. His father passed down these stories to him, which she finds weird because she doesn’t think the story is a very “Alaskan thing”. She didn’t hear a lot of other Alaskan people talk about it, so she feels it’s sort of a unique thing. 
My interpretation: Like other legends told specifically to children, this story uses fear tactics to ensure that younger people do as their elders say. I find it strange that a holiday usually associated with positive religious figures like God and Jesus, as well as positive fictional characters like Santa Clause, would have a scary legend associated with it. Additionally, it was interesting to hear that this was not a popular tale in Alaska, necessarily, but it was still well known in the informant’s family, as well as different parts of the country. This most likely means that these regions had migration from whatever European country the story comes from, or in this informant’s case, someone in her family encountered it through family or location associated with this country.

Lake Auke

Description (From Transcript): “I think it [the story] circulates in the Alaskan Native culture, because that side of my family is Alaskan native, and I’m from Juno, Alaska. So there’s this lake that’s in my town. My town is landlocked. So it means it starts at one end and ends on the other, and we can only get out by boat. So at the end of the town there’s a lake called Auke Lake, and my dad would always tell me, when we passed by, that there was like a creature there. They always believed that there was a creature in that lake. So my dad would always like, tell us that there was like a creature there. It was actually to the point of like cultural belief. I don’t know if it was just a family belief. But I think there were variations of the story. My parents preferred that I didn’t go in that lake cause a lot of times people would put floaties on the lake, or just like be in the lake. But I remember growing up, and even in high school,  so when I was past childhood, I just didn’t go there. And then there’s just a lot of sacred areas, especially like the town, too. My parents would teach me that nature’s nature and don’t overstep nature to an extent because in Alaska, there’s this mindset sometimes that, like “ Oh, well, we can conquer nature. We can go on all these hikes and huge mountains” and stuff like that. But that can get dangerous, too, just because it’s Alaska, so it’s really intense terrain and stuff. Yes, we can appreciate nature, but also not like pushing our boundaries”.

Context: T.M. is a second year student at USC. She is part Ecuadorian and part Native Alaskan. Her father told her this story. She believes it comes from Alaskan Native stories. She explains how Alaskan Natives are always very aware of spiritual aspects and the powers of nature, so even when going in the ocean, they’re very careful. She believes in the legend to a certain extent, even just spiritually because she grew up hearing it and now she is always careful in that area. The caution was reiterated so much by her parents, specifically the aspect about respecting nature and making sure not overstep any boundaries. The story stayed with her even in high school. She says that people would throw bonfires and other events by the lake, but she never chose to go to them because of the stories she grew up hearing. Her father would tell her the story because it was a part of his childhood and her grandfather would tell it to him. 
My interpretation: This story seems like something that might be told to children to ensure that they didn’t get near this lake, perhaps because they wanted children to learn to leave the land undisturbed, or also to avoid anyone drowning. Because high schoolers also consistently congregated there, it might also be parents’ way of making sure their children didn’t participate in unsupervised teenage activities. The emphasis on respecting nature and not overstepping any boundaries is very indicative of the respect Alaskan Natives have for their land on spiritual and cultural levels. Even though it wasn’t super clear what the creature living in the lake looked like, came from, or did, the importance seemed to be that it kept people away from the lake just by being a cultural, intergenerational legend.