The 10 best-known and most popular Venezuelan myths

We take a walk through the ancestral culture of this Latin American country.

A myth is a story of fabulous character, which is part of the tradition of a society, and which is transmitted by oral communication. In ancient times, myths were characterized by beings with the powers of gods or heroes, related to the forces of nature and the human condition.

In this article we present you 10 Venezuelan myths of diverse themes.. Many of them include life lessons or curious facts about this beautiful country.

• Recommended article: "10 Colombian legends full of folklore and popular culture".

Myths: what are they?

With the passage of time, it could be said that myths have been modernized and increasingly concern more urban areas and current societies.

So a definition of myth that today would be more in line with our times, would be that imaginary story of surreal character, which can modify the true qualities and characteristics of a person or thing, and give them more value than the real one.

Being stories that are transmitted from generation to generation, orally, they can change in form or content to a greater or lesser extent. Do you want to know the 10 most famous Venezuelan myths? Let's take a look at them below.

10 great Venezuelan myths

Venezuela is a country rich in myths and curious stories. Most of them have their origin in a tragic event, which ends with a socialthat ends with a social condemnation or, sometimes, with a spiritual or divine intervention.

Some of these Venezuelan myths carry a warning message that warns those who hear them to abstain from certain immoral or improper acts. Now we bring you a summary of the 10 most outstanding Venezuelan myths.

1. La sayona

The first of the Venezuelan myths that we are going to tell you is called "La sayona" (the "sayona").. This story is one of the most popular Venezuelan myths. It tells the story of a beautiful woman named Melisa, married to a kind and loving man, with whom she shares a 9 month old baby.

Melisa is in the habit of bathing in the river and one day, she discovers a malicious individual who watches her frequently. So one day Melisa asks the man why he is watching her, who replies that he wanted to warn her that her husband is unfaithful with his own mother.

Melisa, overcome with rage and despair, runs out of her house, and in a jealous rage, sets fire to the house with her husband and baby inside. She then goes to her mother's house to demand explanations and she denies everything. Melisa, in a rage, kills her and before dying, she tells him: "I never lied to you and you committed the worst sin, for which I condemn you, sayona".

The word Sayona refers to the white attire (saya) worn by the woman. The stories relate that she usually appears to womanizing men, in the form of a seductive woman. Upon seducing them, the woman changes her appearance to a hideous one with sharp teeth, and her victims either die in horror or flee.

2. John Hilary

The story of Juan Hilario tells the story of a character who went to parties to court women and drink.. One night, Juan Hilario is on his way to the nearby town when he meets a friend who warns him of the danger of the night because of lightning and rain. Juan Hilario ignores the warning and leaves.

On the way he begins to hear the famous whistle: "Compadre, go home, I'm going to the party, you're not going to scare me".

And suddenly he begins to receive blows. To defend himself, he punches the air, and exhausted he falls to the ground. Juan Hilario later described the ghostly individual who had hit him and his friend says to him, and the caption reads: "I told you Juan Hilario, these are not games...".

3. The whistle

The next of the Venezuelan myths is "El silbón". El silbón is one of the most popular myths in Venezuela.. It tells the story of a spoiled young man who insists his father to hunt a deer (bovine animal), in order to eat its guts.

So his father goes hunting, but when it takes too long, the young man goes to look for it. On finding him, and seeing that he had not hunted anything, the young man kills and disembowels him, taking his viscera home. He gives them to his mother and she cooks them. After a few hours, she notices something strange and her son finally confesses the murder. She curses him, sends her brother to whip him and throws spice on his wounds.

It is said that remembering and narrating her suffering frees the listener from her apparition. This spirit appears on dark nights in May to individuals partying in torn clothes and whistling musical notes which sound like a whistle.

4. The crazy caraballo light

It is said that a woman lost her two sons, in the war of independence, who "went after the man on horseback".. She is maddened by the loss and her soul wanders through the wastelands in search of her lost children. Perhaps this is one of the saddest Venezuelan myths.

5. The lonely soul

Similar story to the previous one, probably derived from it. It tells the story of a woman fighter in the war of independence who died in battle.. She is a wandering and lonely soul who terrorizes those who have acted badly.

6. Maria Lionza

Another Venezuelan myth is "María Lionza".. This myth tells the legend of Yara, daughter of the chief of a tribe, who was born with water-green eyes. The shaman of the tribe predicted that she had to be sacrificed to the great anaconda or else she would bring a curse to the village. Her father hid her in a cave, guarded by guards, from which she could not come out.

She was forbidden to look at herself reflected in the water of the lake outside the cave. One night, a mysterious force lulled the guards to sleep and the girl managed to escape. She approached the lake and saw her reflection and was enchanted.

The water god Anaconda came out and fell in love with her. Her father tried to separate them, but the Anaconda revealed herself and caused a great flood that wiped out the entire village. Since then, Yara became the protector of water, nature and love and received the name of Maria Lionza.

7. The priest's well

This myth is located in the state of Vargas, specifically in a very deep tourist well.. It is said that it owes its name to a priest of the area who used to bathe in its waters, in female company. One day, bathing alone, the priest was swallowed by the waters and his body was never found. Since then, his spirit appears on the surface asking for help.

8. The cart of death

Another of the Venezuelan myths is "El carretón de la muerte" (the cart of death).. This myth speaks of the appearance of a cart that travels without horses or a rider to guide it. It lurches along the street without any concrete direction and picks up a pile of human remains.

9. The Weeping Woman

The Venezuelan myth of La llorona is about a young woman who used to cry out in despair: "My son, my son". It is said that this woman attacks anyone who meets her..

They say that the origin is that this woman killed her children every time they were born, that one day she confessed her sins to a priest and he told her that, the next time she gave birth, before killing her child, she should breastfeed it. Then this act made her feel a great repentance and since then she wanders crying and desperately looking for her children.

10. The fireball

The last of the Venezuelan myths is this one that talks about a ball of fire that moves around like a wheel.. When you look at it, you see a figure that resembles a skeleton. It is said that it is the fruit of the soul of a bishop who committed a grave sin and that if you pray, the ball approaches until it burns and on the contrary you must curse it so that it moves away.

Bibliographical references:

• Eliade, M. (1991). Myth and reality. Editorial Labor, S.A. Spain.

• Mora, C.G. (2010). Foundational myth and national heroes in Venezuelan primary school textbooks. Politeia, 33(45): 33-57.

• Pollak-Eltz, A. (1985). María Lionza, Venezuelan myth and cult.