Agüijuyo’s Tears

Many moons ago, there was a Pipil Princess called Agüijuyo. She was very beautiful and fell in love with a Pipil Prince entitled Zunca. Both princes were young with a splendid future ahead, and the area where they lived was the kingdom of the Pipil people.

Agüijuyo hoped that Zunca would correspond to her love, but some wicked people gossiped unspeakable things of her to the prince to the extent he rejected her. The princess, seeing herself despised by the young prince, made a promise to lock herself up in a cave and never see the light again. In this way, she would fulfill her promise and be untempted to speak to anyone or see the light one more time. And so, she did till the day of her death.

Zunca eventually recognized his mistake. He merely listened to the uncountable lies of wicked and ill-intentioned people. However, Agüijuyo fulfilled her promise and did not receive the young prince when he looked for her.

Agüijuyo was devastated and closed herself in tears. Zunca, with deep sadness, also locked himself up and decided to fulfill the same vow and promise as Agüijuyo. Both young princes locked themselves in their own caves and cried so much that they eventually died of sadness.

The community cried so much for the tragedy of these young people that their tears were so many that created the water springs that fill the pools of Agüijuyo (figure 1). The citizens of Ahuachapan said these two pools symbolize the young princes.

Figure 1. The Agüijuyo Pools. ¹

Credits:
Location: Atiquizaya. Depto, Ahuachapan, El Salvador

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