A container of mustard seeds. As usual, he drank too much and stumbled out into the night to mount his horse for the short journey home…to his wife and children. From that day on, he sat in his house as still as a stone statue for weeks and never drank, nor tempted the virtue of a maiden again! Aztecs spoke Nahuatl, and currently 1.5 million people in Central Mexico speak a Nahuan language. The discovery of the technique would lull humans into a false sense of power. Please fill out the form below or click this link to email us. I believe that the cultural context for these texts often blurs their “Gothic” status (what is dark or Gothic in Victorian British Lit. I will be presenting two more Costa Rican traditional tales that will hopefully stimulate a discussion along these grounds. This myth is said to have taken place in Cartago, the oldest Spanish colonial city and the first capital of Costa Rica, where there lived a beautiful Cartaginese of mixed Spanish and indigenous descent. My current research focuses on the role of the haunted house in nineteenth-century Gothic fiction. The tales are presented here in the Cebuano language (with English subtitles) as it is hoped that readers would wish to savor the original story-telling style in the region. the ghost usually appears to womanizing men in the form of a very beautiful woman, which later transforms into a monster with the head of a horse. The story starts in colonial Cartago at a time when the population was a near equal mix of indigenous Indians and people of Spanish descent. The year was 1821. Read here to learn more about Sacagawea. A candle. There is also a lesson for women too — to hold onto their virtue or be cursed with the same fate as the maiden. A wooden box with … She is usually depicted as having beautiful white skin which contrasts with her jet black eyes and cascading long hair. In Central America, La Segua is believed to be a female demon. All interesting things you want to know about Costa Rica are right here in our newsletter! Attracted to the beauty, they accept to give her a ride on their horse, but as they turn around, instead of beholding the enchanting companion, they come face to face with a horrendous monster with the skull of a horse and fiery red eyes. One partner (optional).Requirements:A large bowl made of glass, ceramic, or another easily shattered material. There is an Indian legend of the Sihuanaba or Segua in Nicaragua, and in it, the Sihuehuet or “beautiful woman” has a love affair with the son of the god Tlaloc. This Costa Rican legend of La Cegua was clearly intended to discourage inappropriate behavior from men who might be tempted to drink too much and womanize, and encourage them instead to remain faithful to their wives and families. La Segua*, as the monster is called, poses as the beautiful lady that she once was, and she waits by the roadside for unsuspecting men who would be riding their horses after a long night of heavy drinking in town. There are some things you should know before you learn how to summon La Cegua. In another, he steals fishermen’s bait and can change his shape into a … Turning her into “La Cegua” — doomed to wander for eternity in a hideous form, extracting her revenge upon straying men in the streets and roads around the city. She’s a Central American figure, for one; the many iterations of her story are told most commonly in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, although she may also be encountered under other names in countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Enter your email and press "subscribe" button. Nahuatl is a group of Mesoamerican languages of Aztecan or Nahuan origin. “I am a third-year Ph.D. student at the University of Edinburgh. No siempre fui así, era la mujer más hermosa de Cartago, pero mi vanidad me llevó a recibir este castigo de vagar por los caminos buscando hombres solos. Cegua a un ser monstruosoque, según la leyenda, se aparece de noche a los hombres mujeriegos que viajan solos, Mythology: Caribbean Folktales, World Literature, Mythology, Fables and Folktales A curse fell upon her. Players:One principal. La Cegua, Segua or Tzegua, is a popular specter who appears to lonely men walking through the deserted mountains, it was the form of a really beautiful lady. All Rights Reserved. Ilse Marie Bussing has written 8 articles on The Gothic Imagination. World Literature-"The Cegua" by Robert D. San Souci by Maria Jiram. Sensing an opportunity, Ignacio asked the woman if she would accompany him to a quiet spot. Are these legends, belonging to an oral tradition, too distant to our written and now filmic traditions to be considered Gothic? One of the versions of the legend says that she fell in love with a Spanish officer who tricked her and broke her heart. 