The Cry
The modern world knows of this tale not through the actual tale itself but through its appearance in TV shows like Supernatural or Grimm. A woman, wearing white, has children with a man who then leaves her. The woman so distraught and filled with rage, drowns her children in a nearby river. She realizes what she has done and searches for her children but their bodies have already been carried away by the current. Days later she was found dead on the riverbank.
La Llorona, The weeping woman, is the legend that stretches from South America into Mexico and more recently into the United States.
her story is one of Mexico's most famous legends. Her story represents La Llorona as a legend, ghost, goddess, metaphor and symbol. in a culture where family is greatly cherished, murdering children is one of the worst crimes one can commit.
The story continues as she is challenged at the gates of heaven for the whereabouts of her children. She is then not permitted to enter the afterlife until they have been found. Stuck between the living and the dead and on able to find her lost children, La Llorona will spend an eternity looking. She is always heard weeping for her children and it is said that if you hear her crying you must run the opposite way. Her cries bring misfortune or even death. Many parents in Latin America use the story to scare children out of staying out at night.
The spirit is also said to kidnap children in the middle of the night mistaking them for her own. She begs the heavens for forgiveness and drowns the children she kidnaps, whether to spare them trauma or out of a curse. Reports say that she appears in the late evening or at night usually near a body of water wearing a white or black gown with a veil.
Notably, similar legends from around the world share this appearance. From the Banshee of Ireland to Medea of ancient Greek mythology, stories of women murdering their children out of anger or wailing women bringing death and misfortune are as abundant as a lake or river. Another tale from Greece is that of the demoness Lamia. Lamia had an affair with Zeus. Hera, Zeus's wife learns of this and out of anger murders all the children Lamia had with Zeus. Out of jealousy over the loss of her own children, Lamia steals the children from other women.
An interesting note is that the first published reference to La Llorona occurs in a sonnet written by Mexican poet Manuel Carpio in the 1800s. The spirit is identified as the ghost of a woman who was murdered by her husband.
The Chumash tribe of southern California connect La Llorona to the Maxulaw, a strange rawhide skinned cat creature that lives in trees. both creatures have a cry that is considered an omen of death.
I hope you've enjoyed this smaller article. As always, please email me if you have any questions or ideas. Remember you can email me at friendsoffolklore@gmail.com!
also please remember to obey public safety laws when swimming or boating. There may be spirits in the water with you but more accidents and deaths occur when people don't wear their lifejackets.
