FRIDAY FUNDAY: LA LLORONA.
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Earthlings, Alternatives and Trollers. Put down that mouse and lend
an ear. Welcome to The Bandersnatch blog where we talk weird, wacky
and wondrous. I'm Mama Ogre and I have no idea what I'm doing.
Random
blog day boo yah. As you should know Fridays is random blog day were
we talk anything and everything and pretty much run with it. Today's
blog is on the Latin American folklore of La Llorona.
The
legend described in this article is a generic version of the Mexican
version of this folk-tale. Other regional variations of the story
exist.
According
to the legend, in a rural village there lived a young woman named
Maria. She came from a poor family but was known around her village
for her beauty. One day, an extremely wealthy nobleman travelled
through her village. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Maria.
Maria was charmed by him and he was taken by her beauty, so when he
proposed to her, she immediately accepted. Maria's family was
thrilled that she was marrying into a wealthy family, but the
nobleman's father was extremely disappointed that his son was
marrying into poverty. Maria and her new husband built a house in the
village to be away from his disapproving father. Eventually, she gave
birth to a son and a daughter. Her husband was always travelling and
began to stop spending time with his family. When he came home, he
only paid attention to the children and as time passed Maria could
tell that her husband was falling out of love with her because she
was getting old. One day he returned to the village with a younger
woman, and bid his children farewell, ignoring Maria.[2]
Maria,
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, she was found
dead on the river bank. She had committed the two ultimate sins:
Murder and Suicide.
Challenged
at the gates of heaven for the whereabouts of her children, she is
not permitted to enter the afterlife until she finds them. Stuck
between the land of the living and the dead, she spends eternity
looking for her lost children. She is always heard weeping for her
children, earning her the name "La Llorona".
It
is said that if you hear her crying, you are to run the opposite way.
If you hear her cries, they could bring misfortune or even death.
Many parents in Latin America use this story to scare their children
from staying out too late.
La
Llorona kidnaps wandering children at night, mistaking them for her
own. She begs the heavens for forgiveness, and drowns the children
she kidnaps.
People
who claim to have seen her say she appears at night or in the late
evening by rivers or lakes, wearing a white or black gown with a
veil.
Some
believe those who hear the wails of La Llorona are marked for death
or misfortune, similar to the Gaelic banshee
legend.
Among
her wails, she is noted as crying "¡Ay, mis hijos!" which
translates to "Oh, my children!" or "Oh, my sons!"
She scrapes the bottom of the rivers and lakes, searching for her
sons. It is said that when her wails sound near she is actually far
and when she sounds distant, she is actually very near.
- La Llorona wiki page
The Legend
of La Llorona comes from Latin America (Including Mexico and central
and south America) where it is most known. La Llorona is sometimes
linked to La Malinche, the Nahua woman so served as both interpreter
and Mistress to Cortes' and bore his children who was said to have
been betrayed by Spanish conquistadors. The story of La Malinche can
in context be linked to the Spanish's discovery of the New world and
the demise of indigenous culture after conquest.
There are
similar folk-tales to La Llorona such as the Chumash of southern
California, whose connection to the Latin spirit is mentioned when
explaining Nunasis (creatures of the other world) called “Maxulaw”
or “Mamismis”. Mythology says the Chumash believe in both La
Llorona and the Nunasis, specifically hearing the Maxulaw cries up
trees. Their cry is considered an omen of death. In Greek Mythology
the demigoddess Lamia has children with Zeus' the king of the gods,
when Hera Zeus's wife and Queen finds out she has the children
killed, Lamia steals other women's children out of jealousy and loss
due to her own children's death. In another Greek myth Medea kills
her children fathered by Jason (one of the Argonauts) after he left
for another woman.
In Irish mythology the
Banshee – a female spirit who herelds the death of a family member
usually by Wailing, Shrieking or Keening can be considered either a
cousin or another version of La Llorona as could the black lady of
Bradley woods who could either be a spinster woman who hated her privacy being breached or a woodcutters wife who was raped, beaten and her child stolen from her during the wars of the roses as she went to look for her absentee husband.There have been several
movies either on La Llorona or includes La Llorona, including 2003's
chasing Papi (her screams can be heard when Thomas is under stress or
confronted by the three women in his life, her image is seen several
times as well), a short film in 2015 and the most recent release (in accordance to the posting of this blog) in 2019 as the
curse of La Llorona part of the conjuring universe.
I've always appreciated the telling of La Llorona Its always brought goosebumps up on my arms everytime I've heard it or seen videos about her on youtube. I definately reccomend researching the story and several other versions for yourself.
I've always appreciated the telling of La Llorona Its always brought goosebumps up on my arms everytime I've heard it or seen videos about her on youtube. I definately reccomend researching the story and several other versions for yourself.
THE
WEBSITE BIBLIOGRAPHY:
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