5 Famous Short Stories in Spanish 1. Image © Poas Rent A Car. Cartago was the oldest Spanish settlement in Costa Rica, dating back to 1563; the fact that the story of La Segua takes place in Cartago is significant, since the tale is fundamentally colonial in nature, and as such, it includes both indigenous and Spanish elements which inevitably complement but also clash with each other. Black is recommended, but dark brown is also acceptable. The container should be completely opaque. She seeks out unfaithful men and lures them to their death. The body of the beautiful maiden was the same, but atop her neck sat a hideous horse’s head with bulging, bloodshot eyes, stained, yellow teeth and flaring nostrils. A familiar story told is that she waits for her victims along dark crossroads late at night. This night was different though. Greetings! I am interested in looking at how literature and architecture converge in the haunted house and in how this building seduces the characters that walk within it. Water. The gist of the story is the following. The story of El Cadejo is framed around two dogs that show up in the night or the wee hours of the morning. A beautiful Indian woman with perfect skin and long … In other words, the legend of the Segua is one of many examples of of cultural syncretism, a mixture of indigenous and Spanish traditions which flourishes during and after colonial times in Latin America. In Guatemala the Sihuanaba is known as La Siguanaba; she is known as Cigua in Honduras, Ciguanaba in El Salvador and as Cegua in Costa Rica. Soy la Cegua, yo me aparezco a los hombres mujeriegos que andan solos en la noche y les enseño mi horrible cara de caballo. Matches or a lighter. There are many different variations of the story. Your email address will not be published. She had pale, white skin like a porcelain doll and big, jet black eyes, with her long undulating hair cascading down her back. I will be considering how Gothic literature takes advantage of this architectural/organic situation,magnifies it, and turns domestic space into a haunted house of fiction. Upon her agreeing, he stretched out his hand to pull her into the saddle behind him. There was no sign of the moon, but the night’s sky was full of brightly shining stars. We're not around right now. The myth of La Cegua also known as La Segua or La Siguenaba throughout Mexico and other Central American countries with slight variations. La Segua: A Warning to Drunk and Unfaithful Men in Costa Rica. Turning her into “La Cegua” — doomed to wander for eternity in a hideous form, extracting her revenge upon straying men in the streets and roads around the city. The first recorded mention of ciguapas appeared in Francisco Javier Angulo Guridi’s short story La Ciguapa in 1866, which didn’t mention the creatures’ backwards feet. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. The story of La Llorona first appeared on film in 1935's La Llorona, filmed in Mexico. Or if you would like to start off a little slower and easier, here’s a website with 50 children’s stories in Spanish. Furthermore, La Segua’s fate is as bad as it is, because like La Malinche, the Mexican Indian woman who served as Cortés’s translator and lover (Cortés was the ruthless,main Spanish conquistador of Mexico), she is betraying her people by falling in love with a Spaniard, the oppressor. Ignacio rode into town on his horse as he did every weekend to drink the local liquor, guaro, and try to charm beautiful women into accompanying him for a passionate encounter nearby. paranormal. The story takes place in Cartago, the old capital of Costa Rica (before it was moved to San José in 1823). is not necessarily so in a Latin American context and vice-versa…). It is our team's passion to make this website the best resource about beautiful Costa Rica. La Cegua. Learn term:marriage private affair = chinua achebe nigeria with free interactive flashcards. The 2008 Mexican horror film Kilometer 31 is inspired by the legend of La Llorona. I am sure that comments from readers will contribute to this discussion.”. This is a futuristic short story, satirical in nature about human dependence on machines to an extent that humans would even forget trivial basics like calculation. Hence, people say that it is a good spirit because the white cadejo accompanies the person to his or her home and then leaves. A book that contains a collection of short stories in Spanish with English translations parallel is “Spanish Stories — Cuentos Españoles” by Angel Flores. A piercing, horrified scream exploded from Ignacio’s mouth. The story takes place in Cartago, the old capital of Costa Rica (before it was moved to San José in 1823). The warning is clear: men should stay away not only from heavy drinking, but most importantly, from attractive lonely women who can tempt them away from their family life. Required fields are marked *. Read La Cegua from the story Leyendas de Costa Rica by val_verne with 361 reads. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there.