Duendes

[Do you have any myths or legends you would like to share?]

“I remember hearing a mythical story saying that when you see a small twister [whirlwind?], it’s invisible duendes (dwarfs), playing, holding hands, and running in circles. Every now and then you would see them in abandoned houses, but as soon as you would see them they would run and hide somewhere inside the walls. I heard it when I was 5 or 6 years old, told by my older brothers, and it was to stop me from running inside the twister. 

[Would they do anything besides playing? What would happen if you actually saw one?]

“Some would say that they would give you cookies or money, but only if they liked you or not. If not, they could take you with them and you will never see your parents again! So no one wanted to mess with them.”

[And what would cause them to dislike you? Like if you were a good or bad kid?]

“Mostly if you were disobedient to your parents!” 

Analysis: 

Duendes appear in many different cultures, and vary regionally. In this case, as my informant said, their purpose is to prevent children from going inside small whirlwinds. I think what makes this story different from other children’s legends is that these dudenes can be good (like giving cookies or money) depending on whether or not you were a “good child” or not. This makes me think that it would cause children to go looking for them. However, with the fear that they could take you from your parents, it probably scared off many children from seriously looking for them. I think this is really interesting, because it gives children the opportunity to weigh risk and reward at such a young age.

Nahuales/Nagual: “Shapeshifter”

Language: Spanish

“When I was younger, I remember hearing this story from older adults when I was an elementary student. Nahuales, who are people who have made a deal with the devil in order to become a shapeshifter. They shapeshift into animals or anything of their choosing in order to lure kids and cause harm. The first time I heard it was from a friend who said she heard of someone’s family who returned home to find a turkey standing in the middle of the room. The mother, sensing that something was off, smacked the turkey with a broom to try to get it out of the house, but to no avail, the turkey stayed. The daughter tried to pull the mom away from the turkey, and finally, when she did, the turkey left the house and shape-shifted back into its human form.”

Analysis:

Nauguals seem to serve 2 purposes: to warn children of dangers, and to warn them of the devil. This informant remarks that she heard this originally from older adults, but most commonly told stories between her friends. I think that this goes to show how folklore can range within a single community, dependent on your social groups: as a child, she was able to bond with her friends by telling these stories about this mutual creature they knew and feared, but the adults of her community more so used it as a way to try and keep their children safe.

La Lechuza

Language: Spanish

“La Lechuza is an old woman who people seek out to make deals with. The tale is, if you want to cause harm to someone, you can send the witch to carry out the action. You bring a photograph of your target and a personal item, like a piece of hair or a toothbrush, and the witch will transform into an owl and spy on your target. The owl will then follow the person and curse them. If anyone has unexpected illness or misfortune like losing all their money or job, that is said to be her work as well. If someone dies with no apparent cause or unexplainable illness, that is her work as well. I remember hearing it from some older kids in my neighborhood when I was younger.”

Analysis:

While I was listening to my informant, I got the idea that this type of legend would be used to explain a train of misfortune that someone could face, but when I asked my informant how they viewed this legend, they responded that they recalled that it was mostly used as a cautionary tale for when dispersing property among families or not to cross others. I thought that this was really interesting, as La Lechuza represents both misfortune that’s unexplainable and misfortune that you could receive as “karma”. Unlike other childhood legends I’ve heard, this one seems to follow you into adulthood, rather than just being a children’s warning.

Ratoncito Pérez

Language: Spanish

“I don’t remember the story super well, but it’s kind of like a version of the tooth fairy. The story goes that there once was a mouse that wanted to be a dentist, but couldn’t find any teeth to use. He then saw that children’s teeth would fall out, so he would go to collect them during the night. He felt bad for just stealing the teeth, so he would leave money or candy behind as sort of like a “thank you” for being able to keep the teeth. After that, children would leave their teeth underneath their pillows for the mouse”

Analysis:

I think it’s so cool that there are so many versions of “leaving your teeth for a creature to collect for money” around the world. When I think back on it, I think that losing teeth as a child can be an incredibly traumatic thing, so involving a reward and a mythical creature of some kind definitely makes it a lot easier for younger children to understand. I also think the inclusion of him being a dentist is beneficial, as since children (and even many adults!) fear the dentist so much, having kids feel like they’re “helping them out” may help them overcome some of these fears.

盘古开天辟地

Pangu opens the Earth and Sky

Nationality: Chinese

Age: 59

Occupation: Unemployed

Residence: Shangyu, Zhejiang, China

Date: 04/05/2025 

Language: Mandarin

Description 

It’s been a long time, so I don’t remember this story well. We don’t tell these stories often because everyone knows them. I need to think… it’s about Pangu, he was a giant who created the world. He was the first being, and he was sleeping in an egg, and the egg represented chaos and disorder, and there was nothing but chaos. He has an axe, and… first he was frustrated because he couldn’t make sense of anything. Or did he wake up? I’m not sure. I don’t know. But at some point, he took his axe and swung at the chaos around him as hard as he could, then… the egg was sliced open, and it was really loud, like an explosion. After this, Pangu is no longer inside chaos. But he realized that the two halves of the egg were going to close up together again, so he raised his arms and stomped his feet and held the top half up while standing on the bottom half. The top is sky, the bottom, well, is the earth. And he stood for a long time, until the two halves wouldn’t ever come together anymore. Then he collapsed because he was too tired, he just laid down and he died. But there’s more. Parts of his body all became different things in the nature…natural world. His blood became the river, his sigh became the wind, the sound he made when he fell is the lightning… and then… and then what? I don’t remember the rest. That’s just how it goes. Pangu. 

Subject’s Opinion

Interviewer: If you don’t believe in the story, why do you think people still spread them? 

Subject: It’s a good story, it’s very melancholy. I think people enjoy telling it. And having one main God to think about when they think about the Chinese Gods, with the heavenly Gods and everything, when there’s so many of them. And, well, it’s a myth, so you tell it to Children so they understand the world a little better. 

Analysis

The popular Chinese creation myth of Pangu is commonly regarded as the origin story of the Chinese people. Pangu is often regarded as a martyristic figure, as the spirit of sacrifice is highly noble in Chinese culture. The myth is undoubtedly a sacred truth, as it sets the stage for countless myths to come. Though the subject’s rather indifferent towards the truth value of the myth, her vivid telling is indicative of the rich cultural heritage that Pangu is a part of. Pangu’s actions of holding two boundaries apart invite further exploration of our discussion of “the liminal’, the space in which the most disruption and change can happen. By creating a liminal space, Pangu then creates the world as the Chinese people know it, which communicates a powerful and frankly universal perception of the world not as a binary, but the endless possibilities between two ends.