The Siguanaba
Once upon a time in a place known as El Salvador, there was a town inhabited by a working and respectful tribe who was very kind to all their neighbors.
In this town, it lived a breathtaking girl who was admired by all the young men of this place. This girl was named Cihuehuet (figure 1). Her beauty was immeasurable, and all nearby hamlets knew her. Many young warriors and hunters propose to her all the time.
Figure 1. Cihuehuet dancing on the rivers. ¹
However, the girl knew herself very well, and she had become very conceited and vain. Every time she went to wash her clothes in the river, instead of hurrying and doing her work, she stayed for a very long time watching her face reflected in the clean and shiny waters from Lempa. When the wedding time came, she married the bravest and strongest warrior of the region, who was Tlaloc’s son.
Some months later, the Shaman told her: “You are going to have a boy.” She realized, when her son was born, she would not be able to do all the things that she enjoyed doing. She should stop chatting in the river, hanging out with her friends, or watching herself in the river because she would have to take care of her son. She got depressed and miserable about being at home.
After her son was born, any time she could leave her child alone, she did it and went back to the river. Her husband could not take care of their child because he needed to support his family.
As time passed, Cihuehuet said: “My son is grown up enough, he can stay alone at home,” and she left him alone.
One day her mother-in-law came to visit them, and she was surprised because she found her little boy crying at home. Also, he was eating ashes from the floor, and no one else was there.
The old lady went out and found her daughter-in-law laughing and chatting with her friends in the river.
“Cihuehuet,” she said, “I’ve come from your house and found my little Cipitio eating ashes. How can you justify it? Do not leave the child alone! It’s still very small.”
Months later, her mother-in-law visited them again, and one more time, she found the child abandoned and eating ashes. At this point, she decided to speak with Tlaloc (the mighty god of all waters) and asked for his advice. She walked and walked for many hours until she arrived at the headwaters of the Lempa. Tlaloc was waiting for the old lady because he is one of the wisest gods and told her in a strong voice:
“Woman. Tell Cihuehuet that she is no longer a single lady and that her life has changed forever. She is the mother of our grandchild, and I order that she must take care of him! If anything else happens, you must let me know as soon as possible.”
After that, Cihuehuet was a little bit scared. For the first months, she obeyed, but later she “forgot” the Tlaloc’s orders, and when the old lady returned …
She said: “Oh, my little! Once more, you are eating ashes! Oh, Cipitio, you’re getting really fat!”
And her grandmother went out to look for Tlaloc. Furiously he said:
“Enough! It’s time to punish Cihuehuet! I order the beautiful Cihuehuet is going to transform into a horrible woman who from this moment, is going to be called Siguanaba. She is going to live on the banks of the rivers washing her clothes forever. In this way, all the time, she will see her ugly face reflected in the river.”
As soon as he completed his curse, Cihuehuet felt significant pain in her face and body. She wanted to run to her house, but she could not. Her legs pulled her to the river. When she arrived, mysterious energy forced her to see the reflection of her new face on the water.
“Ouch! Who is this horrible woman?” She screamed, is it me? This cannot be! Haha haha! She started to laugh maniacally. She had gone mad.
From that day, she vanished from her town, and no one else saw her again. The inhabitants of her region said that this was Tlaloc’s punishment because of her arrogance and irresponsibility. However, some men say that they can still hear her cries and laughter after hundreds of years.
At the present time …
These days, when any man returns alone, drunk, and late to his house, the Siguanaba appears in from of him as the most beautiful woman in the world. She is always naked or half-naked, it depends on her mood. She pretends to be humble and asks for a lift to her home.
At the present time …
These days, when any man returns alone, drunk, and late to his house, the Siguanaba appears in from of him as the most beautiful woman in the world. She is always naked or half-naked, it depends on her mood. She pretends to be humble and asks for a lift to her home.
After a couple of minutes or hours, the man always discovers that the beautiful woman was not a woman! But it was the Siguanaba! Because suddenly she transformed back into her real form! She starts laughing maniacally (haha haha) and stabbing him with her gigantic nails. If the man doesn’t carry a rosary and starts praying with all his faith, the Siguanaba pulls him to the nearest river, and no one else is going to see him again.
Some survivors swear you can mainly see her near the rivers, Tortola, Jiboa, or Goascorán. They said she was taking a shower with a gold huacal while untangling her hair with a comb of the same metal. Her magnificent body and exquisite tits shined through the nightgown, and they got mad that couldn’t resist approaching her. The Siguanaba called them and flittered with them until they ran to her, and when they were very close, she showed her real and horrible face! They fainted and didn’t remember anything else. They just knew she was there because her curse pulls her to be there in the rivers.
Other people believe she hides behind the Guarumo sticks because she was born from that tree.
If you see him one day, please do not be scared, he is another Salvadoran like you or me.
Inspired by the book “Leyendas Cuentos y Adivinanzas de El Salvador, Bancasa, Banco de Construcción y Ahorro, S.A.” © All rights reserved 1995.
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