Mythological Creatures Series - La Llorona

 

🖼️Credit - La Llorona by Leo D'Amico

Hello all!! It's been a very long time since we've posted anything besides a Moon so, we're coming back with our Mythological Creature Series!

So far in this series, we have covered:

- Vampire

- Goblin

- Wendigo

- Gargoyle

Today, we are covering something different as the subject of this post is more Folklore than  mythological creature, but, we feel that "Creatures" like this should be included in the series. 

There is a chance that you may have heard of this but if you haven't, caution is advised...

DISCLAIMER: THE CONTENT OF THIS POST MAY BE DISTRESSING OR TRIGGERING. CONTAINS MENTION OF DROWNING AND CHILD DEATH.

Today's Mythological Creature is La Llorona!!

La Llorona (pronounced lah yo roh na) is a Southwestern Hispanic American folk tale, dating from the time of the Conquistadors, though there is some speculation that she could have origins from the Aztec empire. La Llorona itself means The Weeping Woman in Spanish, which will make sense as we delve deeper into the lore.

The exact origins of La Llorona are unknown as is the time her legend began but the earliest documentation of her comes from Mexico City in the 1500s. The legend itself varies from place to place but most of the legends agree that the Weeping Woman is in eternal mourning for her drowned children but how they drowned seems to be the most changed detail, along with La Llorona's character "origins". 

In one version, La Llorona started as a peasant woman of exceptional beauty, which captured the attention of every man in the village, regardless of their status. During the day, she went about a normal peasant life but that changed when the sun set. At night, she would put on her best white dress and spend the evening reveling in the attention of the village men. However, La Llorona had 2 young boys, whom she would often leave alone whilst she was entertaining men. One day, the boys were found drowned in the river but is was unclear if they had drowned due to the negligence of their mother or, if La Llorona herself had done it.

In another version, La Llorona was a loving, vivacious woman who married a wealthy man. But the relationship started to deteriorate after the birth of the couple's 2 sons. The husband began womanising and drinking, leaving his family for long periods of time. He would talk of leaving La Llorona and marrying a woman of his own status. On the odd occasion where he did come home, it was mostly to see his sons, which caused La Llorona to become resentful. One fateful evening, La Llorona was walking with her son's by the river when her husband pulled up beside them in a carriage (with another woman) and only spoke to his sons. When he left, La Llorona became overpowered by rage and threw her sons into the river. Once she realised what she had done, she ran after them but it was too late. She spent the rest of her days mourning, weeping along the riverbank, never eating, ever searching, until her once white dress was tattered and discoloured and she had wasted away until there was barely anything left of her. After her death, La Llorona's sprit wondered the banks of the river, weeping into the night.

The description of La Llorona varies as well but the general consensus is that she is a tall, thin woman with a white dress and long black hair, some stories do mention that she wears some form of black clothing. The gender of her children and the number of children also change. She can be found near lakes and other bodies of water after dark and is often described as floating. Some say that La Llorona will act cruelly and without mercy, killing anyone who come close, others say that she only murders children by drowning them but, again, tales of her brutality change from place to place. Either way, she is a vengeful spirit so it is best not to cross her path.

The tale of La Llorona is one of caution. Children are discouraged from going out at night, incase La Llorona happens apon them and drowns them. It is also a tale to remind you to remain faithful to your partner and to treat your family well, or La Llorona will visit you and take you to a watery grave as punishment.

I think we will leave this here as this post is a heavy one. 

Thank you to everyone who has continued to read our posts, it means a lot! I don't think that we will return to daily posting yet but I will gradually increase the content.

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Blessings,

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