Christopher Salguero, Period 7, 2/5/2024

I’ve always been interested in mythology, but before taking this class, my knowledge never went any further than the very surface level knowledge that most people have on just Greek and Norse mythology. Now that this class has made me more interested in the mythology of other cultures, I decided to do some research on my own culture’s mythology.
There isn’t as much indigenous mythology within Salvadorian culture as there is in other Central American countries, but two of the supernatural beings within the culture definitely stand out. These are “La Siguanaba”, a female spirit who lures men in with her beauty and “El Cipito,” a very mischievous boy with supernatural abilities. Before becoming La Siguanaba, she was known as Sihuehuet, meaning beautiful woman. She tricked Tlaloc’s son, Yeisun, into marrying her using her charms and while he was at war she had affairs with other men. El Cipito was the result of one of these affairs. She was then cursed by Teotl after she had transformed Yeisun into a savage beast with two heads in an attempt to claim the throne for one of her lovers. This is when she was given the name La Siguanaba, meaning hideous woman. She would be beautiful at first sight, but would turn into a grotesque monster once her victims got closer. Since that day she is seen at night near the rivers of El Salvador luring unfaithful and immoral men in with her beauty. El Cipitio is the son of La Siguanaba and was cursed at the same time as her. He was made to remain a child forever and is not malevolent like his mother. He eats ashes and hides in bushes, waiting for young women whom he throws rocks and flowers at. In other versions of his story however, he is said to trick these young women into following him resulting in them to go missing forever. Both of the more well known myths within Salvadorian culture are somewhat sinister, and I remember my dad telling me a little about them when I was younger in an attempt to scare me.
Doing more research into El Salvador’s culture reminded me of the Aztec creation project that me and my group did. One of the Aztec gods, Tlaloc, was referenced more than once while I was doing my research and it made me want to look a little more into them and their influence within El Salvador’s culture. Specific details of his influence on civilizations within El Salvador aren’t as documented as it was in other regions. Despite being more prominent within Aztec civilization, he still had a strong influence on other parts of Mesoamerica. He was often associated with fertility and agriculture, and this was a big thing for the ancient Pipil people. They would engage in rituals and ceremonies in order to honor him, hoping for bountiful harvests and safety from droughts. He was a large part of their agricultural practices as he reflects how important fertility was in Mesoamerica. This gave me a stronger view on how the culture of different regions of the world are influenced and can evolve based on a different region’s culture.