Tag Archives: breasts

Más que carretas

Nationality: Spanish
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Madrid, Spain
Performance Date: April 26, 2014
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“I heard this saying from our uncle who got it from our great-grandmother, Vioto. It says:  ‘Tiran más tetas que carretas.’ She would use it to mean that women had more power, particularly over men than almost any other force. Like ok, go ahead and do what you want but you know I’m going to win in the end.”

Literally, the translations is: boobs pull more than carts. After doing some research I learned that the ‘cart’ is referring to a cart that is pulling oxen. Also, there are various versions of this saying with slightly different wording, but the the idea is the same. Most people have interpreted it to mean that a women’s body is her greatest tool and that is the driving force. However, I believe that the way in which my great-grandmother used it was not explicitly about the breasts or body of a female, but about the power of a woman’s influence overall. The context in which she used it was to show female dominance, something that was not very common in the mid-1900’s.

Here is a site that provides numerous variations of this saying: http://hombrerefranero.blogspot.com/2011/03/tiran-mas-dos-tetas-que-dos-carretas.html

 

Legend – Indonesia

Nationality: British, Indonesian
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: London, UK
Performance Date: March 04, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Bahasa

“There is a story about a wandering spirit, who lives in the small villages on the Indonesian countryside. She has extremely large boobs and walks around the villages at night. Any children she sees playing outside after sunset are kidnapped and hidden between her enormous breasts. I do not know what she does with them but the children are never returned”.

To the informant, this legend is considered widespread in her country of origin, Indonesia. She was told this legend by her Indonesian maids, to discourage her from playing around outside. Although the story clearly serves the purpose of ensuring children’s discipline, the informant of my informant considered this to be true and thus also told the story with the purpose of protecting the child. Upon listening to this story, I was reminded of La Llorona, the Spanish legend of a wandering female spirit who also kidnaps children. Although my informant unfortunately was unable to supply me with the motive behind this character and her actions, I am sure that there is a story involved.