Myths and Legends

So we have been in Leon all week.  It is hot. I mean hot.  Highs are in the mid 90's.  While that feels pretty good this time of year, I imagine it could get pretty old after a while.  Leon is the hottest city in Nicaragua.  The old city was on a lake but had to be relocated, in the 1600's due to a pesky volcano and the indigenous people.  When they resettled it was on a small river but inland.  There is no big lake or ocean to cool it off.

 

I think the heat led the people of Leon to have quite the imagination.  So much so they created a legends and myth museum.  It was very entertaining,  Suffice it to say the Nicaraguans do not like cheating husbands or the Spanish.  Most of the myths centered around these two groups.

 

One of the most bizarre was the death wagon that would take you away if you were bad, especially if you cheated on your wife!  The origin of this myth was the Spanish would capture people in the night and take them away to be executed never to be seen again. All the people hid behind closed windows and doors.  No one ever really saw soldiers.  All the could do was hear the horses and wagon in the street.  Then Spanish soldiers morphed into this death wagon.

 

 

One the other symbols of Leon is the tall lady and the short man.  These symbols are everywhere.  The lady is very tall.  She represents the Spanish. Her head is also disproportionately small.  This signifies that the Spanish were stupid.  In addition she is a very bad dancer! If you look closely you will see a short man with a very large head.  This of course is the Nicaraguan.  They are shorter than the Spanish and the head means they are much smarter. 

 

 

 
 

Because of the high rate of illiteracy, the Nicaraguans communicate extensively with the use of murals and other symbols.  We will write about some of that later.  The Nica's are a proud people.  They love life and their country.  It has been a lot of fun to learn more about them and their culture.