Titilcíhuat “The Fire Woman”

Many years before the Spanish conquest, there was a bloody war between the Nonualco and the Mazahua tribes. Two tribes who had lived in peace and harmony for centuries till the day the Nonualco Prince made a huge mistake because he was madly in love with the Mazahua Princess and was willing to do everything to have her.

One night during the dry season, the Nonualco Prince was desperate, couldn’t wait any longer, and decided to kidnap the princess and leave with her to a faraway land where they could start a new life outside their royal duties and where no one could find or know them.

In the middle of that night, the prince sneaked into the princess’s room, sedated her with some pitos potion, put a black band on her eyes, kidnapped her, and vanished with her to some remote lands. Unfortunately, when they arrived at those distant lands, and the princess woke up, and they spoke, he discovered that she also loved him. At this moment, they were frightened and knew this was the beginning of a terrible and unnecessary tragedy, and there was no coming back.

For the following weeks, the princes discussed what to do, but they agreed to stay in those faraway lands and hoped nothing serious would happen and that this was only a bad omen. However, the reaction of the Mazahua tribe was imminent, the chief was furious at such an evil act and ordered his men to recover the princess at any cost and had to be in the most painful way possible. All Nonualco people had to pay for such impertinence.

The Mazahua and the Nonualco tribes entered a bloody and long war to recover the kidnapped princess. The war extended all over the Salvadoran territory, and no one was sure when this would finish or if it ever finished.

The princes’ love dilemma spilled many drops of blood between Mazahusa and Nonualca tribes as never before. One day, the war reached their new lands, and the princes tried to explain they loved each other to the chiefs. The Mazahua’s chief believed his daughter had been brainwashed and decided to ignore her, and the Nonualco’s chief thought this was nonsense. No one ever listened to them or cared about their feelings.

After 5 years of war, as in any conflict, there is always a winner and an unfortunate loser. The Mazahua tribe won the war and beheaded all Nonualco people as proof of their power and superiority. Miraculously, the princes escaped, but the Mazahua’s chief constantly chased them, and the destruction expanded to new places. The chief wouldn’t stop until he had cornered, imprisoned, and beheaded the last Nonualco man, the one who started this unnecessary war.

After months of hiding and fleeing in the jungles, the Mazahua’s chief was close to capturing the princes near the Tilapia River. However, magically, the princes vanished in front of his eyes, and the earth opened up and swallowed some of the Mazahua’s warriors. The chief was shocked by what happened and retired from that cursed place, returning to his base of operations. He couldn’t believe what had happened.

A couple of hours later, the Tilapia River began to boil, and a woman spirit with fire on her hands appeared floating over it. Many people, including the chief, believed this was the princess’s spirit who had returned from the beyond with a message for them. For this reason, they called it: Titilcíhuat or the fire woman (figure 1).

Figure 1. The fire woman. ¹

Immediately during this mystical apparition, everyone there was enlightened that this war had lasted long enough, and there was no point in continuing it since the princes were gone forever. This moment represented the end of destruction and endless fighting on their lands.

Nowadays, some people believe that from princes’ bones, flesh, and blood, the gods created the nopal (the prince) and the tuna (the princess) as a memory of their unhappy love. Also, their spirits cohabit in their new forms the Earth with us as a reminder that sometimes, we need to listen and understand someone else’s feelings and intentions before jumping to conclusions, and most importantly, to ask before taking certain actions because everything has a price to be paid.

Inspired by El Salvador Región Mágica’s version.

 Credits:
Location: El Salvador

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